Now that you found and foraged or bought some mushrooms to make a tea, how do you it? Well there are a million ways to do anything right, over the years I have done a lot of research, watched a bunch of videos and found that recommendations for making teas from medicinal mushrooms varies quite a bit.
To start with let me give some advice on foraging wild mushrooms. Reishi for example molds very quickly, so drying them completely is essential. My chosen method is to place them on their back, cap down, in the sun. This way the mushroom absorbs additional vitamin D. However if time is an issue or cloudy weather, dehydrating works or opening your oven door, placing the mushrooms on the open door and putting your temperature on low is effective.
Reishi Tea: The best research I have found on making Reishi tea is to use 2 tablespoons of dried Reishi pieces per 1 quart of water. Simply add mushrooms to water and bring to a boil and then turn down so the tea simmers for half an hour. The tea will be reduced pretty significantly. There you have it. Reishi tea has a strong, bitter taste. Some like this, for those that don’t might I suggest using lemon, ginger, honey or green tea as an additive. Use the same Reishi material twice before discarding!
Here’s a few recipes I found: https://purejoyplanet.com/recipes/medicinal-mushroom-tonic-tea/
Reishi Golden Milk Nightcap
Reishi Elderberry Tea
This wonderful tea is a staple during the Winter months. Most herbs can be found at local natural food stores, or online.
- 2 cups water
- 2 tbsp Reishi mushroom tea
- 1 tbsp dried elderberries
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp minced fresh ginger
- 1 slice astragalus root (optional)
- Honey to taste
Add all ingredients in small pot on the stove. Heat on medium-high until the tea reaches a slow, rolling boil. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 10–20 minutes (the longer it goes, the stronger it gets). Turn off heat and strain. Add honey or sweetener for taste.
Turkey Tail Tea: For Turkey Tail tea the same ratios apply, so 2 tablespoons per 1 quart water. Add mushrooms to water and bring to boil, then lower to a simmer for a half an hour. Turkey Tail has a strong mushroom flavor so the same additives can be added. Turmeric can be a nice add in as well.
Recipes:
Turkey Tail and Turmeric Tea
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup chopped turkey tail mushroom
- 5 cups purified water
- 2.5 teaspoons ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon local honey
- 1 drop lemon essential oil
DIRECTIONS:
- Chop the turkey tail mushroom into small pieces and add to a large pot of water on the stove.
- Bring the water to a boil, then simmer for an hour.
- Strain the mixture through a colander. Add a ½ teaspoon of fresh ground turmeric and the honey and stir.
- Add the lemon essential oil and stir again.
- That’s it — time to drink!
If you’d like to add additional flavor, almond milk, one drop of cinnamon, ginger or lemon essential oil, or stevia are good options.
Feel free to add the rest of your turmeric to your leftovers while it’s still warm since it’s easier to blend, and keep any leftovers in the refrigerator. You can then reheat or serve chilled or on ice. —- Dr. Axe
Chaga Tea: Making Chaga tea is a bit different. You could once again use the same measurements of 2 tablespoons per 2 qts of water. Bring water with Chaga added to a high simmer, 150 degrees if you have a thermometer, or small rolling bubbles if you don’t. Turn off burner and let sit 7 hours, I often make mine at night and it’s ready in the morning. It’s important to not boil the Chaga for the first two batches, as it lessens the medicinal qualities. On the third batch bring it a hard boil to extract anything left in the Chaga. Chaga chunks or powder can be used three times before discarding! Chaga tastes good by itself and is neutral in flavor, it can be earthy at times. I like to add fresh ginger, turmeric or licorice roots and a touch of honey.
Recipes on the web: https://www.jesselanewellness.com/recipes/chaga-mushroom-tea-recipes/
Chaga Lemonade:
- 3 cups cold chaga tea
- 2 fresh squeezed lemons
- 2 tablespoons honey/maple syrup
- fresh berries
- 1 tablespoon lavender
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint
Mix together in a pitcher, chill and serve
