Whether you’re trying mushroom coffee for the first time or you’ve tried a few blends but haven't found “the one” yet, you’ve come to the right place. We’re going to take a closer look at two really popular brands: Laird vs Beyond Brew.
Laird Superfoods actually offers quite a few formulas, ranging from their Focus to Defense blends - but the Perform blend is the best-seller. It has chaga, lion’s mane, cordyceps, and maitake paired with organic Peruvian coffee for smooth, all-day energy.
Beyond Brew actually isn’t coffee at all - it’s a cacao base powered by six different mushroom varieties: lion's mane, reishi, chaga, cordyceps (sinensis and militaris), and turkey tail. But it also has probiotics for gut nourishment.
We’ll dive deeper into the details below, and you’ll also discover why our nootropic coffee is the better upgrade for your daily ritual than either Laird Superfoods or Beyond Brew. You get six functional mushrooms and a well-structured 750mg nootropic stack to help you perform your best physically and mentally, no matter what life brings your way.
Place your order with peace of mind today - it’s backed by our 30-day satisfaction guarantee!
“This is the best-tasting mushroom coffee I have tried. Great taste, no sweetener needed and seems to have good health qualities. I will be starting a subscription to this.” - Scott
“I like it so far, I can absolutely feel a difference in clarity and focus after only two weeks. It's the first and only mushroom coffee I've tried.” - Paul
“I can not say enough good things about your product, It has done everything you claimed it would do, and with just one serving a day with my breakfast, I will be purchasing more soon.” - Bruce
Comparison Chart For Laird vs Beyond Brew
|
Factor |
Noom |
Laird Superfood Coffee |
Beyond Brew (Live Conscious) |
|
Base |
Cocoa-based functional drink (not coffee) |
Ground Peruvian coffee (brew like regular coffee) |
Caffeine-free latte-style blend (no coffee) |
|
Mushroom Variety |
6: Lion’s Mane, Reishi, Chaga, Cordyceps, Shiitake, Turkey Tail |
Varies by blend: Perform (Lion’s Mane, Chaga, Cordyceps, Maitake); Focus (Lion’s Mane); Defend (Reishi, Maitake, Agaricus vitamin D) |
6: Lion’s Mane, Reishi, Chaga, Cordyceps sinensis, Cordyceps militaris, Turkey Tail |
|
Mushroom Amount (per serving) |
5,000 mg |
2,000mg |
2,000mg |
|
Nootropics / Extras |
750 mg nootropic stack (Alpha-GPC, L-Theanine, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, Rhodiola, Guarana, Taurine) + collagen, cinnamon, cardamom |
Botanical add-ins vary by blend (e.g., Rhodiola, Coffee Cherry, Olive Leaf, Vitamin D from Agaricus) |
Probiotic Bacillus coagulans + prebiotic acacia fiber (~3 g fiber) + cacao; vitamins D & B12 |
|
Caffeine |
~56 mg (from guarana) |
Full-strength coffee (~90–120 mg; depends on brew) |
1⁄20 the caffeine of a cup of coffee |
|
Flavor & Mouthfeel |
Rich, smooth cocoa; slightly thicker body; no bitterness |
Classic medium-roast coffee; “no mushroom taste” emphasized |
Cocoa/latte vibe; creamy when mixed; gentle, no coffee acidity |
|
Preparation |
Instant mix — scoop, stir, sip |
Brew (drip, pour-over, French press, cold brew) |
Instant mix — hot water or milk; whisk/frother optional |
|
Price |
$1.16/serving |
$1.25-$1.50/serving (varies by brew strength) |
$1.85/serving |
|
Best For |
Max functional load + cognitive support with smooth energy |
Coffee purists who want a familiar brew with functional add-ins |
Caffeine-free daily ritual focused on gut support and gentler sipping |
Why Noom is the Smarter Upgrade
When you stack Noom against other mushroom coffee alternatives, it doesn’t take long to see where the edge lies. Most blends play it safe with just a couple of functional ingredients paired with traditional coffee. We’ve taken a radically different approach.
Ingredients
Every serving of Noom comes packed with 5,000mg of mushrooms. It’s more than twice the functional content you’ll get with any other product on the market. The varieties include:
- Lion’s mane
- Reishi
- Chaga
- Cordyceps
- Shiitake
- Turkey tail
This is a well-rounded formula to improve focus, immunity, physical stamina, gut health, and balance all at once. This is whole-body support at its finest.
We’ve taken it even further with a 750mg nootropic stack to push the cognitive benefits even further. You also get alpha-GPC, L-theanine, N-acetyl L-tyrosine, rhodiola rosea, guarana, and taurine to help with mental clarity, stress response, and smooth energy.
Collagen peptides, cocoa, cinnamon, and cardamom round out the formula, bringing their own potential benefits while adding subtle flavor and texture enhancements to your mug.
Flavor Profile
Most people brace themselves for mushroom coffee to taste earthy or bitter, but Noom flips that expectation. Because it’s cocoa-based, it’s more like a smooth, unsweetened hot chocolate than a harsh cup of coffee.
