Making Mushroom Tea
Mushroom tea is a great and easy way to receive the medicine of the mushrooms. Mushroom tea can include medicinal constituents, namely beneficial beta-d-glucans that enhance the body's immune system.
1. I bring my water to a boil for a couple of minutes before adding mushroom material just to burn off anything unwanted that might be in the water. I also use non-chlorinated well water for mushroom tea.
2. Cut the mushrooms, or break the mushrooms, into pieces. The smaller the pieces, the greater the amount of extractable surface area. For large conk mushrooms you might cut the conk into strips like bacon.
3. Dry mushrooms in the sun, in a dehydrator, or in the oven on low with the oven door open open. Do not cook your mushrooms! Do not heat your mushrooms over 104 deg F when you are drying them. If you store your mushrooms without drying them, they will rot or grow mold.
4. Once your mushrooms are dried, you can pulverize or powder them with a blender or food processor if desired.
5. You can combine the dried mushroom material with other mushrooms and herbs like astragalus root, sage, thyme, mint, ginger, turmeric, raw honey, milky oats, or nettle.
6. Put your dried mushroom material in water (on stove top or in crock pot). I recommend using ~half a teaspoon of dried mushroom material per cup of water. You can play with this ratio to your liking and taste preference.
7. Bring the water to a rolling boil for 2-5 min (158 - 176 deg F) to break down the mushroom cell walls. Keep a lid on your tea so that the beneficial volatile oils don't escape.
8. Simmer for at least 2 hours, preferably all day, or for multiple days (e.g. in a crock pot). I keep my tea in a crock pot. When I take a cup of water out of the crockpot I pour another one in, as a sort of regenerative tea system. I keep my mushroom tea warm in the crock pot for 4-5 days. Once the mushroom material stops producing flavor and color in the water, you can add it to compost or bury it outside.
9. If you want to store your tea immediately after making it, refrigerate for 4-5 days or freeze for future use.
Consider enjoying your tea iced!
