Have You Tried Adding Collagen to Your Coffee?

You might associate collagen with expensive wrinkle creams, but if wellness bloggers and Instagrammers have their way, you’ll soon be seeing this ingredient in a whole new light. A trend I’ve been noticing is people adding collagen powder directly into their morning cup of coffee. It’s apparently tasteless and potentially provides a whole bunch of health benefits, such as improved digestion and joint recovery.

But how did this trend start, and what the heck is collagen anyway? The answer to both questions starts with bone broth.

Bone broth is essentially meaty bones that are simmered with a whole bunch of aromatics to create a rich, nutritious, and savory broth that you sip on by itself. Another name for bone broth is simply beef broth (but with a clever marketing strategy behind it).

It was sometime in 2015 that bone broth became ultra popular among food-lovers and wellness bloggers alike. Many recipe sites (including Kitchn) started posting bone broth recipes, new brands centered around the healing liquid started popping up, and even entire stores selling bone broth came to fruition.

Bone broth, however, does require some time to make. The trend has quietly died down and has been replaced by collagen powder — an easier alternative to simmering a giant pot of bones for seven hours.

Collagen is the structural protein found in skin, bones, tendons, and connective tissue in animals. It is the most bountiful protein in the human body.

Collagen protein, or gelatin, is different from collagen peptides in that peptides are soluble in water. According to CNBC, in collagen powder “the proteins are broken down into individual peptide (amino acid) chains and the powdered collagen doesn’t gel like gelatin.” This means you can easily add powdered collagen to hot liquids versus gelatin where it will gel. You’ll notice this in bone broth if you’ve ever let it sit out and get cold.

The wellness bloggers I follow on Instagram (particularly @leefromamerica and @shutthekaleup) add collagen powder to their coffee, other hot drinks, and smoothies. You don’t use a lot of it in your drink — just about one teaspoon per drink.

There are multiple brands to choose from, including Vital Proteins and Great Lakes Gelatin, both of which are available on Amazon and come with great reviews.

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Have you ever tired adding collagen powder to your morning cup of coffee? Let us know in the comments.