The backpacking mixes · Just add hot water
MB2 · trail formTrail Ambrosia Activation
MB2, backpacking form · just add hot water
The home version depends on a fresh grinder, a blender, and a refrigerator. The trail version’s whole trick is powdered fats: butter powder and heavy cream powder carry milk solids that act as their own emulsifier, and a half-dose of MCT powder (on acacia fiber) helps hold everything in suspension. Pre-blend the dry mix at home — cacao that rafts on hot water by itself shakes in clean when its particles are interspersed with the cream and honey granules.
Kit: one insulated shaker mug with a leak-proof lid. Hot-not-boiling water, cap, shake 20 seconds, vent carefully, enjoy.
Core mix — per serving (~33 g, about $2.30)
| Ingredient | Product pick | Amount | Grams |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coffee | Mount Hagen organic freeze-dried (the only taste-respectable + certified-organic + affordable instant) | 2 rounded tsp | 3.5 g |
| Butter | It’s Just! grass-fed butter powder | 1.5 tbsp | 10 g |
| Cream | Anthony’s heavy cream powder (72% butterfat) | 1 heaping tbsp | 8 g |
| Cacao | Navitas Organics, non-alkalized | 1 scant tbsp | 5 g |
| Honey | Granules in-mix, or a 9 g honey packet on the side | 2 tsp | 7 g |
Ten servings ≈ 330 g (12 oz) of pack weight. For a dairy-free or fully-organic version, swap both dairy powders for organic coconut milk powder — it dissolves the easiest of all the fat carriers.
Full send mix — per serving (~44 g, about $3.45)
Core, plus the optionals that actually behave in a shaken drink:
| Ingredient | Amount | Grams |
|---|---|---|
| MCT oil powder (Sports Research organic, acacia carrier — doubles as the emulsifier) | half serving | 5 g |
| Mushroom extract powder (extract, not whole-mushroom — extracts spray-dry and dissolve) | 1.5 g | |
| Baobab (genuinely dissolves — it’s soluble fiber and fruit acids) | 2 g | |
| Matcha (sift into the blend at home; it clumps from static otherwise) | 1 g | |
| Ceylon cinnamon | 0.5 g | |
| Ashwagandha | 0.6 g | |
| Cardamom | 0.3 g | |
| Vanilla powder | 0.3 g |
Per-trip swap-ins: instant yerba mate (+2 g — caffeine on caffeine, know thyself) or instant Teeccino (3 g) as the evening decaf version.
Batch prep
- Multiply by your mornings; dry-blend everything in one bowl at home.
- Whisk thoroughly — the pre-blend is what makes the shake-in work.
- Portion into per-serving bags, or one bag plus a 33 g (~3 tbsp) scoop.
- If using honey packets instead of granules, count them out and pack out the sticky wrappers.
What’s lost vs. home, honestly
- Fresh-roasted, fresh-ground coffee — the compromise the whole mix rests on. Freeze-dried organic is the best available stand-in.
- Raw honey — honey granules are honey plus cane sugar; drying kills “raw” no matter the brand. If raw matters, carry packets or a 2 oz squeeze bottle (≈ 6 servings).
- Grass-fed cream — no grass-fed or organic heavy cream powder meaningfully exists at retail; accept conventional cream powder or go coconut.
- Almond butter and tahini — omitted: oily nut pastes will not disperse in hot water without a blender, period.
- Triphala — omitted from the drink: bitter, gritty, insoluble. Carry capsules and take them at camp.
- Moringa — omitted: leaf particles float and streak in a shaken cup.
Lazy options, benchmarked
No commercial mix contains real butter + cream + cacao + honey. Four Sigmatic instant packets (~$1.75, organic, no fats) plus a 4th & Heart ghee packet gets closest in spirit — and costs more than this mix. Ed’s counsel applies regardless: morning beverage is its own quality assurance, especially when camping.