Dear Student or Subscriber... 📣

Welcome back to our weekly Friday Founder Faves. 🧡

This week we're talking about the sacred morning beverage ritual. ☀️ 

That quiet moment before the day begins, when you wrap your hands around a warm cup and feel like you own your day. Whether it’s coffee, tea, or a mushroom blend, it's more than a habit; it's a ritual. ✨

But as comforting as it is, there are some things to keep in mind. Most people don’t realize that conventional coffee and tea are among the most chemically treated crops on earth, often carrying pesticide residues, mold, and even microplastics. 🧪

Even the brewing equipment and tea bags themselves can leach toxins into your cup.

Naturally, choosing an organic coffee will undoubtedly benefit your long-term health (and the bees). 🐝

I believe our rituals should replenish us, so when we look at something as personal, and as common, as that first cup of coffee in the morning, it helps to be mindful. ☕

Also, I just have to mention, if you don't have food before your coffee, you're setting yourself up for a serious cortisol spike later in the day. ⚡

Coffee, Mold and Mycotoxins ☕

In case you didn't know the difference, mold is the fungus itself and mycotoxins are the toxic compounds it produces.

Mycotoxins are actually one of the most overlooked root causes of chronic illness, linked to everything from fatigue and brain fog to autoimmune and neurological conditions. Yet they’re rarely acknowledged or tested for in conventional medicine.

We go much deeper into this topic inside our Doctor of Functional Medicine program. 🎓

Unfortunately, coffee is especially prone to both. Even organic beans aren’t immune, which is why choosing brands that test for mycotoxins is key.

Here are a couple of options:

Purity

Lifeboost

Kion  

And if you drink decaf, sorry to say, but you’ve got an extra layer of protection to think about.

Most caffeine removal is done by soaking the beans in harsh chemicals, and you probably don’t want to be drinking methylene chloride or ethyl acetate. ☠️

Always look for brands that use the Swiss Water or CO₂ process, which extract caffeine naturally, without the chemicals. 🌿

🍵 Plastics in Your Tea? 

Of course, we always recommend organic, due to the same reasons as coffee. Not only that, many tea bags are made from synthetic materials like nylon or polypropylene, or paper lined with a thin plastic film.

When steeped in hot water, most tea bags release millions of micro- and nanoplastic particles into your cup.

Sometimes it feels like it's really just impossible to avoid all these microplastics (they're even found in newborns' umbilical tissue, meaning they leech through the placenta, just crazy), but it helps to know where we can make conscious choices...

There’s also growing evidence linking higher tea consumption to increased levels of “forever chemicals” (PFAS) in the body, likely from the packaging itself. 😮

Always look for brands that use 100% paper or food safe sachets, or of course a loose-leaf option is always a safe bet. Below are a couple of my fave flavors from trusted brands.

Republic of Tea - This apple cider tea is caffeine-free and just like autumn in a cup, super cozy.

Numi - The absolute best Earl Grey.

And of course, I can never say it enough, Mountain Rose Herbs is a great resource for loose-leaf teas and single herbs to blend your own.

🫖 The Brewing Process

There are also most definitely toxic materials hiding in most coffee makers. PFAS, aluminum, plastic & microplastics, phthalates, the list goes on...

All of these can create a slew of health problems such as inflammation, neurotoxicity, hormonal imbalance, immune dysregulation, infertility, and certain types of cancers. So again, this is definitely an area where we can work to minimize our toxic intake. ☣️

Pour Over - I love that this one is all glass, and it's under $20.

French Press - This one's currently 45% off.

Moka Pot - These make a smaller cup, but it's more like espresso, perfect if you want to add some warm milk and make it latte style.

Remember to opt for unbleached paper or stainless-steel mesh filters.

Lastly, please, break up with your Keurig.

I know, it's so convenient, especially for a mid-day cup in the office, but the hot water filtering through those thin plastic cups is just horrible, not to mention all the waste from the single-serving plastic. 🌎

 🎼 Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens 
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens 🎶

🍄 Alternatives

If coffee and tea just aren't your thing, I get it. But sometimes we still want a hot creamy beverage to start the morning, or break up a long work day. I'm personally a huge fan of matcha. 🌿

Pure Matcha – I prefer just the simple powder so I can blend my own latte and control the sweetness level, plus a lot of pre-mixed options have thickeners and "natural" flavor.

Matcha Latte – This one by Terrasoul has three simple ingredients, and it's dairy-free.

Superfood Matcha Mix – Everyday Dose makes this one, and it's a bit pricey, but it's full of amino acids, functional mushroom extracts and collagen, so you're really getting some medicinal benefits with your cup.

Mushroom Coffee – This is also by Everyday Dose, and is loaded with functional mushrooms that also work synergistically with the coffee to avoid a big crash. ☕

🎃 Final Countdown to save $2,222

And while we’re here — if you’re feeling inspired to answer your calling — we're in the final hours of our introductory promotion for the new Nutritional Medicine program. ✨

Save $2,222 on our newly released Natural Medicine Holistic Doctorate Program. 💸

If you're called to another modality, we're also offering $555 off all other modalities.

We'll only be launching this program once, so this level of discount won't be happening again.

Offer ends at midnight! ⏳

🎧 Stay Tuned...

Next week, we’ll cover a surprise topic.

💛 What did you think about this week's edition of Friday Founder Faves? Do let us know!

We’d love to hear from you and feature your faves. Just hit reply and let us know what they are and we might just share it with the community. See you next Friday...

Scroll down for our archives. ⬇️

The Archives

Issue 1: Bath and Moisturizer

Issue 2: Holistic Pet Care

Issue 3: Restorative Sleep

Issue 4: Whole-Food Supplements: Micro-Lesson on Polyphenols & Goitrogens

Issue 5: Natural Alternatives to Home Fragrances: Micro-Lesson on VOCs

Issue 6: Your Holistic Laundry Room

Issue 7: Toxic Household Chemicals

Issue 8: Cellular Hydration

Disclaimers & Fine Print: Some links in this email are Amazon affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you choose to purchase through them—at no extra cost to you. It helps support our work, and we only share products we believe fit into a holistic, healthier way of living.

None of the content in this email (or anywhere from Rockwell) should be taken as medical advice. Always do your own research, use common sense, and take full responsibility for what you decide to do with the info shared here.