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Soda isn’t just soda these days: It’s a tool for life. The best adaptogen drinks promise not just to wake you up in the morning, but offer focus and clarity and maybe even a warm wash of well-being. A different drink might tuck you gently in at night, or sub in for alcohol as a mindful party drink.
I’ve spent months trying some of the most popular functional drinks on the market, bedding down with kava or tryptophan-laced xicha morada, and waking up with caffeine and L-theanine. Many of the new school of nootropic and functional drinks are like kissing cousins of mushroom coffee, except in refreshing soda form. Functional sodas might be chockablock with mushroom adaptogens such as reishi and cordyceps, alongside traditional home anxiety remedies such as ashwagandha or L-theanine.
I both logged the effects of each soda, and held a large taste test with Portland, Oregon, sommelier Sami Gaston, owner of an excellent wine bar and shop called Bar Diane and Negociant, respectively—to determine how happy you’d be to drink them even if they didn’t help you focus better on endless spreadsheets or the hunt for a job.
If you’re just looking for pep and the jitters and better life through chemicals, check out WIRED’s guide to the best energy drinks. Also check out WIRED’s guide to mushroom gummies, or take your wellness in powdered form with the best greens powders and the best protein powders.
Here are the best adaptogen drinks and functional sodas to wake up, get down, or rest your weary head.
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Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Brez is perhaps better known as a THC and CBD brand, but it also sells a trio of cannabis-free adaptogen sodas that ended up being our favorites overall. Among all adaptogen drinks we tried, Brez is the most transparent about functional ingredients and the best-balanced in terms of flavors. I won’t lie: You’ll know from taste that there are mushrooms in these drinks. But across three flavors, Brez nailed the sweet spot on relatively low-calorie drinks with no artificial aftertaste, with genuinely thoughtful balance among its flavors.
I favored the Elevate, a lightly funky strawberry mango drink whose dominant flavor note is a big burst of real strawberry juice concentrate, mixed with a savory-medicinal undercurrent of cordyceps mushroom and ginseng—not to mention 80 mg of caffeine from a caffeinated South American holly tree called guayusa, about the same dose as a cup of tea or a single-shot espresso. This is the only drink I tried that subbed in happily for my morning cup of coffee, and I loved the mix of berry and lightly medicinal earthiness.
In a tasting, sommelier Sami Gaston far preferred Brez’s trademark lemon elderflower flavor on the Flow—a caffeine-free can with purported stress relief from 1,200 mg of lion’s mane mushroom, alongside L-theanine and black seed oil, plus a serotonin hit from a little bit of cacao extract.
A cherry-chamomile Dream is my least favorite of the trio, meant for evening relaxation but the least well-integrated in terms of flavor.
Sommelier tasting notes (Flow): “It’s the most cohesive. It tastes like real things. You get fruit, you get a little savory, it’s
kind of floral. No stevia notes.”Sommelier tasting notes (Elevate): “This tastes like something you would drink at the gym. It’s giving Red Bull.”
Functional notes: The strawberry mango Elevate offers some energy drink vibes, complete with taurine—but the effect is much more subdued, with modest caffeine and a slight GABA kick that amounts to a microdosed head high. It’s a firm good morning. The lemon elderflower Flow is more chill all-around, best for mid-afternoon doldrums. Cherry chamomile Dream tastes like … cherry chamomile.
Nutritional Stats (Elevate, 12 ounces) 80 milligrams caffeine 60 calories Functional ingredients: guayusa extract (80 mg caffeine), cordyceps extract, maca extract, ginseng extract, taurine Nutritional Stats (Flow, 12 ounces) 0 milligrams caffeine 30 calories Functional ingredients: lion’s mane (2,200 mg), cacao, black seed oil, L-theanine Nutritional Stats (Dream, 12 ounces) 0 milligrams caffeine 15 calories Functional ingredients: reishi extract, chamomile extract, glycine, L-tryptophan, L-theanine -
Best Mushroom Tea
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Sparkling Adaptogen Tea
Juni is probably the most ubiquitous of the new school of adaptogen drinks, a no-calorie sparkling tea whose cans sport sunny PBS-cartoon wellness branding that looks like it wouldn’t be out of place at a Whole Foods. Unsurprisingly, Juni launched at select Whole Foods in October.
