Unlocking Ancient Secrets: A Short History of Lion's Mane, Chaga and Turkey Tail

Mushrooms have been part of kitchens, folk traditions and forest walks for a very long time. Three of them show up in our Focus Fuel Mushroom Coffee: Lion's Mane, Chaga and Turkey Tail. Here is a short, friendly tour of where each one grows, what it is called around the world, and how people have traditionally prepared it.

Lion's Mane: The Shaggy Pom-Pom

Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceus) is easy to spot. It grows as a white cluster of long, soft spines that hang down like icicles or a lion's mane. You will find it on dead or dying hardwood trees such as oak and beech across North America, Europe and Asia.

In China it is known as hou tou gu, or "monkey head mushroom." In Japan it is called yamabushitake, named after the yamabushi, the mountain ascetics whose tufted garments look a lot like the mushroom. In both places it has long been a cooking mushroom, sliced and added to soups and broths.

Chaga: The Black Birch Conk

Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) does not look like a typical mushroom at all. It forms a dark, craggy, charcoal-like mass on the trunks of birch trees, mostly in cold northern forests across Siberia, Russia, northern Europe, Canada and the northern United States. Break it open and the inside is a rusty orange-brown.

"Chaga" is the Russian name for it. In Russian and Eastern European folk traditions, the hard growth was chipped or grated and simmered for a long time into a dark, earthy, tea-like drink. In lean times, it was even used as a stand-in for coffee, which makes it a fitting ingredient for a mushroom coffee.

Turkey Tail: The Cloud Mushroom

Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) is one of the most widespread mushrooms in the world. You will see it on fallen logs and stumps in woods all around the world, growing in thin, layered fans with concentric stripes of brown, tan, gray and blue. The pattern looks a lot like the tail feathers of a wild turkey.

In China it is called yun zhi, or "cloud mushroom," named for the swirling bands. In Japan it is known as kawaratake. Because it is tough and leathery, it is not a mushroom for the frying pan. Traditionally it was dried and simmered in water for a long time to make teas and broths.

What They Have in Common

Different forests, different continents, different names. But the same pattern repeats: these mushrooms were gathered from the wild, dried or sliced, and then simmered into something warm to drink or eat. A pot on the stove, a little patience, and a cup to share.

How Funkin Good Uses All Three

We thought that was a great story to put in a coffee cup. So we did.

Focus Fuel is our instant mushroom coffee, and it has all three mushrooms in it. Each 1 tsp (3 g) serving has a 500 mg mushroom blend: Lion's Mane 200 mg, Chaga 150 mg and Turkey Tail 150 mg. The mushrooms are sourced from 100% fruiting bodies, which is the part of the mushroom people have traditionally harvested and brewed. Each serving also has 80 mg of caffeine, 3 calories and 0 g sugar.

The recipe is short on purpose: four ingredients, no fillers. It tastes like coffee, with smooth, steady energy and no crash, no jitters. To make it, stir 1 tsp into 12 oz of hot water, or go iced by dissolving 1 tsp in 2 oz of warm water, adding 10 oz of cold water, and pouring over ice.

The simmering is already done for you. All you need is a mug.

Try Focus Fuel Mushroom Coffee and taste the three mushrooms for yourself.

Contains caffeine. Not recommended for children, pregnant or nursing women, or people sensitive to caffeine.