Mushroom Cups review: ingredients and dosages compared
By the Mush n Go editorial team - 10 October 2026
By the Mush n Go editorial teamPublished on 10 October 202610 min read
Mushroom Cups review
Mushroom Cups is one of the best-known mushroom coffee brands in Croatia and Slovenia: an organic Arabica coffee in single-serve sachets, with 800 mg of extracts from two mushrooms and 66 mg of caffeine. The recipe is very simple, and that is its strength. Brainstoorm offers something different: no coffee at all, three mushrooms, maca and ashwagandha, and 20 mg of caffeine, more than three times less. Here are the two recipes, line by line.
Who is writing: Mush n Go makes Brainstoorm, a direct competitor of Mushroom Cups. This page compares what each brand states on its website and, for Brainstoorm, the technical data sheet from our contract manufacturer. Figures recorded on 6 October 2026. We have no connection with Mushroom Cups.
Brainstoorm coffee flavour
Lion's mane, cordyceps and chaga from the fruiting body, maca, ashwagandha and roasted chicory. The taste of coffee, without the jitters.
Try Brainstoorm →Brainstoorm choc-hazelnut
The same mushroom base, with cocoa and rhodiola. 60 days to change your mind, with a money-back guarantee.
See the choc version →Our verdict in brief
An enriched organic coffee, or a cup designed without coffee.
Mushroom Cups and Brainstoorm do not start from the same place. Mushroom Cups starts with a good organic Arabica coffee and adds two mushroom extracts to it, nothing else. Brainstoorm starts with the mushrooms and plants, and replaces the coffee with roasted chicory. The first lightens your coffee; the second invites you to do without it.
- Brainstoorm is for you if you really want to cut down on caffeine (20 mg), have three mushrooms and two plants together in the same cup, and try it for 60 days with no condition on how much you have drunk.
- Mushroom Cups is for you if you are set on a real organic coffee, a list of three ingredients, and the convenience of a single-serve sachet you can slip into a bag.
- On price, the two brands are close as a one-off purchase: €1.32 per cup for Mushroom Cups, €1.42 for Brainstoorm; on subscription, Brainstoorm pulls ahead, at €1.00 then €0.78.
What is Mushroom Cups
A Croatian brand, a range organised by mushroom.
Mushroom Cups, founded in 2017 according to the brand, manufactures in Croatia and sells online in Croatia, Slovenia and the rest of Europe. Its range is organised by mushroom: Go Sharp with lion's mane, Go Glow with chaga, Go Beauty with lion's mane and reishi, Go Tireless with cordyceps. Each product pairs coffee with two extracts. Here we compare Go Sharp, the closest to Brainstoorm.
The ingredients in detail
What is in a sachet of Go Sharp.
Mushroom Cups states the dose of each ingredient, as a weight of extract, and specifies that the sachet contains nothing else. It would be hard to be clearer. Here are the figures for Go Sharp and for the two other main products.
| Product | Organic Arabica coffee | Mushroom 1 | Mushroom 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go Sharp | 2,200 mg | Lion's mane, organic dual extract: 400 mg | Wild chanterelle, dual extract: 400 mg |
| Go Glow | 2,200 mg | Chaga, organic dual extract: 400 mg | Wild chanterelle, dual extract: 400 mg |
| Go Beauty | 2,200 mg | Lion's mane, organic dual extract: 400 mg | Reishi, dual extract: 400 mg |
Source: product pages and FAQ on mushroomcups.com (Croatia store), recorded on 6 October 2026. The brand does not publish an extraction ratio per product, the part of the mushroom used or the polysaccharide content.
Extract or equivalent
Two numbers for the same mushroom: how to read them.
On a mushroom coffee label, the same ingredient can appear with two very different weights. Both are correct; they simply do not measure the same thing. Mushroom Cups shows weights of extract; Brainstoorm shows dried-plant equivalents. To compare fairly, we give both figures on the Brainstoorm side.
The extract is what is in the cup
An extract is a concentrate. With a 10:1 ratio, it took 10 g of dried mushroom to obtain 1 g of powder.
The equivalent is the starting weight
“1,000 mg dry equivalent” with a 10:1 ratio means 100 mg of extract in the cup.
The part of the mushroom matters
The fruiting body is the mushroom itself; the mycelium is its network of filaments. Both are used, and a clear label says which.