Though the flavors are various, each can of Juni sports the same blend of adaptogens: Essentially, it’s a gentle 30 mg of caffeine from green tea as a pick-me-up, offset by stress-relieving substances like ashwagandha, L-theanine (from the tea), lion’s mane and reishi mushrooms, and acerola cherry. There’s no added sugar and a mere 5 calories, so most perceived sweetness comes courtesy of agave inulin and stevia.
Some flavors showcase this stevia note more than others, and some of the seven flavors (here’s looking at you, peach!) can taste artificial. But the citrus flavors in particular fare quite well. I haven’t yet tried the new lemonade flavor, but our favorites from the tasting were the lemon zest and especially the (decaf) yuzu pineapple.
Sommelier tasting notes (Yuzu Pineapple): “I actually kind of like the yuzu flavor … It’s a bit like I got an earthy Lacroix. The pineapple mellows it out. I like this.”
Sommelier tasting notes (Tropical): “It smells a little sweaty, but oddly smells like pine needles a little bit … Let’s say this one kind of takes you in all the directions. It’s fruity … but it also tastes kind of bubblegummy. And it also has a mushroomy note. Not loving that.”
Functional notes: Juni is fairly gentle on the caffeine front, even for caffeinated flavors. Doses aren’t listed for any of the functional compounds, but I didn’t detect any head high, buzz, or weirdness at the edges of my consciousness. Consider Juni instead a light sprucing of your mood, with pint-sized pep. It’s good as a rescue from the mid-afternoon energy dip, when you’re looking for a refresher without the panicked adrenaline jolt of a morning double espresso.
Nutritional Stats (12 ounces) 30 milligrams caffeine (except cherry lime, yuzu pineapple, and strawberry hibiscus, which have 0 mg) 5 calories Functional ingredients: Ashwagandha, L-theanine (from the tea), lion’s mane and reishi mushrooms, and acerola cherry. No doses disclosed.
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Best Functional Alcohol Substitute
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Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Sentia
GABA Black, Red, and Gold
Sentia Spirits is a “0% ABV Alcohol Free Botanical Drink” that nonetheless promises a bit of ooh-la-la—a feeling its makers hope is pleasant enough that you won’t feel the need to back it up with a much riskier shot of whiskey. The GABA spirits from functional brand Sentia Spirits is one of few functional drinks with real science behind it, developed by a quite reputable British neuropsychopharmacologist named David Nutt, a chair at Imperial College London. Nutt has long advocated for solutions to the health scourge of alcohol abuse, but also likes the pleasing effects of a glass of wine.
Sentia is this solution, a suspension of barks and flower extracts and herbs—magnolia, ashwagandha, licorice—that are already allowed by the FDA and European agencies. Each ingredient is designed to increase the activity of a neurotransmitter called GABA, which Nutt says is responsible for that initial pleasant feeling you get after a drink or two, before more toxic or potent effects take hold. GABA is a neuroinhibitor present in pretty much all life on Earth, and it essentially tells neurons to slow their roll a bit. It makes you a little less sharp, and less on alert.
Anyway, the three Sentia flavors (red, black, and gold) can operate a bit like mixers, best drunk with soda or fruit juice. And without being intoxicating, they do manage to give you a little bit of relaxation. Drink one or two with friends, and you get an ever-so-slight buzz but precisely zero sense of intoxication: It is what Star Trek purports synthehol to be. But if you want this to be a feeling like being drunk, without the alcohol, you will be disappointed.
The original selection of GABA-enhancing spirits are a bit more like Sentia now has a next generation of drinks: a beer-a-like called Gabyr designed to mimic pale ale and stout, and a sold-out “Cask” that’s more like whiskey. We’ll look forward to trying them.
