Start preparing the tea by deciding if you need to chop up your dried reishis. I like to have smaller pieces of the mushroom because it means that more of the surface area of the mushroom will be exposed to the hot water. This leads to more of the beneficial compounds being extracted from the mushroom and into the tea!

If you only have large pieces of reishis, consider adding them to a food processor and blitzing them briefly to break them up. I wouldn’t recommend blitzing them into a powder because it will be more difficult to strain them out of the tea.

Once you have your mushrooms in the size you want, add the reishi pieces to a saucepan. You want to use about 10 grams reishi slices to a litre of water (or about 4 cups of water). You can optionally add in a handful of slices of fresh ginger to the pot for added health benefits.

Simmer the reishis in water on a low heat for a couple of hours (1-2) to extract the medicinal compounds. You want to avoid rushing the simmering process by using a high heat because our goal is to extract the benefical properties, which is done slowly.

After the hot water extraction is finished, use a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth to strain off the mushroom pieces from the tea. If you’re using powdered reishis, I recommend using cheesecloth doubled over or a coffee filter to strain off the tea. 

After you strain them off, you should about 3 cups of reishi tea left. You can add some to a mug and the rest to an airtight container like a glass jar.

Allow it to cool before drinking. Reishi tea can have a bitter taste, so consider adding a splash of lemon juice or maple syrup to add more flavour.

That’s it! I hope you enjoy it.