The texture is slightly thicker thanks to the collagen and cocoa, but it dissolves cleanly without the chalky residue some powders leave behind. You can mix it with hot water, oat milk, or throw it in a smoothie. Whatever the case, the result is truly indulgent.
Affordability
What might surprise you about Noom, especially compared to Laird vs Beyond Brew, is how affordable it is. At only $35 for 30 servings (about $1.16 per cup), you’re getting incredible value for the money. You can save even more with a subscription or multi-bag order.
Other blends charge nearly the same (or sometimes more) for half the ingredients and lower potency. Why pay more for less? Noom is the smartest upgrade you can make for your daily ritual.
What is Available at Laird Superfoods?
Laird Superfoods is a popular wellness brand that offers quite a few different forms of mushroom coffee. Across the board, though, the base remains the same - high-quality, organic Peruvian coffee.
A Look at Laird’s Functional Coffee Blends
Laird’s lineup includes Perform, Focus, and Defend blends. Each starts with organic Peruvian coffee beans grown at high altitude for a smooth medium roast profile. From there, the brand adds different functional ingredients:
- Perform: fortified with lion’s mane, chaga, cordyceps, and maitake to support energy, stamina, and cognition.
- Focus: combines lion’s mane with rhodiola and coffee cherry for sharper mental clarity.
- Defend: mixes reishi, maitake, agaricus mushroom vitamin D, and olive leaf powder to lean into immune support.
Across the board, Laird claims these coffees taste just like a well-rounded roast - without any mushroom bitterness. It should be a fairly seamless adjustment if you’re switching from traditional coffee.
Strengths and Limitations of Laird Supperfoods
The appeal of Laird is obvious for those who love coffee - but maybe don’t love the baggage that comes with it, be it the bitterness, the jitters, or the inevitable caffeine crash.
These blends give you functional add-ons without changing the familiar flavor. You can brew them just like you would any other ground coffee - drip, French press, pour-over, or cold brew.
You’re getting more than just a physical lift, too. Depending on the formula, you can tap into lion’s mane and cordyceps for focus and energy, or reishi and maitake for calm wellness. There’s something for everyone no matter your goals.
So what’s the catch? You’re paying a lot for very little. Laird only includes around 2,000mg of functional ingredients per serving. And at $20 for a 12oz bag, that’s pretty expensive. You get more than double the good stuff (and way more good stuff, mind you) with Noom.
That’s not to say it’s not worth looking closer into this brand. We have a comparison between Four Sigmatic vs Laird if you want to learn more - in the meantime, we’ll introduce the other half of our Laird vs Beyond Brew breakdown.
Breaking Down the Beyond Brew Formula
Beyond Brew takes a slightly different approach. Instead of building on coffee as the base, it creates a wellness latte that mixes mushrooms with gut-friendly extras. It’s a smoother, gentler ritual that still helps you feel balanced and alert.
The Mushroom and Superfood Blend
Each serving of Beyond Brew centers on a lineup of functional mushrooms, including lion’s mane, reishi, chaga, and cordyceps. These are paired with prebiotics, probiotics, collagen, and plant-based vitamins D and B12.
The idea is to offer not just cognitive and energy support from mushrooms, but also digestive health and nutritional balance. Coconut milk and a touch of coconut sugar give it a creamier, lightly sweet finish.
But notice what you don’t see on the ingredients label: coffee. The cacao base means this tastes less like your average cup of joe and more like a chocolatey indulgence.
Pros and Cons at a Glance
What really draws people towards Beyond Brew is the probiotic content, which makes it one of the most gut-friendly coffee replacements on the market.
Think of it more as an everyday wellness drink than a hardcore performance stack. It’s not necessarily trying to help you get into that flow state for work or get extra reps in the gym. That can be a pro or a con depending on what you’re looking for in a coffee replacement.
Now, one thing that is undeniably a drawback is just how thin the functional content is for Beyond Brew. The company doesn’t disclose its own dosages, but third-party reviews have pegged it around 2,000mg per serving. That’s right in line with Laird Superfoods - and we consider it a little underwhelming relative to what else is on the market.
Speaking of which, we have other comparisons like Beyond Brew vs Everyday Dose and RYZE vs Beyond Brew if you want to see how other brands stack up. But if you’re still on the fence between Laird vs Beyond Brew, keep reading below.
Noom vs Laird vs Beyond Brew: A Closer Look at Ingredients, Taste, Cost, and More
When you compare mushroom coffee brands, the surface similarities can make them look interchangeable. They all talk about functional support, better mornings, and smoother energy.
So let’s cut through the noise and get down to the facts that matter most when comparing Noom vs Laird vs Beyond Brew. That’s ingredients, functional content, taste, and cost. Here’s what you need to know to make the most informed decision.
Functional Mushrooms
You’re here comparing mushroom coffees, so looking at the specific mushrooms included is a fitting place to start this Laird vs Beyond Brew comparison:
- Laird Superfoods: It varies based on the blend, but every formula is limited to just a few mushrooms. The best-selling Performance blend has chaga, lion’s mane, maitake, and cordyceps. Meanwhile, the Focus blend only has lion’s mane. Functional content hovers around 2,000mg per serving.