Bartender tasting notes (Sentia Red): At a Philly bar, one bartender declared it “prune-juice potpourri.” Another said it smelled like a mulberry Christmas candle, but tasted closer to a mulled holiday drink. To my mind, it would lend itself best to Sangria-style fruit juice cocktails—and it’s the most popular of the flavors, according to Nutt.
Functional notes: Sentia Black in particular has a slight stimulant effect. But all feel undefinably like something—a bit of relaxation, a light tinge at the edge of consciousness, a feeling of potentiality like the neural version of a sneeze that never quite comes. The effect of a single shot is short-lived, maybe 45 minutes. And it remains subtle, not strong. But it does substitute handily for the feeling of a first, but not a second, drink.
Nutritional Stats (25 ml) Caffeine-free ~35 calories a serving Functional ingredients: Ginseng, gingko biloba, magnolia, ashwagandha, licorice, and any number of other homeopathic barks, roots, and herbs—with slightly different formulations for each drink. -
Best Kava Drink
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Some of us remember kava from its boomlet in the ’90s and early 2000s—a plant related to pepper whose root can be steeped into a beverage long favored in the South Pacific as a ceremonial plant and social lubricant. It’s become popular again among the wellness set, a relaxing and mostly soothing salve for anxiety or a light social buzz to substitute for alcohol. Among the packaged kava drinks on the market, Melo sparkling kava is the one I’m best able to recommend both for flavor and responsible sourcing claims.
Both of these matter. Different strains of kava (or God forbid, leaves and twigs instead of roots) have different propensities for negative side effects, and better or worse flavors. And even on a good day, kava root can taste a lot like licking mud and sticks, with a pungent bitterness that can linger like the sting of a failed marriage. Melo sources only “noble” strains of kava from family farms on the island republic of Vanuatu—strains known for more restrained and less toxic effects, and lower bitterness.
But Melo’s banana cream flavor of sparkling kava, in particular, was able to mask the unpleasant potting-soil character of kava and replace it with the flavor of … banana Laffy Taffy. I’m not even a big banana candy guy, frankly, but without any sugar or calories, it manages to be the most pleasant kava drink I’ve encountered (a somewhat low bar, but one it hurdles with aplomb). Lime and POG flavors from Melo were less successful at masking kava’s distinct muddiness, so most will detect a tasting note that Portland sommelier Sami Gaston described as “time-release fertilizer.”
The functional effects are pretty mellow, in my experience, but you’ll damn well notice them, kicking in after about 30 minutes and lasting for hours. This manifested for me as a light spaciness, a little bit of muscle-relaxant couchlock, and social looseness if I’m in a group. Kava has been shown in some studies to have a therapeutic effect on anxiety. This said, some may find gastrointestinal effects more prominent, and kava has also been associated with liver toxicity when its active ingredients are consumed in doses above 250 milligrams, or sourced or extracted poorly. (A can of Melo is likely to contain anywhere from 60 to 150 milligrams.) You also don’t want to drive, or consume alcohol on the same day.
Sommelier tasting notes (Banana Cream): “This is very banana Laffy Taffy. Speaking as someone who’s had both banana Runts and banana Laffy Taffy, this leans more lactic … I am surprised the banana turned out to be my favorite (among kava flavors).”
Functional notes: Sensation began as a numb tingling on the mouth and tongue, akin to Sichuan pepper, followed by a slight head buzz after 30 minutes or so, and a warm physical feeling of relaxation that seems to spread from my core to my extremities and lasts for multiple hours. One can of Melo isn’t overly intense, but it’s present. Sleep comes easily, but I don’t think I’d watch a film with too much subtext or an overly complicated plot. I didn’t catch the stomach bother reported by some.
