This is really an exciting article for me to be sharing with you. I remember when I first heard about this herb around 2005. I was instantly enamored with everything about it- the lore, mythology, history, and even the science behind it and I’ve taken it almost every single day since. Reishi has helped me through a myriad of stressful situations and transformations in my life, and it’s very near and dear to my heart.
It is important to really get a feel for what really makes this product so special and profound. It is easy to talk about how great an herb is, or relish in the history of the product. However, you deserve to know what makes us so lucky and fortunate to be able to access this particular product in such an easy way.
Let’s Begin
Reishi Spore Oil can be anywhere from 300 to 350 times more potent than the actual Reishi Mushroom. If that’s the only thing you take away from this article, that fact alone can explain why I’m so excited about it. It’s doubly as awesome to be able to share with you, and simply just a cool thing in general to be able to access for the first time in the history of Reishi.
People have had access to Reishi Mushroom for thousands of years, making tea and simple extractions. Access to the true essence, or the concentrated essence found within the spores, is something that has only just recently been granted.
Potency
The spore oil, again, can be 300 and 350 times more potent than the actual reishi mushroom. A concentrated extract, like the 
one we have on the site, is considerably more medicinal than the fruiting body of the Reishi Mushroom.
To illustrate that point, a concentrated hot water extract — let’s say like the 10:1 we have — may have 1%-3% triterpenes. Even at this concentration, you can still feel and experience the therapeutic effects of the triterpenes.
Reshi spore oil can have anywhere from 33% to 38% triterpenes.
That means within every 500 mg capsule, there’s 165 to 190 mg of pure triterpenes. That is incredibly and unfathomably strong, potent, and pretty cool!
What is it?
We can explore this more deeply. If you’re not familiar with reishi or mushrooms — the biology — there’s a few different things to understand.
There are three different stages of the mushroom lifespan. There’s the mycelium, which is the actual organism of the mushroom. Then there’s the fruiting body, or the reproductive organ of the reishi mushroom. That’s the symbol of reishi and the herb that we all see and associate with it. Lastly, there is the spore, which is the “seed” that the mushroom releases into the atmosphere. The mushroom releases the spores as its reproductive essence, or it’s way of procreating and continuing on. This would be comparable to our sperm or eggs.
When the mushroom reaches maturity, it releases the spores. Those spores travel through the air and land on other trees and rotting logs where they are able to settle in and start a new lifecycle.
Thanks for being here! Use the code “sporelove” to save 15% on your next order in the shop! (This coupon is valid until Friday March 16th at midnight, so basically the code expires at 12:01am Saturday.)
Medicinal Constituents
The hot water extracts that we get on Hyperion Herbs are all hot water extracts from the fruiting bodies. The fruiting body has been proven and shown to have more of the active constituents than the mycelium, which is why we use it.
The spores also have a fairly rich concentration of the triterpenes, polysaccharides, ganoderic acids, nucleic acids, and other things that give reishi its medicinal and tonic qualities, which we now have access to via the spore oil.
Production
It takes 1,000 kilograms of reishi mushrooms to produce one kilogram of reishi spores. Furthermore, it takes 1,000 kilograms of spores to produce just one to three kilograms of reishi spore oil.
Reishi spore oil is is the extracted essence of the reishi spores- the essential oil- the essence of the essence. It really doesn’t get much more concentrated and potent than that.
Let’s go even further- because everything about this product is awesome, even how the reishi spore oil is produced and extracted.
We use a proprietary, super-critical CO2 extraction process. That means that there’s no heat, no hexing, no alcohol- not even hot water used for extraction. No solvents of any kind are used in this production.
It’s a special, low temperature process, using only carbon dioxide and some high tech lab equipment. Essentially, it uses pressure to extract the nutrients and the oils from the spores.
Why is this important?
When dealing with oils, lipids, and fat-soluble constituents, exposure to high heat can it can cause them go rancid, “trans-fatty”, or be decomposed, distorted, and altered in some way.
Because it’s done in the CO2, low-temperature method, there is no oxidation, degradation or any damage to the oils.
Not only is it extremely concentrated and potent, but it is also mindfully sourced and carefully extracted. It is highly valued due to how much reishi is needed to produce it, but its extraction requires stable environments and high tech lab equipment, and careful attention and encapsulation to preserve the integrity of the oils.
You might be wondering, “What do they do with the reishi? Do they just harvest the spores and throw them away?”
Those reishi mushrooms do not go to waste. Every bit is used and recycled into itself.
Our Facility and Spores
They are grown on a mountain farm in a specific region in China where reishi thrives. It enjoys a higher elevation. Specific hardwood logs are buried in very mineral rich and nutrient dense soil, and then a tent is built over that. This gives them control over the air, water, humidity, and temperature, enabling them to set optimal conditions to produce the highest quality reishi.
Once the reishi begins to reach maturity, when they are popping out of the ground, they build a box around it, within which is a paper material that is used to catch the spores.
They use the spore harvest to make the oil and to inoculate new logs. The fruiting bodies are used to make extracts. The soil and logs are recycled and turned, as well as nutrients being reintroduced to the environment.
