Morning Mushroom Magic Tonic

Feb 15, 2018
Joey Rea

So, I have been playing around with herbal ingredients, what's new... But I was checking out my selection the other day and was thinking hmm, I am just coming off of a cleanse and I want a nice and gentle detox tea to support the end of it. I was thinking something to stimulate my liver and support an overall blood purifying effect, so I grabbed my burdock root and pau d'arco. Right as I was grabbing those, my reishi slices caught my eye, so I grabbed those too. I was thinking, hey reishi will support gentle liver detoxification as well, why not toss it in since I love it's mild adaptogenic and calming effect. And of course I, being my creative self, decided this was definitely missing something. I then rummaged through my pantry looking for that last ingredient, chaga. This was slowly becoming a medicinal fungus filled tea.

I tossed these 4 ingredients in my InstantPot, filled it with water and let it pressure cook for 8 minutes. It was a PERFECT decoction*!! Quick, easy, delicious and super nourishing.

As I mentioned above, I was just coming off of my winter Kitchari Cleanse so I made this for my morning drink deciding to stay off coffee as long as I possibly could. So obviously, I did this lil' baby up to the best of my knowledge. I added a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Needless to say, coffee has not been missed since I discovered this fantastic herbal tonic...

The Plants

Burdock Root [Arctium lappa]
This root is a wonderful source of inulin (a prebiotic for our good bacteria to thrive off of). It is also very nourishing, full of minerals and vitamins like phosphorous, calcium, iron, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and ascorbic acid. It can support healthy skin because of its detoxifying properties and mechanisms in the liver, kidneys and gallbladder. It is super tasty too, both earthy and sweet.
Pau D'Arco Bark [Tabebuia impetiginosa]
Pau d'arco is awesome, it purifies the blood, supports lymphatic stimulation and detoxification and is one of our best anti-fungals. Not only is it anti-fungals, but it is antibacterial, anti-viral and anti-parasitic as well.
Chaga Mushroom [Inonotus obliquus]
This tasty mushroom is super high in antioxidants. It is known to have anti-tumor properties (pretty powerful stuff!!). Chaga is also wonderful for digestive issues such as ulcers and gut problems that manifest in the skin like psoriasis. It also helps to modulate the immune system, as do many other medicinal mushrooms.
Red Reishi Mushroom [Ganoderma lucidum]
Reishi is amazing, I can't say enough about it. It is fantastic for the liver, for the heart, for the lungs, for the immune system... basically for the entire human body. It is known as the "Mushroom of Immortality" because of it's inconceivable healing properties and ability to calm the nervous system and support regulation of the endocrine system (aka it's adaptogenic).

*Decoction: An herbal preparation similar to a tea, but simmered and cooked for a longer period of time because of the plant parts used (typically roots, stems, barks, seeds, mushrooms).