Nutritional Stats (12 ounces) Caffeine-free 0 calories (sweetened with erythritol) Functional ingredients: 750 mg kava root powder (advertised as 100 mg of active-ingredient kavalectones)
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Best Functional Drink for Snapple Lovers
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Rivr
Functional Yerba Mate
Lord, this drink gives me flashbacks. Rivr is a yerba mate brand owned by the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians at the foothills of California’s San Jacinto mountains, and the drinks support the tribe. But while Rivr’s functional drinks are a modern stew containing trendy functional mushrooms and homeopathics that include ashwagandha, the agave-sweetened tea also tastes a lot like “feral Snapple,” in the words of Portland sommelier Sami Gaston. It takes me back to that heady moment in the late ’90s when young moms discovered once-exotic flavors like hibiscus and rooibos.
Anyway, the agave sweeteners in Rivr’s cans are far more pleasant than the corn syrup once used by Snapple (which now uses sugar). And on the mango passion fruit at least, the functional mushroom character actually sorta takes on the character of balance—an earthy bass note that carries through the sweet, fruity tea. It feels like something my mother would drink.
Like a lot of modern functional sodas, Rivr’s “Awaken” functional drinks liven you with natural caffeine—in this case from herbal yerba mate—then temper the jitters with mitigating homeopathics, in this case lion’s mane and cordyceps mushrooms. The caffeine hit on the cans marked “awaken” is 100 milligrams, somewhere between a single and double shot of espresso. A blackberry lavender drink marked “Peace” contains no caffeine, and soothing ashwagandha and reishi mushrooms.
Anyway, flavor-wise, the mango passionfruit was the most satisfying, a balanced sweetness with very real mushroomy undertones. This was followed by the caffeine-free blackberry lavender, which did in fact have the character of actual blackberry along with the floral notes. The raspberry in the raspberry hibiscus tasted a bit artificial, alas. Rivr also sells THC variants of the same flavors spiked with delta-9 THC derived from hemp, but we’ve only tested the more pedestrian functional versions. Mail-order subscriptions are available at a lower price than the 12-packs sell for individually.
Sommelier tasting notes (Mango Passion Fruit): “As far as the sweetness goes, I think that the agave nectar is more pleasing. Sweetness-level wise, this seems appropriate. I like that it tastes like an actual drink. It’s as though you had feral Snapple. Like Snapple returned to nature.… The finish is pronounced.”
Functional notes: Look, this is mild all around. It’s a bit sweet, there’s some caffeine that’ll pep you up as well. Does the lion’s mane mushroom temper this with its purported anti-anxiety properties? Did I have a better life, tempered with less caffeine-instigated adrenaline and jitters? Does the cordyceps make my circulation better, during a day spent sitting? Perhaps. Either way, I’d be most likely to reach for a Rivr in the mid-afternoon, as my “fun” drink to carry me through a 2 pm trough.
Nutritional Stats (12 ounces) Caffeine-free 0 calories (sweetened with erythritol) Functional ingredients: 750 mg kava root powder (advertised as 100 mg of active-ingredient kavalectones)
FAQ
Functional drinks are a somewhat suggestible and subjective category—whose nootropic, adaptogenic and nootropic ingredients are often homeopathics with promising medical studies but few objective or scientific criteria. The ingredients are regulated mostly as food additive, and most brands offer little or no information on dosing. To test the effects of each drink, I had to go with the experience of my own senses.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
First, I tested the functional aspects of each functional or adaptogenic drink brand over the coure of a week or more apiece, paying attention to my mental state, how I handled stress, and whether I felt consistently different in the same direction over multiple days. If a drink was caffeinated but also contained substances meant to soothe jitters, I drank a couple cans in a row to see whether my jitters were, in fact smoothed. Nighttime functional drinks were drunk at night, and then I logged changes in sleep. In the case of kava, I tried each brand both alone and socially, and gauged any gastrointestinal upset.
Separately, I held a taste test with trained sommelier Sami Gaston (co-owner of Bar Diane and Negociant in Portland, Oregon), where we tasted more than two dozen flavors of drink among eight brands. (We spit, obviously, as opposed to making our lives weird by drinking often-opposing adaptogenic and functional compounds from 24 drinks.)