How We Met
When I first caught wind of this product and became interested in carrying it, I was a little bit hesitant because it was pretty expensive. That is an obvious factor when considering this product and something I personally had to understand before making the investment.
Its price reflects its production; 1,000 kilos of reishi mushrooms to produce one kilogram of spores. It takes 1,000 kilos of spores to produce one to three kilograms of spore oil. For obvious reasons, it’s going to be expensive.
I was a little reluctant to bring it out, because even though I really like it for myself, I wasn’t sure if it was too pricey to sell. Before completely dropping the idea, I thought I should just let people try it and get their opinion.
I gave some of my closest friends and a few clients from Hyperion some samples. I contacted them and simple asked, “Would you be willing to test this out for me, and let me know what you think?”
What I didn’t say was, “This is the best thing ever.” I didn’t want to hype it up or give them any preconceived notions on how to feel or what to expect. I just asked for their honest opinions and thoughts — love it, hate it — whatever it is.
What They Thought
Unanimously, and for most, within the first day of receiving it, everyone came back with pretty much the same thing, “Wow, this stuff is really good.” “I’m almost out.” “I wish I had more.”
In addition, they reported a deep calmness, or a true Shen aspect that reishi can provide. Shen refers to the third treasure in Chinese philosophy.
What is Shen?
Shen refers to our mind, heart, and higher consciousness, if you will. That’s what makes reishi so famous- its ability to work on the nervous system, helping us manage the mind and emotions and gently encouraging us to be a little more flexible, adaptable- opening up our consciousness to new possibilities, new horizons, and new opportunities for ourselves.
That’s why reishi is called the spirit herb or the herb of spiritual potency. This is what it’s been called for thousands of years, and probably also why it’s found ubiquitously throughout ancient Chinese artwork, ancient Chinese poetry, ancient Chinese paintings, door hangings, door frames, chairs, clothing — an icon within their culture. Reishi was a literal symbol for good luck, good fortune, and longevity. Many people regarded it as a magical talisman.
My Experience
That’s definitely what I felt from it from the very beginning- even taking one capsule, the effects were nearly instant. As it comes over you, that calming, relaxing, grounding, sensation that reishi provides starts to circulate through the body.
Almost everyone I spoke to about it came back with generally the same things- “I felt more relaxed, more calm and chilled out, more in tune, more present, more in the moment, a heightened sense of being here now, a heightened sense of consciousness.”
Some other feedback I was given dealt with digestive issues or helped out with liver and gallbladder issue. However, the most unanimous thing came back to Shen, the spiritual aspects, or the nervous system, inspiring more meditation and spiritual practices.
Due to the alarmingly positive feedback from others and my own personal experience with reishi spore oil, carry it on Hyperion was a no-brainer.
Triterpenes
As I mentioned before, it has a really rich concentration of the triterpenes- 33-38% triterpenes is what makes up the actual 
oil. If you In a 500 mg capsule, you’re getting 165 to 190 mg of triterpenes.
These triterpenes serve the human body in many different ways. We could say that they’re most known for is the cardiotonic, liver, and nervous system effects, as well as the deeper, tonifying and balancing effects overall in the body. This is depicted in other bodily systems like the endocrine and digestive.
We’re dealing with the oils, the lipids- the oil-soluble constituents.
I would suggest paying a visit to PubMed or Google Scholar, type in reishi spore oil, ganoderma spore oil, reishi triterpenes, or other related names for reishi, and you’ll see some pretty amazing studies of what it can do. Some examples of issues involved in these clinical studies include cancer, tumors, hepatitis, and viruses.
Obviously, I’m not making any claims or medical recommendations. I personally went on there and saw some pretty interesting, thought-provoking research. If it’s something that you want to pursue more deeply, again, I suggest checking it out.
To reiterate, reishi is not necessarily in itself anti-this or anti-that. Reishi helps the body do what it needs to do and be more balanced and tonified.
How to Take
Because spore oil is so concentrated, fine, expensive and unique, I want to share with you the best way to take the capsule so you can get the most out of it.
Bite it open like candy, suck out the oil, swish it around your mouth, and discard the capsule.
If you swish the oil around your mouth and mix it with your saliva, get it in your cheeks, gums, and under your tongue, it will absorb more quickly, and you will likely feel the effects faster, and get a lot more out of it.
That’s how I’ve taken it from day one. Because it is so precious and delicate, I feel that’s the most direct way to get it into your system, as is my recommendation for taking it.
The flavor is not too bad at all; in fact, it’s pleasant. It’s oily and buttery with a very slight tinge of bitterness and “mushroominess.”
There’s no additives, no carrier oils, no fillers. It’s the pure oil from the reishi spores. Which even now, looking at it, thinking about and talking about it blows my mind and reminds me how cool it is to be able to share it with you bring this this quality of a product forward.
Hopefully, you dig it and this article has answered all of your questions, but if you have any more, feel free to contact us here.
Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed my personal account of how I found and fell in love with the spore oil. If you want to check out more about the reishi spore oil, click here.
p.s. That was a looong article! As a thank you for your time and attention you can use the code “sporelove” to save 15% on your next order in the shop! (This coupon is valid until Friday March 16th at midnight, so basically the code expires at 12:01am Saturday.)