Ontario company ATETE offers four cycle-synced coffee blends for women

An Ontario-based coffee company called ATETE has launched four blends designed around the menstrual cycle, each matched to a different hormonal phase.

Founders Monja Petersen and Marlene Sturm created the blends after Petersen experienced premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a severe hormone-based mood disorder occurring a week or two before menstruation. Petersen and Sturm, who are friends, fellow moms and coworkers, roast the coffee themselves and describe ATETE as a wellness product, not a medical treatment.

Each blend varies in caffeine level, roast and flavour. The Rest Blend for menstruation uses Brazil and Hawaii beans in a natural, medium-dark roast with low-to-moderate caffeine and a quarter-caf option, mostly Swiss Water decaf. The Rise Blend for the follicular phase combines Colombia and Papua New Guinea beans in a washed, medium-light roast with moderate-to-full caffeine. The Peak Blend for ovulation pairs Colombia and Guatemala beans in a washed medium roast.

Subscribers receive a cycle map to track when to switch blends and an option for people with irregular cycles. "It's so hard on the market to actually find a product that supports you as a woman throughout your cycle if you love coffee and you still don't want to have the negative side effects," Sturm said. Petersen added: "We're using a different kind of coffee in each phase because we believe that a woman in each phase smells, reacts, has different symptoms, and the hormones are completely different in each phase."