The rule for comparing
Always the same column on both sides: extract against extract, equivalent against equivalent. That is what the following table does.
Dosages compared
Brainstoorm and Mushroom Cups, line by line.
For Brainstoorm, the table gives the actual weight of extract and then, in brackets, the dried-plant equivalent. For Go Sharp, the weight of extract stated by the brand. One cup on each side.
| Per cup | Brainstoorm coffee | Mushroom Cups Go Sharp |
|---|---|---|
| Caffeine | 20 mg, microencapsulated | 66 mg, from Arabica coffee |
| Lion's mane | 100 mg (1,000 mg) | 400 mg |
| Cordyceps | 250 mg (1,000 mg) | absent from Go Sharp |
| Chaga | 20 mg (1,000 mg) | absent from Go Sharp |
| Chanterelle | absent | 400 mg |
| Maca | 375 mg (3,000 mg) | absent |
| Ashwagandha | 40 mg of extract | absent |
| Vitamin B5 | 6 mg, 100% of the reference intake | absent |
| Base | roasted chicory 3,500 mg, acacia 889 mg | organic Arabica coffee 2,200 mg |
| Part of the mushroom | fruiting body | not specified |
| Organic | no | organic coffee and organic lion's mane |
| Vegan | yes | yes |
Sources: Brainstoorm technical data sheets from Laboratoire FGnutra (editions of 28 January 2026 and 8 July 2025); “Go Sharp” product page on mushroomcups.com, recorded on 6 October 2026.
Each recipe has its own logic. Mushroom Cups keeps it short: coffee, two extracts, 800 mg of mushrooms, and a higher dose of lion's mane than Brainstoorm. To bring lion's mane, chaga and cordyceps together, however, you need three different products. Brainstoorm puts them in the same cup, with maca and ashwagandha. Its vitamin B5, at 100% of the reference intake, contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue and to normal mental performance.
Caffeine
66 mg on one side, 20 mg on the other.
Mushroom Cups states 66 mg of caffeine per sachet, “around 50% less than an ordinary coffee”. An espresso has around 80 mg according to the European Food Safety Authority: so Go Sharp is still a coffee, just a little lighter.
Brainstoorm contains no coffee. Each cup provides 20 mg of NewCaff® microencapsulated caffeine, coated so that it is released gradually, and its taste comes from roasted chicory.
One cup a day
Mushroom Cups: 66 mg. Brainstoorm: 20 mg. The EFSA benchmark for an adult is 400 mg a day, from all sources combined.
With your usual coffees
Two espressos plus one Mushroom Cups: around 226 mg. The same two espressos plus one Brainstoorm: around 180 mg.
In the afternoon
At 20 mg, a cup of Brainstoorm after lunch weighs four times less on your evening than an espresso.
If caffeine is what matters to you, our article how many cups of coffee a day does the maths cup by cup, and coffee and anxiety sets out the signs of having too much.
Price, shipping, guarantee
The price per cup, and the terms of the guarantee.
Mushroom Cups sells in euros in Croatia and Slovenia; we give the prices from the Croatian store. Brainstoorm prices are recorded on the France store.
| Prices recorded | Brainstoorm | Mushroom Cups Go Sharp |
|---|---|---|
| 30 servings, no subscription | €42.71, i.e. €1.42 per cup | €39.70, i.e. €1.32 per cup |
| 30 servings, on subscription | €29.90, i.e. €1.00 per cup | €35.73, i.e. €1.19 per cup |
| Best listed price | €69.90 for 90 servings on subscription, i.e. €0.78 per cup | €89.10 for 90 servings on subscription, i.e. €0.99 per cup |
| Small size to try it | not offered | tube of 10 sachets at €15.90 |
| Shipping | free from €59 in France | free over €50 |
| Money-back guarantee | 60 days, even once the pouch is open | 60 days shown in the banner, 30 days in the returns policy; no refund if half of the product has been consumed |
Prices recorded on 6 October 2026 on mushngo.com (France store) and mushroomcups.com (Croatia store). Return conditions as per the brand's returns policy and FAQ, which also specify that sale items are not taken back.
Mushroom Cups has an advantage that Brainstoorm does not: a tube of ten sachets at €15.90 to get a feel for it. Brainstoorm answers differently: a pouch of thirty servings, which you open and taste at your own pace, and 60 days to ask for a refund if it does not suit you. On subscription, its cup works out cheaper.
