What's in a Cordyceps mushroom tincture?
Cordyceps is called the "athlete's mushroom" — and with good reason. The species Cordyceps militaris contain rare compounds that can boost energy, improve stamina, and reduce inflammation, all of which are especially beneficial for athletes.
There are a lot of Cordyceps mushroom tinctures out there on the market today — and we've tried so many of them. But we don't think they are good enough. So we created our own tincture, made to our high standards. The result is a Cordyceps tincture that hits on that elusive combination of high potency and great taste, and something that athletes would be excited to use every day.
As you may already know, it's not the easiest thing to find or buy high-quality Cordyceps. And then, even if you got a hold of some, how do you make sure your body can access all the active compounds in the mushroom? You can't just eat it, unfortunately. The cell walls of these functional mushrooms are made of chitin, a super-fibrous substance, and humans don't naturally produce enzymes to break it down. In other words, when eating Cordyceps in its natural form, it cannot easily be digested and the active compounds inside are not available for the body to use (a.k.a. bioavailable). This is why functional mushrooms are often consumed in extracted forms, like tinctures, to make sure the beneficial compounds in the Cordyceps are more readily bioavailable and absorbable by the body.
A pic from Jake Plummer's mushroom farm, where Jake is peering through a cluster of Cordyceps militaris functional mushrooms:
Why use a Cordyceps tincture?
We think of taking functional mushrooms kind of like taking your vitamins. We hope it goes without saying that you should check with your medical professional about what's right for you individually, but generally speaking, for most people, it's something we think you should do every day, and that Reishi is an all-star that should be a part of an athlete's daily diet. You can easily take a tincture every day, adding it to a morning coffee or smoothie, or just dropping it straight into your mouth. Not only will you be able to get more of the active compounds, those compounds will be as bioavailable as possible.
What makes our Cordyceps tincture the best?
We don't think we're going too far out on a limb when we say that our Cordyceps mushroom tincture is the best available on the market today. Why do we think we're right? Well, here are six reasons why:
Reason #1: Professional-grade, organic mushrooms
All our Cordyceps mushrooms are grown in the United States and are USDA certified organic. And we use a third-party lab to test for microbials, heavy metals, and any foreign matter.
We do not import any of our mushrooms — which is important because mushrooms grown overseas are not required to follow or report the same regulations as those grown here. We do not want our ingredients processed, shipped, or stored, with any harmful chemicals. We prefer to closely monitor the farming process, allowing us to have a lot more control over the quality of the ingredients we use.
Reason #2: Fruiting body mushroom goodness
Fruiting body mushrooms are the real powerhouse in functional mushroom products. Packed with high levels of beta-glucans, triterpenoids, and polysaccharides, they deliver the key benefits athletes need, like boosted immunity, enhanced energy, and faster recovery.
Many products contain mycelium. Now don't get us wrong — there are lots of beneficial compounds in mycelium too, some of which can't be found anywhere else. But the issue is that mycelium is usually grown on grain and it's hard to make sure you're not getting a big dose of grain instead of the mycelium. So we focus on the fruiting bodies of the functional mushrooms only, so we can pack as much punch into each serving as possible.
Reason #3: A triple-extraction process for high potency
We use a triple-extraction process to ensure our Reishi tincture is potent and highly bioavailable. The three steps of the triple-extraction process takes approximately 120 days. Here’s how it works:
- Fermentation: To break down the tough outer cell walls (a.k.a. chitin), ensuring our bodies will be able to absorb and use the active compounds in the mushrooms
- Water extraction: We use filtered water to draw out the alpha- and beta-glucans, along with other polysaccharides.
- Alcohol extraction: We use organic cane alcohol to free other active compounds that the water extraction could not, including non-polar triterpenoids.
Then we remove the alcohol — the final product is less than 1% alcohol — and stabilize the tincture using organic vegetable glycerine, which gives our tinctures a slightly sweet taste.
Reason 4: Made with love on Jake Plummer's mushroom farm
After he co-founded Umbo, Jake Plummer realized that Umbo's products wouldn't be able to do anywhere near as much for people as he wanted them to without a reliable and high-quality source of functional mushrooms. So he founded a functional mushroom farm too, right down the road in Fort Lupton, Colorado. The wizards who run the farm are so smart about how to grow and extract functional mushrooms. They're some of the best in the world. And what's more, they do it with love. This means they are able to keep Umbo supplied with the highest quality and certified-organic functional mushrooms, so Umbo products are as potent and effective as they can be.
Reason 5: Tested and used by professional athletes
As you may already know, Umbo was founded by professional athletes. All of our products are created, tested, and used by them and their close circle of friends who are also pro athletes, trainers, and nutritionists. So by the end of the product development process, we have a really good idea of what works best for anyone who actively uses their minds and bodies.
When I started using functional mushrooms, Cordyceps was the first one. It was like an immediate impact — for the energy alone!
— “Suga” Rashad Evans
Reason 6: Our customers love it
As of the publication date of this article, in mid-2024, our Cordyceps tincture was reviewed outstandingly well by our customers, earning a verified average of 4.9 stars out of a possible 5 stars.
Here is a quote about our Reishi tincture, straight from a real, verified Umbo customer:
Got this for my pre workout for Jiu Jitsu. I must say I do feel a difference and is way better than any powder or drink out there.
—Tyler Z., 3/19/23
I'm a first-timer. This tastes great. I plan to order a second order soon.
—Andres R., 6/26/24
That's it. Those are the six reasons we consider our Cordyceps tincture to be the best available on the market today. Let us know what you think. Even better, try our Cordyceps tincture for yourself — or learn more about the Cordyceps mushroom and its benefits for athletic performance.
