For the shroom-curious

a mushroom in the forest in an article about functional mushrooms brands
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15 Delicious & Functional Mushroom Coffees, Chocolates, Powders & Tinctures To Try

Make some roomy for these ‘shroomies.

by Miranda Rake
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
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If you’re curious about adding adaptogens to your life, these functional mushroom supplement products are a fun, and often delicious, way to try it out. Whether you want to swap mushroom coffee for your usual morning brew, blend an adaptogen-laden powder into a smoothie, or just pop a ‘shroom mint (but not that kind of ‘shroom), there’s a functional mushroom brand that’s got what you’re looking for. And no, they’re not psychedelic at all — these functional mushroom products won’t make you trip.

What are functional mushrooms?

Before you dive in, it’s important to consider which functional or ‘adaptogenic’ mushroom suits your fancy. Adaptogens are nontoxic substances, and “especially a plant extract that is held to increase the body’s ability to resist the damaging effects of stress and promote or restore normal physiological functioning,” or so says Merriam-Webster, who we’re turning to because the term itself is somewhat murky. These five mushrooms are the so-called adaptogens you’ll see most often in functional mushroom products, and have been valued in non-Western cultures for their healing properties for millennia:

  • Cordyceps
  • Lion’s mane
  • Reishi
  • Chaga
  • Turkey tail

What do functional mushrooms do?

Clinical research around functional mushrooms is still evolving, but mycologist Dr. Jessie Uehling, an assistant professor in the department of botany and plant pathology at Oregon State University, about the potential benefits of fungi, is was quite positive about their possible healing or supportive properties. “We know that functional mushrooms help with all sorts of thing — from relaxation to sleep, to energy, to blood flow and [they have] antimicrobial properties. But how they work is unknown,” Uehling explains. “That puts us in an interesting gray zone, because, in our culture, moving things through regulatory processes, depends on understanding that. You’re seeing companies like these pop up, and they’re making (it seems like) high-quality products that are probably going work like they say they do. But it’s interesting that — at least in our cultural framework — that we don’t really know how they do. There’s a lot of research that will be done in the near future trying to understand this better.”

If you’re mushroom-curious, here are the functional mushroom brands we’ve got our eyes on right now.

1Super Mush Mint Bundle

The bundle of two tins of mushroom mints includes “creativity,” a proprietary blend of organic cordyceps, organic reishi mushrooms, and “flow,” which gets its oomph from organic lion’s mane mushrooms and organic reishi.

Tastes like: Cinna-minty, with an herbal element. An Altoid this is not.

2Alice Mushrooms The Duo

Alice Mushrooms are relatively new on the scene, but they’ve been exploding in popularity. Made only with the “fruiting body” of the mushrooms they use — meaning the part of the fungi that grows above ground — they’re high-quality and delicious functional mushroom product. The “Nightcap” has quickly become part of my evening wind down routine.

Tastes like: A little square of chocolate, but more fudgy than snappy.

3Mount Sunny “Happy Tree”

“Like a happy tree, this blend of herbs will help you energetically move upward and outward,” says Mount Sunny of this mushroom supplement that’s meant to boost your mood. Made with reishi and lion’s mane, it’s packaged in little capsules that you can swallow with your other vitamins and supplements, so it certainly goes down easy.

Tastes like: Nada. You just swallow these like a vitamin.

4Taika Oat Milk Latte

Fortified with lion’s mane, cordyceps and reishi, this canned mushroom coffee also contains actual coffee, for the caffeine boost that so many of us rely on to kickstart the day. Creamy and lightly sweet, it quite possibly the most low-effort, ready-to-drink mushroom coffee we’ve come across.

Tastes like: Creamy, slightly sweet — pretty much like an oat milk latte should taste.

5Kin Euphorics Lightwave

On one hand, I’m all the functional beverage marketplace has really gotten out of control. But then, I am also like, OK, sold when I read Kin’s claim that Lightwave is “like naked forest bathing at midnight.” What’s a girl to do but click? Made with lavender, vanilla, passionflower, and smoked sea salt, this (currently sold out) drink is a whole vibe.

Tastes like: A little floral, a little sweet, Kin suggests swapping Lightwave for your nightly glass of red.

6Moodbeli Mushroom Adaptogen

This adaptogenic blend of “reishi, cordyceps and raw organic cacao may nourish the immune system, soothe the respiratory system, and enhance well-being,” says Moodbeli. Designed to taste like a creamy cocoa when blended with a milk of your choosing, this one definitely is intended to make you feel good, regardless of functionality.

Tastes like: Cocoa. Moodbeli explicity promises “no mushroom taste” when this powder is combined with a plant milk, like oat or hemp.