Gaston assessed nose, visuals, flavor, and aftertaste in each case, offering notes on each. I followed along gamely with my own less systematic iimpressions. In the end, the question was always “Would you drink this, on flavor alone?” The answer was only sometimes yes: Just as with alcohol or food that containes cannabis, the assumption is that there’s a little bit of tolerance for off flavors in the quest to achieve a desired effect—but that such tolerance is never infinite. One way or the other, a drink should taste good enough that you want to drink it.
In the end, I balanced good flavor against each drink’s functional, adaptogenic, and nootropic benefits. Drinks with stronger effects, such as kava, might afford more forgiveness for off or muddy flavors.
What Are the Ingredients in Each Adaptogen Drink, and What Do They Do?
Look, there’s a good chance you don’t know half the ingredients in a given adaptogen drink—or if you’ve heard the name, you don’t know what each ingredient is supposed to do for you. So a short glossary is in order, among some of the most common ingredients.
Note, however, that homeopathic adaptogens are not prescription medicine. The science mostly is not in. Folk wisdom, bolstered by a promising study or two, is often the most you’ll get in terms of proof of effectiveness for most ingredients. Here are the most common ingredients you’ll find.
Functional Mushrooms
For a full accounting of each type of mushroom, its effects, and the best evidence for the effectiveness of each, check out WIRED’s guide to mushroom supplements. But in practice, you’ll see about three types of functional mushrooms in adaptogen and nootropic drinks.
Note that many sources recommend avoiding medicinal mushroom use during pregancy, mostly for sheer lack of data.
Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum)
A mushroom variety rich in polysaccharides thought to aid calmness and focus, being studfied for possible uses to aid lung function or glucose regulation. Evidence of benefit is slim, but ingestion is generally considered safe over spans of multiple months.
Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus)
A mushroom widely regarded as a “brain superfood,” thought to boost production of nerve growth factor (NGF), a protein that helps maintain and regenerate neurons. Limited evidence suggests lion’s mane improves performance in some tasks, and reduces stress.
Cordyceps (Cordyceps sinensis)
Seen The Last of Us on HBO? Well, that’s cordyceps. It’s a parasitic fungus that infects insects and manipluates their behavior. In the human world, it’s mostly booked a s a performance enhancer for stamina and workout recovery—a notion that’s very tentatively backed by some preliminary research.
Other Common Nootropics
Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)
Ashwagandha is an evergreen shrub long used as a folk remedy for stress, anxiety and improved sleep—uses that seem to be backed up by preliminary research. The most common side effects are gastrointestinal.
L-Theanine
Theanine is an amino acid commonly found in tea. There’s some evidence that theanine lowers stress and boosts dopamine and serotonin, and improves both focus and sleep. Side effects are largely undocumented at low doses.
L-Tryptophan
Tryptophan is an essential amino acid that your brain converts to serotonin, with some documented benefits to both mood and sleep—present in poultry and a number of other foods. It’s not recommended to take tryptophan if you’re on an SSRI for depression or other conditions.
Ginseng (Panax ginseng)
A folk remedy since way back, ginseng has been linked to health improvements as disparate as anticarcinogenic properties, increased mental performance, and better glucose regulation.
Maca Powder (Lepidium meyenii)
Maca, also known as Peruvian ginseng, is consideered to be good for improved stamina, erectile function, and the libido—at least in animal studies—as well as easing some menopausal symptoms.
Yes. But also, no. Kava is a shrub that’s been used for centuries as a ceremonial drink in the South Pacific, but also as a politically important gift, a reason for social get-togethers and a straight-up party drug. Kavalactones are as many as 18 different substances, which act similarly to benzodiazopenes, in that they bond to GABA receptors in the brain to reduce anxiety.
Traditionally, the root of the kava plant is crushed and ground, then mixed with water and coconut milk to make a beverage best known for its soothing calming properties.
Its use in the West is more recent, and more halting—and indeed, it was briefly banned in Germany in the 2000s after a spate of liver toxicity cases, only to be reinstated when it was determined that evidence for the plants toxicity was lacking. Still, kava does carry some risk of liver toxicity, according to studies, and no safe dose has been difinitively established.
