How to Make Mushroom Tea (Beginner’s Guide + Recipes)

We’re all familiar with herbal teas like green tea, hibiscus, chamomile - but did you know you can also make teas out of mushrooms?!

Mushrooms have been utilized for centuries in Eastern traditions for purposes like grounding, improving focus, and general overall wellness.

Note: we're not talking about "magic" mushrooms in this guide, we're talking about medicinal mushrooms such as Lion's Mane Mushrooms (which has been proven to help with promoting optimal brain function) and Reishi Mushrooms (which has been shown to improve relaxation and immune support).

Let's start with one of our favorites.

Lion’s Mane Mushroom Tea: 

Lion's mane makes for a great beginner friendly mushroom tea. Like we mentioned earlier in this article Lion's Mane has been shown to help with memory, brain function, and has even shown promising results for promoting neurogenesis.

For all of mushroom teas in general, we're basically going to be starting with the same method of boiling some water in a pot.

Get your water to violently boiling and then let it sit for about 3 to 4 minutes. Some mushrooms like to be extracted at hotter temperatures while some prefer a slightly lower temperature - so aim to get your water to about 140° F before tossing in your dry Lion's mane. 

Reishi Mushroom Tea (ganoderma lucidum): 

Reishi mushrooms, also known as the “immortality mushroom” in some Eastern regions, has been believed to harbor a plethora of health benefits. 

They're tough and woody whether you get them fresh or try, so their use in culinary dishes is pretty limited. Give it a chew and you’ll see why! 

Since they have a much tougher exterior, they prefer a slightly higher water temperature for proper extraction - aim to have your water at or around 160° F when you toss in your dried reishi mushrooms. If you’re using a powder, opt for a slightly lower temp of 140-150° F.

Chaga Mushroom Tea: 

Chaga mushrooms are rightfully in a class of their own. They're one of the harder / rarer mushrooms to come by, and thus end up being slightly more expensive - but there’s a reason. 

While most mushrooms are farmed in controlled environments and worked into a farm’s “business plan”, chaga mushrooms have to be professionally foraged for in areas like old growth forests. 

Chaga, much like Reishi mushrooms, have a tough and woody exterior - it’s definitely not a type of mushroom you’d want to add to your salad or try eating straight up! 

After you get your water boiling, wait about 2 - 2.5 minutes before throwing in your Chaga Mushroom pieces. 

Sourcing your Mushroom Products: 

When you’re sourcing your products, especially when you’re intending to use them for health promoting purposes, buying from the right farm / manufacturer is very important.

When we’re juicing for inflammation or other reasons, we always keep in mind how important it is to pick out organic and clean produce. Extracting a fruit / vegetable with heavy chemicals will only concentrate those harmful pounds even more. 

Here’s a few of the brands we personally trust and would confidently promote:

Host Defense‍

Founded and established by Paul Stamets, known by some as the godfather or mushroom science. He’s dedicated his life to carving the way for the scientific community to further explore the world of fungi - a field that had not received as intensive attention prior to him shaking up the industry. 

The entire brand is dedicated towards providing science-backed products ethically and cleanly. As of the time of writing this, Host Defense it not only carbon netural, they’re a carbon positive organization! 

So they’re not only putting out as much energy as they consume - they’re contributing MORE than they consume. 

Four Sigmatic

It’s a well established brand that has, over the last few years, found its way into most major health food stores and grocery stores. 

Along with their line of medicinal mushrooms intended for use in teas, they also offer a long line of mushroom coffees! 

Currently, their blend of coffee and lions mane mushrooms have been very popular among influencers and content creators.

Mushroom consumption Form 

Cut and Dried: When you’re trying to properly extract the beneficial compounds from mushrooms via hot water, you’ll want more surface area contact with the water. Throwing in a whole mushroom will leave a ton of beneficial compounds locked within the innards of the fungi. 

Powdered: There’s no better way to get maximum surface area contact than to create a fine powder, right? 

Yes - in a way. 

If you’re throwing this powder into something like a juice or as a sprinkle on your food, a powder is much more versatile than whole / cut mushrooms. 

However for teas, it’s important to use minimal amounts and brew at a lower temperature. Maximum surface area exposure also means there’s more surface area for degradation. Tossing in powders into too hot of a brew could potentially degrade a portion (amount depends on the temperature) the beneficial compounds you intend to consume.  

Capsules: Probably one of the most convenient ways to get your mushroom compounds in throughout the way. If you've got your own powdered and dried mushroom powder, consider filling up a few geletin (or vegan) capsules and incorporating them into your morning / afternoon / nighly routine! 

Again, we want to stress the fact that sourcing and quality are very important to consider. If possible, go with one of the brands we mentioned above, or make sure to due thorough research into the vendor you choose to purchase your mushrooms from! 

We hope this helps those of you out there that were either curious about how to make mushroom teas or those of you who didn't even know "mushroom teas" were a thing! 

Final Note: Please do not forage for your own mushrooms if you are not a trained professional. If you choose to grow your own, please opt for a trustworthy brand, we’ve listed a few below: 

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