It's Now Possible To Brew A Daily Dose Of Vitamins In Your Coffee

The popularity of coffee and tea pods is due to convenience, plain and simple. No time is wasted, and almost no clean-up is required. So what could be better (besides biodegradable or edible containers)? Well, how about if those neat little Keurig coffee and tea capsules came with vitamin-enriched nutrients included to eliminate daily pill-popping?

That's exactly what VitaCup has done with its first-of-its-kind line of vitamin-infused coffee and tea pods. The world's healthiest cup of coffee was developed in San Diego by company founder Brandon Fishman, fourth-generation Roastmaster Jeff McIntosh, and Chief Vitamin Officer Brianna Hanratty, a registered dietician and nutrition clinician. Their line of VitaCup beverages are infused with a blend of vitamins B1, B5, B6, B9, B12, and D3 plus antioxidants.

By incorporating vitamins into our existing morning coffee or tea routine, VitaCup hopes to make it easy for consumers to maintain a consistent vitamin regimen. The National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey found that about a third of the population is at risk for vitamin deficiencies, while the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that only two-thirds of the population is getting sufficient Vitamin D. The Daily Meal spoke with Hanratty about VitaCup's healthy coffee line.

The Daily Meal: Why did no one think of this before? What was your inspiration?
Brianna Hanratty: VitaCup's mission is inspired by statistics that much of the population is vitamin deficient. Managing one's vitamin intake ends up on the bottom of our to-do lists, leading to nutrition deficiencies that may cause fatigue, weight gain, and even the inability to properly concentrate. We love that coffee is the second most consumed beverage in the world, after water, so it is a great medium to achieve our goal to provide as many people as possible with the health benefits of our vitamin blend.

What are the nutritional benefits of the typical morning cup of coffee versus VitaCup?
While a typical cup of morning coffee comes with caffeine and antioxidants, VitaCup has the same benefits with the added boost of five essential B vitamins, vitamin D3, and antioxidants. Not only do they help with energy, but are support adrenal health, healthy digestion, brain function, and bone health.

What are the complexities involved in creating the VitaCup formula so that vitamins don't lose their potency when heated or stored?
We work very hard at testing our coffee before sending it out to ensure that the intended amount of vitamins is delivered into each cup. As some vitamins are sensitive to heat and the heating process can reduce the vitamin content, we test carefully in the lab to know how much we need per pod prior to the brewing process to have the perfect amount in the final product.

What's next? Can we please request healthy VitaCupDonut pods?
Although I do like a good donut from time to time, it would not be a healthy choice to eat a donut every morning! Unlike our coffee, which is essentially calorically and carbohydrate free, a single medium donut has about 200 calories, 11 grams of fat and 22 grams of carbohydrates. Sorry.

VitaCup may not make donut blends, but it does offer Gourmet Breakfast Blend, Gourmet House Blend, and Gourmet Decaf Blend, plus three signature flavors: French roast, French vanilla, and green tea, a mix of matcha and moringa. And those controversial throw-away K-cup pods? VitaCup's capsules and lids are BPA-free and recyclable at Number 5 recycling centers. The company's coffee and tea production facilities and distribution centers are LEED-certified, and a portion of sales go to Vitamin Angels, a non-profit group helping deliver vitamins to underserved populations around the world. VitaCup packages are sold in 16- to 128-count multipacks at GNC.com, Amazon.com and VitaCup.com.   

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