I recently came upon CollaGenius, and I’m hooked. It’s the best mushroom blend I could find, as it’s very potent. I’ve tried other brands and either didn’t feel the benefits or had some allergic reactions.

Previously, I wrote about all the health benefits of medicinal mushrooms in CollaGenius by Nootopia. In this article, I’ll share my research on the criteria for choosing the best medicinal mushroom supplement, especially in a yummy hot chocolate drink. 

How I Chose the Best Mushroom Chocolate Drink: Nootopia CollaGenius Review

1. Variety of mushrooms

Mushroom supplements are not all created equal. There are 8 types of functional mushrooms, including:

• Reishi
• Chaga
• Turkey Tail
• Cordyceps
• Lion’s Mane
• Oyster
• Shiitake
• Maitake

There are some common health benefits among all medicinal mushrooms, but each mushroom also possesses distinct properties.

All medicinal mushrooms deliver the following benefits:

• Immune system modulation – Unique sugars and fibers called mushroom polysaccharides and beta-glucans have balancing effects on the immune system. Depending on what you need, they either stimulate or calm your immune system^[1]
• Adaptogenic effects – That means they support a balanced stress response and counteract some temporary negative health effects of stress.  
• Nutrient-dense – Mushrooms can be an excellent source of micronutrients such as selenium, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin D (if they’ve been exposed to the sun). 

Now, these various mushrooms work slightly differently. For example: 

• Lion’s Mane mushrooms are best known for improving brain function, memory, and BDNF levels^[2]
• Cordyceps and Turkey Tail mushrooms may support healthy blood sugar levels and thin the blood
• Chaga mushrooms are a powerful immune stimulator; more so than other mushrooms.

When combined properly, these mushrooms can deliver synergistic effects or greater benefits than the sum of their parts. I believe this is one of the reasons CollaGenius is so potent and I can feel the effects almost immediately. 

2. Mushroom potencies and extraction methods

The best mushroom supplements are not dried and ground-up whole mushrooms, even though they look like it. Whole mushrooms can have some fibers and cell wall components that make the most beneficial parts less absorbable. If you eat fresh whole mushrooms, you may need to eat hundreds of pounds to get the same benefits.

The most effective mushroom supplements will use some extraction methods, such as hot water, ethanol, or even dried ice. The extraction substances are typically very safe and can be readily removed to create the end product.

Mr. Noots, Nootopia’s master formulator, developed their proprietary extraction methods to create 50:1 mushroom extracts. That means with three grams (3000 milligrams) of this extract per dose, you’ll get the same BDNF-boosting benefits as if you’d eaten 150 grams of Lion’s Mane! 

3. Fruiting bodies vs mycelium

The parts of the mushroom that your product comes from also matter. It can be tempting for the manufacturers to put all the parts into the blend to save on cost. Mushrooms come in 2 parts: 

• The fruiting body, the part you see as mushrooms
• Mycelium, or the fibrous roots of the mushrooms

Usually, the fruiting bodies have the most medicinal components and thus are more expensive^[3,4]. 

If a mushroom supplement label doesn’t specify whether it’s an extract or from certain parts of the mushroom, you’re most likely getting ground-up fruiting body and mycelium together. Obviously, ground up whole mushrooms are a lot cheaper than very concentrated mushroom extracts, especially from the fruiting bodies. 

In short, you want to find a good concentrated mushroom extract mostly from the fruiting bodies. This should be specified on the label. If it’s not specified, you’re most likely getting ground-up whole mushrooms.

CollaGenius contains highly concentrated extracts from the mature fruiting bodies of Lion’s Mane, Chaga, and Reishi, with mycelium extracts of Cordyceps. I believe this is specifically to deliver potent cognitive lift and mental energy benefits.

4. Quality and purity

Most mushrooms are grown in grain or grain straws in very humid conditions. Usually, the grains they’re grown on don’t need to be listed as an ingredient, just as the soil your vegetables are grown on is not food ingredient. However, if you’re sensitive to mold, grains, or gluten, like me, some mushroom supplements can make you very sick because of the grain it is grown on. Mycelium tends to be more likely to have grain components than the fruiting bodies since it’s the root of the mushroom that’s embedded in the growing materials. 

