Choffy and MUD\WTR are solving different problems
Both sit where your coffee used to. After that they diverge completely: MUD\WTR is a blend built around mushrooms, masala chai spices and added functional ingredients, and Choffy is one thing — roasted cacao, ground, brewed and strained. Which is right for you depends on whether you want a formula or a bean.
Brewed in the same press, on the same three minutes.
The three differences that actually matter
A formula against a single ingredient
Mushroom coffees are built: a base, a set of functional additions, spices to make the result palatable. That is a legitimate way to make a product and some people want exactly it. Ours is one ingredient with nothing added, which means there is nothing to work out whether you react to and nothing to take on faith. Read both labels and pick the one you would rather explain to someone.
Bitter and roasted against spiced and earthy
This is where most people actually decide. Masala chai spicing gives mushroom blends a warm, earthy, slightly savoury cup that does not taste much like coffee. Roasted cacao is bitter, dark and smoky — the French roasts in particular land close to strong black coffee. If what you miss is the bitterness, that points one way fairly clearly.
Brewed and strained against stirred in
Powdered blends are whisked or frothed into hot water and you drink the powder. Choffy is brewed in a press, a drip basket or a pod and the grounds are left behind, the same as coffee. That matters for texture — no silt at the bottom of the cup — and it matters for ritual, because the routine you already had transfers unchanged.
Side by side
Every figure below is from their site or ours, read 15 September 2026.
| Choffy | MUD\WTR Original | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Roasted cacao beans, ground | A powdered blend you stir into water |
| Ingredients on the label | 1 | 5, or 16 once the two blends are broken out |
| What is in it | Roasted cacao | Four mushrooms grown on oats, cacao, seven spices, black tea powder, pink salt |
| Contains coffee | No | No |
| Contains tea | No | Yes, organic black tea powder |
| Caffeine in a cup | ~20 mg in an 8 oz cup | 35 mg a serving, whatever size cup you make |
| Caffeine free | No, and we do not claim it | No; their caffeine-free blend is :rest |
| Cost of a cup, on subscription | 55¢ | $1.33 |
| Cost of a cup, one-time | 63–69¢ | $1.67 |
| How you make it | Brewed in a press, drip, pour-over or a pod | Stirred into hot water |
| What is left in the cup | Grounds, like coffee | The powder itself — their help centre says it does not fully dissolve |
MUD\WTR facts and prices from mudwtr.com, read 15 September 2026: the 30-serving Original tin at $50 one-time and $40 on subscription, 30 servings of 1 Tbsp (6 g), which is where the per-cup figures come from. Ingredient statement as printed on their product page; their marketing pages print a shorter version. Caffeine 35 mg a serving as they publish it — they do not say which ingredient it comes from, and black tea powder is the only tea or coffee ingredient on the list. Choffy per cup is an 80 oz bag (about 160 cups) on the monthly plan. The two caffeine figures are measured differently and that matters: theirs is a fixed dose of powder, so 35 mg is the whole cup no matter how much water you add, while ours is 2.4–2.6 mg per fluid ounce brewed, so a bigger cup carries more. At 8 fl oz that is about 20 mg against their 35. Our figure is our own measurement, not an independent laboratory’s. Check the current label and price before relying on any of it. MUD\WTR is a trademark of its owner. Choffy Inc. is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by MUD\WTR, and all comparisons are drawn from their own published materials on the date shown.
“Best quality ever. So rich and full. I love it and feel great about my choice to drink it. Yum.”
Sue Decker · verified buyer, on Ecuador Dark Roast
If the bean sounds more like it
Start with three estates at one roast, or go straight to the most coffee-like one we make. Nothing to brew with yet? The Starter Kit adds the press.
French Roast Variety Set Choffy Brewed Cacao
Ecuador, Nigeria and Ivory Coast, all at French roast. Three bags with the roast held constant — the only honest way to find out which bean you want.
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Ecuador French Roast Choffy Brewed Cacao
Ecuador French — the darkest and smokiest we make, and the one people switching from black coffee tend to stay on.
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Choffy Brewed Cacao - French Roast Starter Kit
The same three French roasts as the set — Ecuador, Nigeria and Ivory Coast, 10 oz each — plus our 14 oz tumbler press, a French press and travel cup in one. Everything you need to brew on day one.
Shop thisThe comparison, answered
Which one tastes more like coffee?
Choffy, and it is not close — particularly the French roasts. Mushroom blends are spiced and earthy and are not really trying to imitate coffee. Roasted cacao is bitter and dark, so it lands in the same part of your mouth that black coffee did.
Which has less caffeine?
Ours, and neither is caffeine free. An 8 oz cup of Choffy is about 20 mg of caffeine by our own measurement; MUD\WTR publishes about 35 mg a serving, and because that is a fixed dose of powder it is the whole cup however much water you add. Several other mushroom blends add coffee or tea on top of that, so read the label of whichever you are looking at. If you need a genuine zero, roasted chicory, barley and dandelion drinks are the honest answer and those are easy to find.
What about the health claims?
There are none on this page. Cacao contains flavanols and they are water-soluble, so they come through in the brew — but we have never had a brewed cup of ours assayed, so we put no number on it and claim no benefit from it. Anyone in this category quoting you a figure without an assay behind it is guessing.
Can I brew it in the same things?
Yes. French press, drip basket, pour-over, AeroPress, or single-serve cups compatible with Keurig® brewers. Use slightly more grounds than you would for coffee, because cacao is less dense.
Is it more or less expensive?
Compare per cup rather than per bag — bag sizes in this category are not alike. A 32 oz bag of ours runs around eighty cents a cup at full price and less on subscription. Do the same arithmetic on whatever you are comparing it with.
From people who tried the alternatives
Google, Amazon and Walmart figures last checked 11 September 2026. The on-site figure updates itself.
“If you're a coffee lover, but don't like the quick hit of energy then the crash- you'll love Choffy. Sustainable energy, better ingredients, fabulous taste. I am a Choffy lover!”
“I add a scoop to my French press with my coffee in the morning for the BEST mocha. In the afternoon I have a cup straight for a treat and a pick me up.”
“I now make mocha's in the morning, using Volta French Roast and my chosen brand of coffee. It is a very yummy addition to my mornings. I've told friends who don't like coffee to switch to Choffy!”
One bean, four estates, no formula
We invented roasted cacao in 2006 and we still only make this. Every batch tasted before it ships, every batch destoned after the roast.
Shop every roast →