Looking for a MUD\\WTR Alternative? Try Real Cacao (Honest Comparison)
If you like MUD\WTR for its cacao flavor and want a lot more real cacao in your cup, with one ingredient instead of a blend, 100% cacao is the simple alternative. A cup of MUD\WTR's Original blend has 2 g of cacao, mixed with mushrooms, chai spices and black tea. A cup of 100% cacao has 13–20 g of cacao and nothing else.
They're different products for different people. Here's an honest side-by-side so you can pick.
We make New Incan Empire, so we're biased. Every fact about MUD\WTR below comes from mudwtr.com, checked on October 9, 2026. Prices change; check their site for today's price.
MUD\WTR vs 100% cacao at a glance
| MUD\WTR Original | New Incan Empire 100% cacao | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Powder blend: mushrooms, cacao, chai spices, black tea, salt | 100% cacao bar: one ingredient |
| Cacao per serving | 2 g (in a 6 g scoop) | 13–20 g (all of it) |
| Ingredients | Mushroom blend (chaga, reishi, lion's mane, cordyceps, grown on oats and/or sorghum), cacao, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, cardamom, black pepper, nutmeg, cloves, black tea, salt | Chuncho cacao from Cusco, Peru |
| Caffeine | 35 mg per serving (from cacao and black tea, per MUD\WTR) | Naturally contains some caffeine, less than a typical cup of coffee |
| Flavor | Spiced, chai-like, earthy | Rich, deep dark chocolate; no sugar |
| How you make it | Whisk or froth the powder into hot water or milk | Melt a piece into hot coffee, water or milk (30 seconds, stir or froth) |
| Works in your coffee? | Designed to replace coffee | Designed to go in your coffee, or be drunk on its own |
| Price per serving | About $1.34–$1.67 (30-serving tin, subscription vs one-time) | About $1.65–$2.45 a cup (Starter Pack, before shipping) |
The biggest difference: blend vs one ingredient
MUD\WTR is a blend built around mushrooms and spices, with cacao as one part of it. That's the point of the product, and if mushrooms and chai spice are what you want, it does that well.
100% cacao is the opposite approach: nothing but the whole cacao bean, ground with all its natural cacao butter. Our bars measured 47.7% cacao butter on our latest lab test, which is why a piece melts into a hot cup and makes it rich and creamy.
The second difference: replace coffee, or keep it
MUD\WTR is designed as a coffee replacement. Many people don't want to give up coffee; they just want a better cup. 100% cacao works both ways:
- Keep your coffee: melt a piece into it. Here's how.
- Skip the coffee: make a cacao latte with hot water and milk.
- Somewhere in between: half coffee, half cacao, like a cacao mocha.
Price per cup
MUD\WTR is cheaper per serving: about $1.34 on subscription or $1.67 one-time for the 30-serving tin. But you're getting 2 g of cacao in that serving.
Our Starter Pack is $49 for four 100 g bars, which makes about 20 to 30 cups depending on how strong you like it: about $1.65 to $2.45 a cup before shipping. The Ayllu Pack (eight bars, $99) ships free.
Who should choose which
MUD\WTR is probably the better fit if you:
- want mushrooms and chai spices in your cup;
- prefer a powder you can whisk into water;
- want the lowest price per serving.
100% cacao is probably the better fit if you:
- want real cacao to be the main thing in your cup;
- want one ingredient you can read on the label;
- want to keep drinking coffee and make it richer;
- like the taste of dark chocolate.
Other coffee alternatives people compare
- RYZE mushroom coffee contains instant coffee, about 48 mg of caffeine per cup, according to RYZE.
- Crio Bru is roasted, ground cacao beans that you brew like coffee in a French press or drip machine with a mesh filter. They list about 10 mg of caffeine per 8 oz cup (Crio Bru FAQ). It's lighter, more like a tea-coffee than a creamy drink.
- Ceremonial cacao (100% cacao paste) comes from many brands. Here's how to compare them and what "ceremonial grade" really means.
Questions people ask
Does MUD\WTR have real cacao?
Yes: 2,000 mg (2 g) of organic cacao per 6 g serving, according to MUD\WTR.
Is cacao a good MUD\WTR substitute?
If what you like about MUD\WTR is the warm, chocolatey, not-coffee ritual, 100% cacao gives you much more cacao and a simpler ingredient list. If you're buying it for the mushrooms or the chai spices, cacao isn't a substitute for those.
Can I add cacao to MUD\WTR?
Yes. Melt a small piece of 100% cacao into the hot water or milk first, then whisk in the MUD\WTR.
Which has more caffeine?
MUD\WTR lists 35 mg per serving. Cacao naturally contains some caffeine, less than a typical cup of coffee.
Try real cacao
The Starter Pack has four 100 g bars of 100% Chuncho cacao from Cusco, Peru, about 20 to 30 cups, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Or see all our cacao for coffee.
MUD\WTR and RYZE are trademarks of their respective owners. New Incan Empire isn't affiliated with them.
