My first drink of the stuff was positively candy-like, since I enjoyed the powder mixed into a limited-edition drink served at a Erewhon in Venice, California. Salted Maple Cowboy Brew was made with Cowboy Colostrum, the blue-chip brand in the space. (Other notable makers include Armra colostrum and Costco’s Zena Nutrition.) I sipped the iced organic cold brew latte containing vanilla-flavored Cowboy Colostrum, topped with salted maple cream and drizzled with caramel (a deliciously sweet treat that went down smoother than any flavored latte I’ve ever enjoyed). Meanwhile, the two childhood friends who started Cowboy Colostrum explained how their forays into wellness over they years left them less-than-well. They ticked off dis-ease I could relate to, when they described being protein deficient after stints with veganism, falling prey to colds and flus and other ailments. After trying colostrum and finding its regular use improved everything from their energy level and concentration to hair and skin radiance, they were sold on bringing colostrum to the masses.
This stuff works, they explained, because the nutrients in colostrum target gut health, the focus of so much new nutritional health. “People have learned the gut is like a second brain,” said co-founder Steph Stoikos. “Colostrum repairs the gut lining, builds the gut microbiome, and it’s like a blueprint for the whole system that is rich with probiotics and prebiotics. It’s a really packed superfood.” The founders sent me home with a can of the powder and instructions to start with what they call “a hero dose,” i.e. two or three scoops of the stuff mixed into warm coffee, tea, water or a smoothie. I learned to follow their pro tip, which is to froth the powder into fluids for best mixing, since the only mildly processed milk derivative contains animal protein that resists dissolving. I first tried it in my morning coffee, and then discovered the joy of having it for an evening ritual, like co-founder Jessy Shenfeld does. “I like it at night as a nightcap, a little warm strawberry or chocolate milk drink,” she said.