Mushroom Tea: How to Make It, Best Types and Benefits (UK Guide)

Types of mushroom tea compared

See our guides to reishi, chaga, lion’s mane, cordyceps and turkey tail, or compare them in lion’s mane vs reishi vs cordyceps.

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Lion’s mane is often sold as a nootropic. For the wider picture, see our nootropics UK guide: what they are, what is legal and what the evidence shows.

Which mushroom tea for which goal?

This is what people usually choose each mushroom for. The research is early for all of them, so treat it as a guide to traditions and studies, not a promise.

How to make mushroom tea and how long to steep it

The best way depends on the form you have. Woody dried mushrooms need simmering, not a quick steep.

With dried mushroom slices or chunks

1. Add 1 to 2g of dried mushroom (about 2 to 3 thin slices) to 500ml of water.
2. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently with a lid on for 20 to 30 minutes. Tough mushrooms like reishi and chaga can simmer for up to an hour.
3. Strain into a mug. You can reuse the slices once more.
4. Add honey, lemon, fresh ginger or cinnamon to taste.

With mushroom powder or extract

1. Stir 1 teaspoon of powder or the label serving of extract into a mug of hot (not boiling) water or milk.
2. Whisk well, as powders can clump.

Extracts are concentrated and dissolve easily, so they’re the quickest option. Reishi pairs well with cacao, which hides its bitterness. See our healthy hot chocolate recipe and reishi cacao.

No strainer? Use a cafetière: add hot water to powder or finely chopped mushroom, leave for 10 to 15 minutes, then press. It makes a lighter brew than simmering.

How to make mushroom tea taste better

• Simmer it with fresh ginger, a cinnamon stick or a strip of orange peel.
• Stir in honey or maple syrup once it has cooled a little.
• Mix it half and half with a chai, rooibos or chamomile tea.
• Use it as the base for a hot chocolate: cacao covers reishi’s bitterness best.

Reishi is the slowest and most bitter: see our reishi tea recipe for the full method.

Mushroom tea bags and powders in the UK: what to check

In the UK you can buy mushroom tea in health food shops, larger supermarkets and online. Most of it isn’t a pure mushroom brew:

Before you buy, check the pack for:

• Which mushroom, ideally with its Latin name (Ganoderma lucidum is reishi).
• How much mushroom per bag or serving, in mg. Some tea bags hold around 500mg, well under the 3g to 5.4g a day used in the trials below.
• Fruiting body or mycelium. Mycelium grown on grain can carry a lot of starch from the grain. See reishi extract vs powder.
• The tea base, if you want to avoid caffeine in the evening.
• Added sugar and sweeteners, especially in drink blends.

To be clear: Evopure doesn’t sell a mushroom tea. Our Reishi Mushroom Adaptogenic Complex is a reishi hot chocolate powder (cocoa, reishi mushroom, maca, cinnamon and coconut sugar). Stir 1 to 2 teaspoons into warm water or plant milk, no simmering. It contains a little natural caffeine from the cacao, so it suits the afternoon or early evening rather than just before bed. Compare others in our mushroom hot chocolate guide.

What does mushroom tea do to your body?

A mushroom tea is a hot water extract, which carries the mushroom’s polysaccharides, such as beta-glucans. Reishi research has used polysaccharides taken from a boiling water extract of the fruiting body.

What they do in people is still being studied, and no functional mushroom has an authorised health claim in the UK. Plain mushroom tea is caffeine-free, so it won’t give you a lift like coffee.

How long does it take to feel the effects?

Not after one cup. The human trials used daily doses for weeks: 3g a day of lion’s mane powder for 16 weeks in one, 5.4g a day of reishi extract for 8 weeks in another. A 1 to 2g tea is smaller, and in the lion’s mane trial scores fell again within 4 weeks of stopping.

Mushroom tea benefits: what the research shows

Most research on functional mushrooms uses concentrated extracts in capsules, not tea, and many studies are small. Here’s an honest summary:

The ritual counts too: a plain mushroom tea is caffeine-free, so it makes a good swap for an evening coffee or a glass of wine. See best mushrooms for anxiety and functional mushrooms explained.

Chaga tea: what to know before you drink it

Chaga grows on birch trees and makes a mild, slightly earthy tea that’s popular in northern Europe. It’s rich in antioxidants in lab tests, but there’s little human research on its benefits.

The important caution is that chaga is very high in oxalates, which can damage the kidneys in large amounts. Case reports include a 72-year-old woman who developed kidney damage after taking 4 to 5 teaspoons of chaga powder a day, and a 49-year-old man who developed end-stage kidney disease after taking chaga powder for five years (3g a day for four years, then 9g a day). These are rare cases, but they’re serious.

• Keep chaga to an occasional cup rather than large daily amounts.
• Avoid it if you’ve had kidney stones or kidney problems.
• Check with a pharmacist if you take blood thinners or diabetes medicines.

Does mushroom tea help with weight loss?

There’s no good evidence that mushroom tea helps you lose weight. It’s low in calories if you drink it without sugar or milk, so it can replace higher-calorie drinks, but that’s the main benefit. For weight, the basics still matter most. See menopause weight gain and sugar cravings.

How long does mushroom tea last?

• Brewed tea: up to 3 days in a sealed jar in the fridge. Reheat gently or drink cold.
• Dried mushrooms: 1 to 2 years in an airtight container, somewhere cool, dry and dark.
• Powders: check the best-before date and keep the lid tight, as they absorb moisture.

Throw it away if it smells sour or looks cloudy or mouldy.

Mushroom tea vs mushroom coffee

See mushroom coffee, coffee crash and does caffeine cause anxiety?

Is mushroom tea the same as magic mushrooms?

No. Functional mushrooms such as reishi, chaga, lion’s mane and cordyceps contain no psilocybin and don’t cause a high. “Magic mushroom tea” is made from mushrooms containing psilocybin, which are a Class A drug in the UK, whether fresh or dried. Everything in this guide is about legal functional mushrooms.

Side effects and who should avoid it

• Stomach upset is the most common side effect. Start with a weak cup.
• Chaga is high in oxalates: avoid it if you’ve had kidney stones or kidney problems (see above).
• Reishi may affect blood clotting: avoid with blood thinners or before surgery unless your doctor agrees. It may not suit people on immunosuppressants, and rare case reports link reishi powder to liver injury. Some people report nausea or trouble sleeping.
• Diabetes or blood pressure medicines: some mushrooms may lower blood sugar or blood pressure, so check with a pharmacist.
• Never forage wild mushrooms for tea unless you’re an expert. Some poisonous species look like edible ones.
• We don’t recommend our products during pregnancy or breastfeeding, and they’re for adults only.

Related guides

• Prefer capsules or a drink blend? See best mushroom supplement UK.
• CBD tea: how to make it and what to know.
• Lemon balm tea for a caffeine-free evening cup.
• Cinnamon benefits and side effects, including how much is safe a day.
• Shiitake: why it should be cooked, not steeped.
• Tremella is usually cooked into a sweet soup rather than brewed as tea: see how to cook snow fungus.