Cordyceps — the mushroom of the breath, from the Tibetan high plateaus to the morning cup

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The quiet kingdom — roots, polypores, mycelium. The resilience of the living, ready for every day.

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A fungus that colonises a caterpillar underground through the winter, then pushes a thin brown stalk out of the soil in spring. Tibetans call it yartsa gunbu, "summer grass, winter worm". Botanists now name the wild species Ophiocordyceps sinensis.

Yartsa gunbu, the harvest of the high plateaus

The wild fungus grows on the high pastures of Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal, above 3,000 metres. In spring, nomad families look for it on their knees in the grass, one by one. Tibetan medical texts mention it since at least the 15th century, and the herders' use is probably older.

Chinese medicine links it to the Lung and Kidney meridians, which it associates with breath and essence, the jing. Its reputation is that of a companion for people who climb: the herders of the high pastures, and anyone with a slope ahead of them.

The wild harvest weighs on the pastures, and the fungus has become rare and very expensive. That is why we do not sell wild cordyceps.

Our cordyceps: CS-4 strain mycelium

Our cordyceps is a 6:1 powdered extract of cultivated Cordyceps sinensis mycelium, strain CS-4, from the same lineage as yartsa gunbu, made in Estonia. It is alcohol-free, vegan, and dissolves fully in water.

Contents declared by the maker and checked by an independent laboratory: over 20% beta-glucans, over 30% polysaccharides, over 0.5% adenosine, over 10% protein. The 45 g jar is violet Miron glass, which keeps the extract out of the light.

How to take it

The tip of a spoon, 0.25 to 1 g, in a warm drink: tea, coffee, plant milk or water just off the boil, in the morning. The extract is already concentrated: it dissolves in a few minutes, no long steeping. Many add it to their coffee, or to a herbal latte. Start with a small amount and observe. A jar lasts six weeks to three months depending on the amount.

Precautions

• Autoimmune disease, anticoagulant medication: not without medical advice.
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding: avoid without professional advice.
• Start with small amounts.

When in doubt, your doctor before the mushroom.

Sources

• Daniel Winkler, "Yartsa Gunbu (Cordyceps sinensis) and the Fungal Commodification of Tibet's Rural Economy", Economic Botany, 2008.
• Our maker's technical sheet: Cordyceps sinensis CS-4 mycelium extract, 6:1 ratio, declared contents.

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