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For millions of us, morning begins almost automatically:
Wake up.
Make coffee.
Start moving.
But what if your first warm cup of the day didn't always have to be coffee?
What if, some mornings, it were bone broth?
I'm not suggesting that we declare coffee the enemy. I enjoy the rituals that make life pleasurable, too.
The more interesting question is:
What are you asking your morning cup to do for you?
Coffee and bone broth are fundamentally different foods. One is primarily a caffeinated beverage. The other can provide protein-derived amino acids and the goodness of whatever whole ingredients you choose to simmer with it.
Perhaps we shouldn't be asking which one wins.
Perhaps we should be asking whether our mornings could use a little more nourishment.
Coffee's most famous constituent is caffeine. Its effects on alertness and attention are well established, which helps explain why coffee has become such a deeply rooted morning ritual.
Bone broth doesn't work that way.
Traditional broth is made by simmering bones, connective tissue and other ingredients in water. During cooking, components from those ingredients enter the broth.
Recent food-science research on bovine bone broth identified 17 amino acids, with glycine, alanine and proline among the prominent amino acids measured. Researchers also identified dozens of volatile compounds contributing to broth's characteristic flavor.
That's an important distinction.
A cup of broth isn't a stimulant.
It's food.
This is where we should separate tradition from hype.
Bone broth is frequently marketed as if every cup contains enormous and predictable quantities of collagen, minerals and other nutrients.
Science tells us the reality is more nuanced.
The nutritional composition of bone broth can vary considerably according to the bones, ingredients, acidity, water ratio, temperature and cooking time.
One analysis of bone broth found protein, amino acids and minerals in the finished broth. Another study showed that longer cooking and acidity affected extraction of calcium and magnesium—but also found that broth wasn't necessarily a major dietary source of those minerals.
And a study comparing bone broths with collagen supplements found that homemade and commercial broths did not provide consistent concentrations of the collagen-related amino acids used in collagen research.
That doesn't make broth less interesting.
It makes it real food rather than a standardized supplement.
When you make broth yourself, you decide what goes into the pot.
Bones.
Chicken feet or joints if desired.
Onion.
Carrot.
Celery.
Garlic.
Ginger.
Herbs.
Mushrooms.
Sea vegetables.
Whatever fits your family's way of eating.
That's one of the things I love about traditional cooking: nourishment doesn't have to come from a scoop.
It can come from dinner.
For years, I've had a passion for studying nutrition and the relationship between what we eat and how we feel and live.
I've become fascinated by something that is difficult to reduce to a single beauty metric: vitality.
Sometimes beauty isn't makeup.
It's bright eyes. Healthy-looking skin. Energy. Presence. A positive outlook. The way someone seems genuinely alive and engaged with the world.
Of course, we can never know another person's health simply by looking at them, nor should we judge it.
But the larger idea has stayed with me:
What happens inside us and how we care for ourselves can influence how we experience life on the outside.
That's one reason I've never viewed food simply as calories.
Food is part of how we nourish a life.
— Michelle Liu, Founder of VitaClay
Not necessarily.
Try thinking about it differently.
Coffee when you want coffee.
Broth when you want nourishment.
Some mornings, you might even enjoy both.
Instead of automatically reaching for caffeine the moment you wake up, experiment with a warm cup of homemade broth first—or enjoy it as a mid-morning ritual.
Notice how you feel.
Traditional broth can require hours of simmering.
That's precisely the kind of traditional cooking VitaClay was created to make easier.
Add your bones, water, vegetables and aromatics to the VitaClay Nourishing Pot, choose the appropriate cooking program, and let time and gentle cooking do the work without tending a stockpot all day.
Make a batch, refrigerate portions and warm a cup whenever you want one.
Ancient nourishment doesn't have to mean an ancient workload.
Maybe the question isn't:
Bone broth or coffee?
Maybe it's:
How can I bring more real nourishment into an already busy life?
Sometimes the answer starts with one warm cup.
Can I drink bone broth in the morning?
Yes. Bone broth can be enjoyed at any time of day, including as a warm savory morning beverage.
Does bone broth contain collagen?
Broth made from collagen-rich bones and connective tissues contains collagen-derived gelatin and amino acids, but concentrations vary substantially by recipe and preparation method. It shouldn't be treated as a standardized collagen supplement.
Does bone broth give you energy like coffee?
Not in the same way. Coffee contains caffeine, while broth is a food containing nutrients derived from its ingredients.
How long should homemade bone broth cook?
Recipes vary. Research shows cooking conditions—including time, temperature and acidity—affect what is extracted into broth.
Next read:
Homemade vs. Packaged Bone Broth: What's Really the Difference?
Cook • Nourish • Gather • Thrive
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Discover the benefits of homemade soup and bone broth, from satiety and gut-friendly whole foods to nutrients that support healthy skin. Plus, learn how to build a nourishing superfood soup in VitaClay.
