Mushroom coffee? This question is often met with a look of suspicion or disgust, but happily it is also becoming more mainstream.
I’ve been drinking mushroom tea- or if brewed dark and bitter, I like to call it mushroom coffee.
How I make it:
The chaga mushroom is hard and woody. It is best to break it up into smaller chunks or a powder, although some prefer to use it as small chunks, maybe the size of an average coin.
I do not tend to follow any exact recipe but I might add a tablespoon of powdered or dried mushroom to about 500ml of water.
I might throw some other medicinal mushrooms or herbs such as turkey tail mushrooms into the brew at the boiling and simmering stage, or maybe birch polypore, reishi, artist conk, lions mane, dandelion root, ginger, liquorice or whatever I have on hand. Or keep it simple and just use chaga or any one of these ingredients.
It can be decocted -brought to the boil and then simmered for at least 20 minutes, (or for much longer depending on if you’re sitting next to your warm stove for long stretches of time!) I then strain out the hard and woody mushroom material and drink the liquid. (Don’t toss the mushroom material, it can be re-boiled many times over until it loses its properties.)
I mix it with my milk of choice and a spoon of honey sometimes.
Alternatively I use this medicinal mushroom broth to add to miso soup, as a stock for any other soups or sauces. I use this broth to cook my rice in. Or I mix some of this into my ‘real’ coffee. Get it into you any way you can! You could also add some to your favourite smoothie recipe.
This mushroom has a lot of reported positive health benefits. It is full of anti-oxidants and has been reputed to have anti-cancer benefits among many other things. But beyond all of that, I find it a delicious way to get medicinal mushrooms into my wellness regime and is as satisfying a process as brewing a cuppa coffee.
Here is a link to some dried chaga chunks in my shop should you like to try this for yourself: https://www.hipsandhaws.com/product/wild-chaga-mushroom-medicinal-mushrooms/