What is mushroom tea? If you enjoy regular tea, you’d also enjoy mushroom tea. You’d never get bored as you get to taste and experience more flavor varieties. You even get to explore more types of flavors by combining them with other herbs, other types of tea like black and green tea, and even beverages like coffee and cocoa! Variety of flavors aside, you also reap some benefits that are great for your overall health and wellness! Making your own mushroom tea isn’t that hard, but the existence of mushroom powder extracts makes it even easier! So come and venture further into the world of mushroom tea!
What Is Mushroom Tea?
Mushroom tea is, as its name says, specifically, a tea that is made from the extract of edible and fresh mushrooms. Mushroom tea either use dried mushrooms to be infused in hot water or mushroom powdered extract to be dissolved in water or other compatible beverages. Some mushroom tea generally contains lingzhi mushrooms or psychedelic mushrooms, while others use medicinal mushrooms that have high beta-glucan levels. Other flavorings and ingredients, such as adaptogenic herbs, may be blended into mushroom tea to give them a different flavor or add additional nutrients, benefits, and effects.
Does Mushroom Tea Have Caffeine?
Unlike a regular tea bag, mushroom tea uses pure, natural mushrooms or extracts that don't contain any caffeine. The only times they would have caffeine is by blending them with certain teas or if a manufacturer uses or mixes them with coffee, but that would already be "mushroom coffee" or a form of mixed blend and not exactly mushroom tea anymore. Herbal teas don't contain caffeine if you are after a caffeine-free blend. Certain mushrooms, such as Cordyceps, also contain natural properties that help boost energy levels and mental alertness. Mixing them with coffee would result in a powerful energy booster!
How Does Mushroom Tea Taste?
It actually varies depending upon the mushroom used, with a typically shared taste of being earthy. Some mushrooms are more robust in flavor, while others are as good as flavorless. Here is the taste of some of the most common functional mushroom tea to give you a better idea of what they taste like:
- Chaga - It offers a mildly earthy and a bit bitter and vanilla-ish, kind of like coffee.
- Lion’s Mane - While Lion’s Mane mushrooms themselves taste seafood-like, they taste quite mild and subtly sweet when in tea form.
- Reishi - It features earthy and quite bitter but could go well with cacao or fixed with honey.
- Cordyceps - You can taste the earthy and nutty flavors, comparable to chestnut mushrooms.
What Are The Benefits Of Drinking Mushroom Tea?
While mushroom teas are a pleasant drink, they are also quite nutritious. They may also provide various benefits for your health and wellness! Mushroom tea also offers the advantage of being able to be absorbed better and faster by the body due to being in concentrated liquid form, allowing the body to absorb the essential compounds easily and not have to deal with breaking down solid matter. Mushrooms have the shared benefits of being rich in vitamins, minerals, protein, and antioxidants, which help fight free radicals. However, mushrooms still provide specific health and wellness benefits depending on the kind of mushroom. Some mushrooms share the same certain benefits, resulting in a more potent effect of that benefit if taken together! Here are some of the most common benefits of mushroom tea to expect:
Immune system support
Mushrooms rich in beta-glucans and polysaccharides may help enhance immune defense to assist in protecting against infectious diseases. Mushrooms that are known to have high properties in enhancing immune function include Reishi and Shiitake mushrooms. Buying fresh mushrooms may help you have a healthy immune system.
Anti-inflammatory effects
Certain mushrooms contain anti-inflammatory compounds, which may help reduce inflammation in parts of the body where they aren’t necessary. Mushrooms with known anti-inflammatory compounds include Chaga and Cordyceps.
Stress relief
Some mushrooms are rich in adaptogens, which may help to cope with stress by promoting a sense of calm and relaxation. Mushrooms known to be rich in adaptogens include Reishi and Lion’s Mane. In addition, it may also help regulate blood sugar levels and control blood pressure.
Improved cognitive function
When it comes to helping support brain health and function, Lion’s Mane is perhaps the best known. Having better cognitive function may help improve one’s memory and increase their focus.
Digestive support
Mushrooms with prebiotic properties may help provide a space in the gut for beneficial and good bacteria to grow, improving digestion in turn. Turkey Tail is one of the mushrooms with prebiotic properties.
Energy boost
Cordyceps is best known when it comes to energy-boosting properties by helping increase the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) in the body and improving the way the body utilizes oxygen, resulting in more energy for the muscles. Adding mushroom tea to your diet may help you get the potential health benefits of mushrooms from their medicinal properties.
