 | ||
Mushroom tea is an infusion of mushrooms in water, made by using edible mushrooms, psychedelic mushrooms (such as psilocybe cubensis), or medicinal mushrooms (such as Reishi).
The active ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms is psilocybin, while the active ingredients in medicinal mushrooms are thought to be beta-glucans.
The extraction process involved in creating mushroom tea is variable, but typically involve repeatedly soaking the mushrooms in less-than boiling water and straining the fungal matter afterwards.
By extracting the components of the fungal matter into the boiling water, residual psilocybin can be accumulated and stored for later use.
Many variations exist in creating mushroom tea, including simple straining, using teabags, using coffee makers, adding vitamin C, and slightly acidifying the water (ex: with lemon juice).
The resulting tea can be mixed with certain other drinks in order to dilute any unpleasant taste, being careful that the mixture will not destroy the active substances.
Depending on the quality of the extraction, the remaining solid matter may have some residual active substances. It can be consumed (being fully hydrated), used in another batch, or discarded.