About Us
Enjoy this mini-documentary about Sam's journey running Mindfull Mycology
Since we started this journey in 2019, a lot has changed. Our integrity-led ethos, commitment to potency, and passion for improving people's lives through mushroom medicine has not.
At Mindfull Mycology, we believe in doing things the right way and accepting whatever result follows. Everything we do begins with intention, care, respect, and a love for the fungi and the people who consider themselves "friends to the fungi."
Before a product ever arrives at your door, we conduct years of research and testing to ensure it meets the highest standards of quality, potency and sustainability. We think you'll taste and experience the integrity and passion in each bottle, or what we like to call the Mindfull Mycology Method.
Thanks for being here,
Sam
Meet Sam
The Man Behind Mindfull Mycology
2012 – 2017
Worked as a journalist, won awards for investigative and feature writing.
2018
After a yearlong investigation into contamination by the Air Force at Ellsworth Air Force Base of nearby residents' private well water with PFAS "forever chemicals," experienced severe professional burnout and quit.
2019
Backpacked through Central America for 6 months on "chicken buses" until landing in Guatemala at the Fungi Academy. Returned to the U.S. and began growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms as a hobby in my basement apartment.
2020
Began supplying friends and family with Lion's Mane and Reishi mushroom extracts from mushrooms grown and extracted by me in Sophie's kitchen.
2021
Traveled through the U.S. in a van built by Sophie and me for 10 months, searching for a place to put down roots.
Late 2021
Began building the website, designing the logo, and starting the journey of truly building Mindfull Mycology.
Today
Mindfull Mycology reaches its 5th year in business, with a state and FDA licensed extraction lab, a separate 500 square foot mushroom growing facility, and the same burning passion for making the most potent and transparently produced medicinal mushroom extract on the market.
The Problem We Saw
The dark secret of the medicinal mushroom industry isn't pretty. When people spend their hard-earned money on medicinal mushroom supplements, what they often receive is little more than an overpriced container of powdered cereal grains or an over-diluted liquid extract.
Why? It's profitable.
At Mindfull Mycology, we do things differently, because our "why" is different.
Our Solution
Before Mindfull Mycology was even a twinkle in our founder Sam's eye, he was making batches of Lion's Mane and Reishi medicinal mushroom extracts with one goal: to make the most potent extract possible. Making a profit never even crossed his mind.
Why not? Profit was never the purpose.
When you concerned about your family's cognitive health and trying to recover from professional burnout, you aren't looking to cut corners or make a buck — you're looking to make a high-quality medicinal mushroom extract that actually works.
That, in a nutshell, is the reason Mindfull Mycology exists.
The Proof
Well-crafted words are all nice and rosy, but the proof is in the pudding. So here's ours:
Our reviews. We haven't had a single one come in below 5 stars, and every review is third-party verified so only actual customers can leave one.
Our ratio. Every extract we make is 1g:4mL — every 2mL dose is packed with 500mg of dried, ultrasonically extracted mushroom. That's 2 to 5x more mushroom than most competing extracts on the market.
Our testing. We send our extracts to independent, third-party labs to confirm they contains clinically relevant doses of the bioactive compounds you're paying for. You can view every Certificate of Analysis (COA) on our Third Party Lab Reports page.
Our Learn page. Head over to our Meet Your Mushrooms, Extraction Science, and Monthly Newsletters blog pages to find all the information you need to make an educated decision about what medicinal mushrooms can do for you and how you can properly incorporate medicinal mushroom extracts into your daily routine.
Our Process
We strive to be radically open about our sourcing, production, and extraction processes — something that still makes us a bit unusual in this industry. When you grow, forage, and extract practically everything yourself, transparency is the easy part.
We extract using a Hielscher Ultrasonic Processor, engineered in Germany. Ultrasonic-assisted extraction, which you can Read About Here, lets us pull medicinal compounds from the mushroom at very low temperatures, which means we don't degrade the heat-sensitive compounds found in mushrooms like Cordyceps and Lion's Mane — while still extracting at the concentration our 1g:4mL ratio requires.
Our Sourcing Philosophy
Quality starts at the source. Here's our order of preference — from the homestead out:
1
We grow it ourselves — The gold standard. We cultivate our Lion's Mane, Reishi, and Cordyceps organically right on the homestead. We're Certified Naturally Grown — annual inspections confirm every input is organic and every practice is sustainable.
2
We forage it ourselves — What can't be responsibly cultivated, we hand-harvest wild from these hills, like our Reishi and Turkey Tail.
3
Regional foragers & growers — Trusted North American foragers and small-scale organic growers we know personally, including the foragers behind Chaga and some Turkey Tail.
4
Never imported — No exceptions. Unlike the big brands, not a single mushroom in our extracts ever crosses an ocean to get here.
Our Promise
Thank you for visiting our site, considering our products, and supporting our mission to provide medicinal mushroom extracts that are potent, powerful, transparently produced, and affordable. At the end of the day, we just want to help people.
Consider helping us help you: Browse our shop, visit our blog to learn how we produce our extracts and how they can help you, and consider leaving us a review if you're a fan!
Mush love,
Sam