7De Soi “Champignon Dreams”

Lightly carbonated and beautifully packaged for the sober (and sober-curious) among us, this wind-down alcohol alternative is “made with a dreamy duo of reishi mushroom and passion flower to ease you into the evening.”

Tastes like: A bit bittersweet, fizzy with notes of strawberry and grapefruit. You can use it as a mocktail base if you’d like to mix it with a little fruit juice or sparkling water, or just sip as-is over ice.

8Rainbo 11:11 Super Multi-Mushroom Synergy

This functional mushroom extract is like a one-stop shop for mushrooms that are believed to have health-related superpowers. It includes reishi, chaga, lion’s mane, cordyceps, turkey tail, oyster, mesima, agarikon,shiitake, royal sun, and maitake. According to Rainbo, “mushrooms work in synergy with each other to protect and support the body and mind, supporting your immune system and resilience.”

Tastes like: You probably won’t really taste this one, because you’re meant to mix it into smoothies or other flavorful beverages. If you do take it as-is in a glass of water, it’ll just taste medicinal.

9MUD/WTR Mushroom Boost

This powdered blend of eight functional mushrooms cuts right to the chase. You can add it to coffee, tea, or just about anything you’d like to give a little boost to.

Tastes like: Another one you aren’t really meant to taste, this mushroom powder will simply blend into whatever you add it to — smoothies or your morning latte.

10Anima Mundi Lion’s Mane Powder

Anima Mundi’s website does not shy away from making some of the most powerful supplement claims I’ve encountered, all (of course) with the caveat that the FDA does not evaluate the claims. That said, if this “nootropic” lion’s mane powder can actually “protect against stomach ulcers, reduce anxiety and depression, aid cognitive function, and has anti-fatigue and anti-aging properties,” I’m on board for sure.

Tastes like: Medicine. But you’ll mask that by blending it into your morning coffee or smoothie.

11Moon Juice Reishi Powder

You can’t round up adaptogens and functional mushroom powders without talking about Moon Juice, can you? Mushrooms have been used for healing for thousands of years, so Moon Juice is hardly the “OG”, but they were definitely an early adapter of the modern, Western “wellness” movement and their powders and “dusts” have a serious following.

Tastes like: Mushrooms. The only ingredient in this powder is reishi mushrooms, so you’ll really want to blend it into something else.

12Renude “Chagaccino”

Renude’s Chagaccino is meant to go into your morning cup of coffee, clearly. “Spiked with an effective dose of the planet’s greatest adaptogens to support immunity, promote anti-aging, boost your energy without the jitters, and protect your chill.” Clinically proven? Perhaps not. But chaga mushrooms have been used in folk medicine for a long time and may have supportive or beneficial qualities.

Tastes like: The Chagaccino is a powder sweetened with monkfruit, and flavored with cacao and cinnamon. You’re meant to combine it with espresso and add it to milk of your choice to sip as a mushroom-empowered morning boost.

13Cleban & Daughters Electra Tincture

Offering “support for those seeking more mindfulness, energy & focus,” this adaptogen-loaded tinture from Cleban & Daughters exists to “invite clarity to a foggy mind & lightness to a weary body,” or so they say. Sounds great to me.

Tastes like: Another one that tastes like medicine, because that’s how you’re meant to ingest it. “Take sublingually or add one full squeeze of the dropper bulb (1 ml) to still or sparkling water,” Cleban & Daughters recommends.

14Sun Potion Cordyceps Powder

Sun Potion sells a wide range of adaptogenic tinctures and powders, but their cordyceps powder stood out (I blame The Last of Us, obviously). Of the mushroom supplement powder, Sun Potion says: “This Yang tonic may also support increased oxygenation throughout the body, as well as boosting the immune system and improving muscle tone and exercise performance. It’s also believed that cordyceps may have anti-aging properties and may fight inflammation in the body.”

Tastes like: Mushroom powder. But you can make it taste however you want by mixing it into your smoothie or coffee.

15Four Sigmatic Golden Latte

I’ve started noticing these little packets of turkey tail mushroom-and-turmeric powder at the grocery store check out, so this one wins points for sheer availability, at least. Just add hot water and stir for a cozy drink that just might offer some health benefits, too.

Tastes like: Creamy — thanks to the addition of powdered coconut milk — with warm spices. It doesn’t taste “mushroom-y” at all.

Whether or not these functional mushroom coffees, chocolates, tinctures and powders are the wellness superheroes that their makers believe them to be, they’re lovely to look at, great for gifting, and — for the most part — as delicious as they are beautifully-packaged. Plus, if you’re looking to replace alcohol with a different kind of wind-down tipple, many of these drinks offer a great, certainly healthier, alternative to booze.

Expert:

Dr. Jessie Uehling, an assistant professor in the department of botany and plant pathology at Oregon State University

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