Mushroom Growing: Why China Holds the Key to Earth-Honored Traditions
Courtesy of Nammex
Mushrooms have grown in popularity exponentially here in the West, whether it’s the earthy aroma of sautéed mushrooms on your plate or the essence of the forest’s floor in your cup.
However, foraging, growing, and eating mushrooms in the East is a thousands-year-old practice and a staple for everyday health. China has honored mushrooms for thousands of years and built a robust community of traditional mushroom growers for centuries. Tens of thousands of small growers in China cultivate the mushrooms we use in our U.S. products, giving fungi a more natural environment to grow and thrive.
With centuries of experience, Chinese mushroom growers have honed the traditional mushroom-growing process that creates an ideal, natural environment for mushrooms – resulting in far more potent, bioavailable products.
(Auricularia Wood Ear Mushroom) Courtesy of Nammex
“There’s a reason why mushrooms grown in the United States are not put into the supplement industry,” says Jeff Chilton, founder of Nammex Organic Mushroom Extracts and supplier of the organic mushroom fruiting bodies we use here at Kokora. “It’s too expensive,” he says. When fresh mushrooms are dried and powdered in the U.S. for use as supplements, the quantity needed to impart the health benefits makes the price far too high for a viable business.
And the quantity produced in the U.S. can’t begin to meet demand. In 2024, Nammex used more than 900 tons of dried organic mushrooms—more than the total output of the entire U.S. organic specialty mushroom market, as reported by the USDA. And, although the supplement industry is highly regulated in the United States, including checking for heavy metals and pesticides, products often come with unwanted fillers (like grain and excipients) that are sometimes unclear on labels, making things less transparent and diminishing the strength of the mushrooms.
In China, however, purchasing dried organic mushrooms from thousands of small-batch farmers is far more affordable, clean, and transparent – ensuring greater purity and potency.
Courtesy of Nammex
Farming Organic Mushrooms in China: A Seasonal-Small Batch Approach
China's rise as an organic mushroom powerhouse is thanks, in part, to these qualities:
• Mushroom growing in China is a thousands-of-years-old practice, and the farmers know how to sustainably cultivate the most potent mushrooms in the most natural settings.
• China has an abundance of agricultural waste, such as straw and agroforestry brush, which is a prime breeding ground for mushrooms to grow.
• Mushrooms grown in China aren’t exposed to as many agricultural pesticides as in the U.S., where we spray more than in many other countries.
• Mushrooms in China are grown seasonally, outdoors, usually in forested areas, and in shaded houses, whereas in the States, they are primarily grown in indoor warehouses.
• Depending on the species, farmers in China tend to pay more attention to harvesting mushrooms when they’re traditionally in season. For example, Lion’s Mane is harvested around the first of December, Reishi at the first of September, and Shiitake at the first of November for the greatest potency.
• Mushrooms are immediately dried after harvest to preserve their freshness and benefits.
• Mushroom cultivation on thousands of small family farms is a big part of the agricultural industry in China. By supporting small mushroom farmers and their time-honored methods, we’re also receiving the most sustainable, organic, and naturally-grown mushrooms available in the world.
Why We Choose to Partner with Nammex
Courtesy of Nammex (pictured to the upper right, Jeff Chilton, founder of Nammex, lower right Nammex CEO Skye Chilton)
Nammex, our trusted partner for certified organic mushrooms, has worked closely with China since the 1980s, and sustaining beneficial, wild, and organic mushrooms is their top priority. After extensive research on the industry in the United States, the team at Nammex decided that China is their number-one choice for organic, sustainable mushroom cultivation, and they developed relationships with growers that endure today.
In addition to the sustainable growing practices mentioned above, Nammex was also impressed by China’s mushroom-growing research and breakthroughs. For example:
• There is no serious mushroom cultivation research happening in the United States anymore. Today, it’s all being done in China.
• Chinese mushroom growers discovered a way to cultivate Morels at scale, alongside the long-awaited breakthroughs in Cordyceps and Cauliflower mushroom (Sparassis crispa) cultivation, representing a significant advancement in large-scale mycology.
• Further testing is done in China after the mushrooms are cultivated, and then they are tested again in Western facilities, ensuring that they are 100% organic, potent, and pure.
Mushrooms in our Functional Powders
We love mushrooms here at Kokora for their powerful adaptogenic effects and ability to support healthy normal cognition and immunity. Explore our Ashwagandha and Super Mushroom™ functional powders with organic fruiting body extracts to incorporate into your daily wellness routine:
7 Mushroom Mocha™ (1,483mg of mushroom fruiting body extracts per serving)
Immune Power™ (529mg of mushroom fruiting body extracts per serving)
Roasted Kokora Lift™ (423mg of mushroom fruiting body extracts per serving)
Adapt & Thrive™ (413mg of mushroom fruiting body extracts per serving)
Golden Milk Bliss™ (52mg of mushroom fruiting body extracts per serving)
When it comes to mushroom cultivation, we take things incredibly seriously, supporting organic cultivation and trusting the people who have known and loved mushrooms for centuries.
Get a taste of this potent earth ally with our Ashwagandha and Super Mushroom™ functional powders and save 15% off your first order by joining our newsletter list!