But while recommendations vary, most sources recommend a maximum daily dose of about 250 mg of kava’s active ingredients, called kavalactones. This recommendation is complicated somewhat by the fact that some people lack the ability to process kava: About 99 percent of Pacific Islanders have enough of the right enzyme, called Cytochrome P450 2D6. But maybe 10 or 20 percent of Caucasian people do not, which complicates discussions about liver toxicity—and warrant caution, especially if using over longer periods.
This said, liver toxicity associated with kava is reported very rarely—but pretty much all medical professionals strongly advise against mixing with alcohol, benzodiazapenes, or other drugs. Pregnant people should also not use it. The most common unwanted side effects of kava use tends to just be gastrointestinal upset, headaches, or dizziness.
Honorable Mentions
Hop Wtr for $30 a 12-pack: Hop Wtr, flavored naturally with hops, is the sort of nonalcoholic drink that shows up naturally at beer bars, custom-made for people who know and recognize the aromatics of citra and mosaic and pine-bearing hops. And thus it is inherently familiar to me, though the flavors seemed a little funny to my wine-loving co-taster. But Hop Watr’s closest flavor relative is instead LaCroix ($7 a 12-pack on Amazon), alongside other no-calorie fizzers that have the approximate character of TV static. Like LaCroix, Hop Wtr whispers its flavor at low volume, lost sometimes to the interference of a passing breeze. Various Hop Wtr flavors are variously successful, but blood orange was far and away our favorite during a tasting. The drink’s functional character is subtle. Absent caffeine or sugar, you won’t feel different immediately. Instead, the drink’s homeopathic effects are meant to come from L-theanine, a substance found in tea leaves that’s thought to promote calm and focus, and ashwagandha, an evergreen shrub that likewise is thought to reduce cortisol levels and thus stress.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Hiyo for $42 a 12-pack: Hiyo has an aggressively sunny name, Mark Rothko branding, and the usual functional mix of ashwagandha and balms and lion’s mane mushrooms meant to add focus, clarity, and calm. But in a tasting of four or five flavors, it wasn’t quite as likable as Juni while aiming at the same lightness and refreshment. Most successful by far was a watermelon lime flavor that forefronted watermelon juice, and carried little of the saccharine aftertaste of other Hiyos. But some other fruit flavors came on strong and confusing, then left on a hollow note. A passionfruit tangerine tasted oddly like Fruit Stripe gum. A strawberry guava looked like natural wine when poured, but tasted a bit like strawberry candy and Lucky Charms.
Functional Drink Brands We Didn’t Like
Kin Euphorics for $35 an 8-pack: Kin Euphorics, co-founded by supermodel Bella Hadid, has the most aggressive and TikTok-tailored It-Girl marketing, the highest prices for the smallest containers, the most individually tailored functions for each functional drink. One wakes you up, one puts you down, one (Bloom) seems coded as a sort of aphrodisiac. But why does the aphrodisiac have to taste and smell like Flintstones vitamins that have been crunched up by a man’s bare feet? Why is the pick-me-up (Actual Sunshine) spiked with more ginger than Scotland and Ireland combined? Should a “Luna Morada” nighttime drink smell like a mix of cinnamon air freshener and urinal cake, and taste both sweet and confusing? The weirdness probably makes Kin seem more like medicine, especially in its tiny 9-ounce package. But I can’t call it pleasant, even with the spoonful of sugar.
Mitra 9 Kava for $30 a 4-pack: Mitra 9 is a brand equally focused on kratom products, a variably regulated drug often used by people trying to quit opiates but also broadly available at convenience stores. Medical professionals tend to warn of kratom’s own potential for addiction. But Mitra also makes non-kratom kava flavors, which we didn’t like nearly as well as the ones from Melo. While Mitra’s lemonade and coconut lychee flavors did actually effectively cover up the muddy flavor of kava, the actual drink flavors were kinda worse than what they were covering up: The coconut tasted like suntan lotion, while the lemonade tasted like a cleaning product.
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