- Beyond Brew: A pretty similar lineup of mushrooms to Laird’s Performance blend - you get lion’s mane, reishi, chaga, and cordyceps. That said, you’re still getting roughly the same 2,000mg mushrooms per serving.
Noom fills in the gaps between each formula, combining six of the most powerful varieties Mother Nature has to offer. That’s lion’s mane, reishi, chaga, cordyceps, shiitake, and turkey tail. Better yet, we make sure you’re getting enough of these mushrooms to feel their magic with 5,000mg per serving.
Nootropics, Adaptogens, and More
Here’s where things really split. Beyond Brew doesn’t actually give you any nootropics or adaptogens. You do get probiotics and prebiotics, but the formula really is just powered by mushrooms.
Laird Superfoods, on the other hand, sprinkles in more complementary ingredients to round out its blends. The Performance blend is JUST mushrooms, but the Focus blend, for example, also has rhodiola extract. The Defend blend has Vitamin D and olive leaf powder.
But in looking at Laird vs Beyond Brew, you’ll notice both are relatively underwhelming on this front. Noom stands apart by including a whopping 750mg of nootropics to help elevate the physical and cognitive lift from the mushrooms.
We’ve included Alpha-GPC for learning and memory, L-theanine for calm focus, N-acetyl L-tyrosine for stress resilience, rhodiola rosea for balance, guarana for a smoother lift, and taurine for cellular energy.
You also see collagen, cocoa, cinnamon, and cardamom on the label to round things out. We feel what we’ve developed here at Noom is the most well-rounded blend on the market.
The Coffee or Cocoa Base
This is another major distinction between Laird vs Beyond Brew. One uses coffee as a base, the other goes with cacao for a totally different experience.
Laird Superfoods doesn’t just use any coffee, though. It sources organic Peruvian coffee. The coffee base does a really good job masking the mushroom flavor.
On the other hand, Beyond Brew uses organic cacao, which is a great source of naturally occurring flavonoids to support heart health. It also makes the drink taste unique.
We here at Noom have chosen to use cocoa as the base, which is another reason our customers consistently come back for more. It’s closer to a mushroom hot chocolate than a mushroom coffee in terms of taste.
This matters because the caffeine in Noom comes from guarana, not beans, which changes the way the energy feels. It’s steadier and won’t produce the same edge or crash that coffee can bring.
The Enjoyment Factor
Coffee purists will probably resonate most with Laird on the taste test. It’s similar to a traditional medium roast, and you probably won’t even notice the functional extras.
Beyond Brew appeals to people who like a creamier drink and don’t mind a touch of sweetness from coconut sugar. Both are drinkable, but they don’t change the experience much beyond what you’d expect.
Like we touched on already, this is another reason Noom is in a league of its own. It’s an indulgent treat you look forward to every morning or afternoon, with a thicker texture from the collagen and cocoa and never any grittiness in the bottom of the cup.
Ease of Preparation
One important caveat when comparing Laird vs Beyond Brew is how much work goes into preparation. Laird Superfoods creates real coffee infused with functional ingredients. That means you have to brew it - whether with a drip machine, pour-over, or French press.
You might look forward to that part of the ritual. Or, you might see it as a downside if you don’t necessarily have 5-15 minutes to spare every morning. That’s where Beyond Brew and Noom are better, because they’re instant drinks. Just mix into water (or milk/a milk alternative) and stir.
Value Comparison
Let’s look at cost as the final point of comparison between Laird vs Beyond Brew. It’s not necessarily apples to apples because Laird Superfoods sells its bags in ounces rather than servings. But, we’ve done our best to break it down below:
- Laird’s 12oz bags go for about $20, which works out to roughly $1.25-$1.50 per serving depending on how you brew.
- Beyond Brew’s 20-serving container costs $37. That’s pretty expensive at $1.85 per serving.
Noom is $35 for 30 servings, or $1.16 every time you whip up a mug. Not only is it the most affordable option on paper, though. It’s by far the smartest value for your money when you factor in just how much more functional support you’re getting in every serving.
Dollar for dollar, it delivers the most ingredients and the widest benefits per serving. Choosing to go with anything else means you’re settling for less, and you deserve better!
Last Notes on Laird vs Beyond Brew
As we bring this Laird vs Beyond Brew comparison to a close, we want to make it clear both brands bring something worthwhile to the right ritual.
Those who aren’t ready to give up coffee altogether will appreciate Laird Superfoods as a gentle introduction. People who want mostly gut support will likely be drawn to Beyond Brew. But what if we told you Noom filled in the gaps and delivered something even better?
With 5,000mg of mushrooms, 750mg of nootropics, and a cocoa base people actually enjoy drinking, Noom is the most complete upgrade - and it’s backed by our 30-day satisfaction guarantee so you can try it risk free.
Start your mornings with Noom today!