Many of these mushrooms are also imported from China so they can have a high risk of harmful contaminants like heavy metals and pesticides. Extracts are less likely to have these contaminants than whole ground mushrooms because the extraction process removes the contaminants.

So, be sure to only get your mushroom supplements from a high-integrity company that vets its raw ingredient suppliers well and doesn’t skimp on third-party testing. Having used so many supplements, I trust the folks at Nootopia aren’t one to cut corners.

5. Synergistic ingredients

When combined correctly, medicinal mushrooms can have powerful synergistic benefits. Beyond the mushrooms, the other components can also add to the benefit. These include:

• High-quality cacao and cacao butter provide theobromine flavonols that support cognitive functions and improve brain blood flow^[5].
• Medium-chain triglycerides and coconut powder aid in the absorption of the mushrooms’ fat-soluble components.
• Marine collagen provides beneficial collagen peptides and amino acids that provide building blocks for important neurotransmitters like glycine.

6. Taste

Taste is the most important factor that keeps you taking a beverage supplement. If you’ve ever tinkered with herbs and extracts in the kitchen as I have, you’d realize that many medicinal mushrooms on their own taste awful. It’s also really hard to make mushrooms taste great in a sweet beverage. 

And if you had to take it in a capsule, you’d probably need at least seven large capsules to get seven grams (7000 milligrams) of the mushroom extracts. So, I assure you, a delicious hot chocolate is the way to go!

Many mushroom drinks out there butcher their flavorings and textures, such as having gritty precipitates in the drinks. Whereas, Nootopia has really nailed the taste, flavor, and textures of CollaGenius. Also, there are no toxic artificial sweeteners–they’ve rounded the edge of the stevia aftertaste nicely with inulin, a beneficial prebiotic fiber, so it doesn’t even taste like healthy hot chocolate. The Chocolicious flavor of CollaGenius tastes even better than normal hot chocolate, actually. 

7. Other additives

Since taste and mouthfeel are so crucial for consumers, many supplement companies will resort to using harmful food texturizers, such as:

• Xanthan gum
• Carrageenan
• Carboxymethylcellulose

These are Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) by the FDA but if you do a little research, you’ll find how they can cause leaky gut, metabolic syndrome, or even irritable bowel disease^[6,7]. It couldn’t be more important nowadays to read your food labels. 

8. How you feel

I’ve tried a lot of different mushroom beverage brands, from OM to Four Sigmatic to CollaGenius, and more. None of them hit the same spot CollaGenius does both in terms of taste and cognitive and energy lift. I took one heaping scoop, and within 20 minutes, I felt limitless. It felt like a switch was instantly on in my brain. I also got a gentle energy boost without the crash or dehydration effects of coffee. The effects last all day and don’t wear off even though I’ve been taking it for months now.

Last but not least, the guarantee…

Nootopia is so confident in its products that the company has a no-questions-asked 365-day money-back guarantee. Just return your first opened jar and any unused jars for a full refund of the purchase price. 

Check out CollaGenius now

How I take Nootopia Collagenius

One of the things I really love about Collagenius is that it dissolves readily in both hot and cold water, making it versatile to prepare. This summer, I’ve been enjoying it iced. There are also numerous ways to enjoy it in hot weather. You can also add either a teaspoon of instant coffee or an espresso shot to Collagenius or one of the following recipes.

Iced Chocolate Collagenius Mushroom Drink

Dissolve 2 – 3 scoops of Collagenius in ~ ½ cup of water.

Pour over a tall glass of ice, stir, and enjoy.

Collagenius Ice Cream

Churn 1 cup of heavy cream or coconut cream with 3 scoops of Collagenius in your ice cream maker according to the Manufacturer’s instructions.

Collagenius Smoothies with Fresh or Frozen Fruits

In the blender, blend the following:

6 oz water or milk of choice

2 scoops of Collagenius

1 cup of frozen blueberries

Pour in a glass, garnish with berries, and enjoy. 

Try Collagenius Now with a great discount code, use code Glow10, save 10% on this and any products from BioOptimizers!