Over his 13 years in the NFL, Fred Taylor saw teammates walking into the locker room with their ventis from Starbucks. He’d see Dunkin’ coffee all over Gillette Stadium during his time with the New England Patriots. He even had to make coffee runs as a rookie with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
But he didn’t drink the stuff. He could never get into it — not until well into retirement, when his wife managed to convert him with the help of caramel macchiatos.
Now, the former Pro Bowl running back not only drinks it every day, he sells it as a founding partner of the Mushroom Coffee Company. And yes, there are actual mushrooms in the coffee.
READ MORE: I drank mushroom coffee so you don’t have to
What is Mushroom Coffee?
These aren’t standard mushrooms one will find in the grocery store. Instead, they’re curated strains that are added for their health benefits.
Company founder and CEO Alejandro Matignon, whose family runs “one of the oldest coffee houses in Colombia,” already celebrates coffee for its natural benefits and the role that it plays in the morning ritual for many people.
“Essentially, coffee is a fruit, you know? And we’re eating the seed of the fruit. Inside that ritual, what we look for is to blend it with mushrooms that have been eaten for thousands of years, from Romans to Greeks, who called it the food of the Gods.”
So what mushrooms are we talking about? There’s lion’s mane, which can help improve focus and cognitive function. There’s cordyceps, which can help boost energy without the jitters of caffeine. There’s also chaga, which can reduce inflammation and support the immune system.
The end result is a product that looks and smells like instant coffee. That’s because it is instant coffee — just with mushroom extract added in. Mushroom Coffee is available for purchase online and comes in a pouch with enough powder to make 30 cups. All you have to do is mix it into hot water and drink.
Former Patriots running back Fred Taylor showcasing the wares of Mushroom Coffee Company.(Courtesy Mushroom Coffee Company)
How Fred Taylor went from “Dr. Google” to a champion of mushrooms
Like many former NFL players, Taylor had a lot of lingering injuries from his playing days. He also began to deal with mental health issues like anxiety and depression, an alarmingly common problem for former players.
“You don’t want to be Dr. Google,” Taylor said of his time doing research online into his symptoms. But eventually, he found developed an interest in “non-traditional medicine” and the health benefits of mushrooms.
Taylor admitted he tries to steer clear of conventional Western medicine, citing a pattern of addictive behaviors and personalities that come along with being a professional athlete, “where guys have abused pain pills and all that stuff.”
Taylor said he’s seen the loss of loved ones due to football-related CTE and by way of suicide. He’s seen former players go through periods of depression and anxiety. However, Taylor said the conversation has shifted regarding the mental health of players in recent years.
“So what’s a safer approach that could potentially – and I emphasize potentially – help you regain confidence in your everyday life?” Taylor asked.
It turns out the answer for him was mushroom coffee, which he now drinks every day. For Taylor, that comes in the form of 10 ounces of mushroom coffee along with two ounces of almond milk and an ounce of French vanilla Coffee Mate. Sometimes, when he’s on the go, he’ll get it iced.
“It’s pretty much just a win-win-win across the board, where I get to drink my coffee to help myself better my help – and more importantly, it tastes like coffee. It actually tastes like coffee.” Taylor said. “I’ve tasted some of those others and it tastes like bark or dirt. But this actually tastes pretty good. The scientists and the manufacturing company they a really good job.”
Coffee and Football
Taylor rarely saw teammates drink coffee before games. No, it was more of a mid-week necessity to help players get through long days full of meetings and film study.
“Players, they’re so tired from the previous day or maybe a previous practice, especially during training camp, and their go-to is coffee,” Taylor said.
Coffee can also play a role in rookie hazing. Taylor says modern hazing has shifted away from crazy haircuts and shaved eyebrows to making rookies go on coffee runs. As a rookie, Taylor would be responsible to get coffee ready in the morning, along with “like, 20 dozen” doughnuts for the entire team, “because you got the big boys, they like to eat three or four at a time.”
Taylor did it the easy way. He says he’d give a $100 tip to a driver to go pick it up so he didn’t have to deal with it.
“A lot of teams, they’re going to get their Krispy Kremes if they’re in Florida somewhere. … And then you get your big gallons of coffee to go with that. It’s the same if it’s Dunkin’. I know the Patriots, we had so much Dunkin’ Donuts and Dunkin’ coffee in the locker room.”
Taylor says he loved his time in New England and wishes he could have played longer or gotten there earlier. He admits he was a little confused by the fans at first. But once he understood their passion and how seriously they took their fandom, he came to love it.
The one thing he couldn’t wrap his head around, though, was the number of Dunkin’ locations.
“They’re on every spot and every corner. Sometimes you get two or three within a mile, mile-and-a-half, two-mile radius, which I thought was crazy. That’s the coffee of the north, I guess.”