What Types Of Mushroom Teas Are There?
There are several types of mushroom tea out there, and it is going to take forever to tackle them all. Still, as long as they are edible mushrooms, they could be converted into mushroom tea. Here are some of the most popular mushroom teas:
Chaga Mushroom Tea
It's a kind of mushroom tea that comes from Chaga mushrooms. Chaga, by default, looks like a slag of coal and cannot be consumed in mushroom form unless you enjoy eating cork, so they are best taken by being converted into tea. Chaga contains anti-inflammatory compounds.
Lion’s Mane Tea
Mushroom tea from Lion’s Mane mushroom. Lion’s Mane appears to be some white, shaggy alien. Still, it is also considered a culinary mushroom aside from being a functional mushroom, so it tastes good! Lion’s Mane is best known for its brain-boosting properties - but it also offers other benefits, such as helping in reducing stress and helping regenerate the nerves.
Reishi Mushrooms Tea
Mushroom tea from Reishi mushroom. Reishi is known for being bitter, but the benefits it could provide are what makes this mushroom worthwhile to consume. So the best way to do so is via tea form and then adding honey to them and mixing them with cocoa or coffee. Reishi mushroom tea may help with immune system support and stress relief.
Cordyceps Tea
Mushroom tea from Cordyceps mushroom. Cordyceps looks more like some bean sprouts instead of actual mushrooms, and its savory, nutty, earthy flavor in tea form is also comparable to unsweetened cocoa powder. Cordyceps are best known for their natural energy-boosting properties and improving mental health, making them a great combo with coffee or regular tea if you really need to stay awake and alert.
Complex Mushroom Tea
Complex mushroom teas are a blend of two or more types of mushrooms, resulting in a unique taste and range of benefits from each mushroom! Certain combinations of mushrooms also result in synergistic effects, with one particular perk of a mushroom having a combination effect with another. Or two different mushrooms sharing the same benefit resulting in the strengthening of said effect.
Can Mushroom Tea Have Side Effects?
Mushroom teas are generally safe to drink; the worse you’d probably get are mild to moderate digestive distress from drinking too much. Anyone taking daily medications, or are under certain health conditions, such as being pregnant, may want to consult their health provider first if planning to incorporate mushroom tea into their daily diet.
Can I Make My Own Mushroom Tea?
Of course! As long as you have the necessary ingredients, such as edible or functional mushrooms around, along with some essential kitchen tools such as a grinder, strainer, and teapot. You could also save yourself a lot of time and trouble by just using a powdered mushroom or a powdered mushroom extract. Some drinkers also add some unsweetened vanilla almond milk to make drinking mushroom tea extra special.
How To Make Mushroom Tea Using Mushroom Powder?
You could also try this Chaga mushroom tea recipe using coarse raw Chaga powder. Coarse Chaga powder is made from Chaga chunks and provides a faster brewing time compared to doing it with raw chunks form. While making mushroom tea still varies depending on the mushroom used and what material you’ll brew, such as dried mushrooms and chunks, the procedure is technically the same, and this would give you a better idea of how to make mushroom tea:
- Prepare a large pot and pour 2 ½ cups (20 oz) of water and ⅔ cups of coarse Chaga powder. (It doesn’t have to be the exact same measurements but always go for a 5-water: 1-powder ratio)
- Boil them together for half an hour (30 minutes).
- After boiling, exclude all coarse particles by straining off the liquid.
- Add some flavorings or pour some into a beverage of your choice and enjoy!
Mushroom powder extract differs from coarse powder because they are finer and more concentrated, has undergone processing, lab analysis, and testing, and may contain additional flavoring. If you’ll be using mushroom powder extract, pour a teaspoon or 2 (check the recommended dose and liquid volume) of mushroom powder into a cup of hot water (or coffee or tea or whatever compatible beverage). Then, stir until the powder dissolves. You could add ice or place it on the fridge if you prefer a cold drink.
Final Thoughts - Drink A Cup Of Mushroom Tea
Having regular tea in your daily diet is good. Still, mushroom tea is better than your typical tea because it offers many health benefits and variety in flavor and is caffeine-free for those who like to avoid or control caffeine intake. Mushroom tea is something you'd want to consider having a daily dose to have a "health-tea" lifestyle!