Mushrooms
Functional mushrooms are special edible mushrooms that have been valued for thousands of years for their special ingredients. In addition to their widespread use in Asia, they have also been known in Europe for centuries, for example from the famous discovery of the ice mummy Oetzi in South Tyrol (3200 BC), alongside whom functional mushrooms were found.
Chaga
Chaga (Inonotus obliquus, Fungus betulinus or clinker polypore) is considered one of the most important functional mushrooms in the Baltics, Russia, Siberia, China, Korea and Japan. This mushroom, which grows high off the ground in birch forests, thrives when exposed to both bitterly cold winters and hot summers. It is exceptionally rich in nutrients, and in the Baltics as well as across what is now known as Russia, the preparation of chaga as a tea has been documented for centuries.
Cordyceps
Cordyceps originally grew in the highlands of Tibet at elevations of over 3000m above sea level. The mushroom was discovered by yak herders, who noticed extraordinary vitality and resistance in the animals that ate it while grazing. Since then, for almost 1500 years, cordyceps has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for strengthening the body.
Reishi
Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum, ling zhi) translates to "divine mushroom of immortality" and rests on a thousands of years of tradition in China as a functional mushroom.
Shiitake
Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) is, alongside reishi, considered one of the most important functional mushrooms and is revered by mushroom connoisseurs for its taste in cuisine. Shiitake has been treasured in China for millennia due to its nutritional value. Available as a mixture of extract and powder, which combines the benefits of both products.