Which one to choose
Lighten your coffee, or replace it?
If you want to keep a real coffee, organic, simply enriched with mushrooms, Mushroom Cups is a clear-cut recipe and you will not go wrong. If you want to turn the page on coffee without losing the morning ritual, without the racing heart at 10 am or the slump at 3 pm, you are the person we created Brainstoorm for.
- 20 mg of caffeine per cup, released gradually: more than three times less than Mushroom Cups.
- Three mushrooms in the same cup: lion's mane, cordyceps and chaga from the fruiting body, 1,000 mg of equivalent each.
- Two extra plants: 3,000 mg of maca equivalent, plus ashwagandha, neither of which is in the Mushroom Cups recipes.
- 6 mg of vitamin B5 in a single cup, i.e. 100% of the reference intake: it contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.
- No mushroom taste: roasted chicory brings the roundness and bitterness of a coffee.
- 60-day money-back guarantee: you taste, you decide.
More than 50,000 people have already replaced one of their cups with Brainstoorm, and rate it 4.8 out of 5.
Before starting either one
- Both products contain caffeine and are not recommended for children or for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
- Brainstoorm is not recommended if you have a thyroid, liver or heart condition: ask your doctor for advice.
- A food supplement is not a substitute for a varied diet. Do not exceed the stated daily dose.
Your questions
All about Mushroom Cups.
What is in Mushroom Cups?
Each sachet contains 2,200 mg of organic Arabica coffee and 800 mg of extracts from two mushrooms, with no other ingredient according to the brand. Go Sharp pairs lion's mane and chanterelle, Go Glow chaga and chanterelle, Go Beauty lion's mane and reishi.
How much caffeine is in Mushroom Cups?
66 mg per serving, according to the brand, supplied by the Arabica coffee. An espresso contains around 80 mg, a cup of Brainstoorm 20 mg.
Is Mushroom Cups safe?
Nothing in the information published by the brand points to any particular risk. It advises against its Go Glow and Go Tireless products for children and for pregnant and breastfeeding women. If you are on medical treatment, ask your doctor for advice.
What is the difference between Go Sharp, Go Glow and Go Beauty?
The coffee is the same; only the mushrooms change. Go Sharp: lion's mane and chanterelle. Go Glow: chaga and chanterelle. Go Beauty: lion's mane and reishi. Each extract is dosed at 400 mg.
How much does Mushroom Cups cost?
In Croatia, €15.90 for the tube of 10 sachets, €39.70 for 30 servings, €66.70 for 60 and €99.00 for 90, prices recorded on 6 October 2026. The subscription gives a 10% discount.
Can you get a refund on Mushroom Cups?
The brand shows a 60-day guarantee in its banner, and its returns policy mentions 30 days. It specifies that there is no refund if half of the product or more has been consumed. Mush n Go refunds Brainstoorm for 60 days, even once the pouch is open.
What is the difference between Mushroom Cups and Brainstoorm?
Mushroom Cups is an organic Arabica coffee enriched with two mushroom extracts, with 66 mg of caffeine. Brainstoorm contains no coffee: three mushrooms, maca, ashwagandha and 20 mg of caffeine on a roasted chicory base.
Where is Mushroom Cups made?
In Croatia, according to the brand. Brainstoorm is made in France, near Toulouse.
Sources
- Mushroom Cups. Go Sharp, Go Glow and Go Beauty product pages, FAQ, returns and shipping policies, mushroomcups.com (Croatia store) and mushroomcups.si (Slovenia store). Accessed on 6 October 2026.
- Laboratoire FGnutra. Product technical data sheet “Brainstoorm Café 180 g”, edition of 28 January 2026.
- Laboratoire FGnutra. Product technical data sheet “Café Brainstoorm V5” (chocolate hazelnut flavour), edition of 8 July 2025.
- EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (2015). Scientific Opinion on the safety of caffeine. EFSA Journal, 13(5):4102.
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 432/2012 establishing a list of permitted health claims made on foods (vitamin B5).
Mushroom Cups, Go Sharp, Go Glow and Go Beauty are trademarks of their owner. The information about this product is what the brand publishes; it may have changed since it was recorded. Spotted a mistake? Write to us and we will correct it.
Further reading
Before you choose, see how to read a label and what caffeine changes in your day.
Discover our mushroom and adaptogenic plant supplements
Our vegan formulas, made in Toulouse by a French manufacturer.