Functional Mushrooms vs Magic Mushrooms (Video)
What is the difference between functional mushrooms and magic mushrooms? I am the founder of Kyoto Botanicals and a former biologist, and the short version is biology. Magic mushrooms belong to the genus Psilocybe. Lion's Mane, Reishi, Chaga and Cordyceps, the four in our (re)GROUND brew, each sit in a separate genus on a separate branch of the fungal tree, so none of them can produce psilocybin.
The Availability Test: Grocery Store vs Regulated Channels
In Colorado, psilocybin is legal, but getting it means going through licensed, regulated channels. Lion's Mane, Reishi, Chaga and Cordyceps are on Amazon, in grocery stores, and probably on DoorDash today. That gap tells you a lot. If a mushroom is sold right next to the button mushrooms and portobellos, it is a food and wellness mushroom, not a psychedelic one.
View Video Key Points & Summary
0:00 - Not the Same Mushrooms: Lion's Mane, Reishi, Chaga and Cordyceps are not magic mushrooms.
0:52 - The Hemp and Marijuana Parallel: The mushroom confusion today mirrors the hemp confusion of the early 2020s.
1:54 - Lion's Mane Show and Tell: A fresh Lion's Mane from the regular mushroom section at Whole Foods.
2:24 - Five Different Genera: Psilocybe vs Hericium, Ganoderma, Inonotus and Cordyceps.
3:48 - Different Compounds: Psilocybin acts on serotonin receptors, functional mushrooms carry beta glucans and triterpenes.
4:35 - No Crossbreeding: Separate genera cannot be bred together, so these can never make psilocybin.
5:22 - The Availability Test: Regulated channels for psilocybin, grocery shelves for functional mushrooms.
6:56 - My Morning Mushroom Coffee: I stir our brew into my own coffee every morning.
Upgrade Your Morning Coffee
Lion's Mane, Reishi, Chaga and Cordyceps fruiting bodies, dual extracted and blended with cacao. Stir it into the coffee you already make for mushroom coffee, your way.
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