Allie Godfrey
This week, as Valentine’s Day rolls around, most of us will be rushing to buy flowers, chocolates and last-minute gifts. At Shroom Brothers, co-founder Andrew thought it was the perfect time to do something a little left-of-centre and share a different kind of love story, one rooted in mushrooms, daily rituals and simple ways to support wellbeing.
Mushrooms have been at the heart of Shroom Brothers since 2014. Over the past 12 years, Andrew and the team have focused on cultivating both flavour and function, growing seven varieties of fresh mushrooms alongside a carefully-considered range of dried products, mainly Lion’s Mane and Reishi.
Fresh and dried mushrooms each have their place. Fresh mushrooms shine in the kitchen, where texture, aroma and umami matter most. Lion’s Mane, for example, is best pressed when frying to remove moisture, then finished with garlic butter – it absorbs flavour beautifully. Dried mushrooms, on the other hand, are designed for everyday rituals. Powders offer consistency, convenience and an easy way to build mushrooms into daily life.
Lion’s Mane is a key focus in dried form because it fits seamlessly into routines. Often chosen for its association with focus, mental clarity and long-term brain support, it’s used by people looking to support cognition without stimulants. Reishi complements this by supporting calm, balance and stress resilience.
Pairing these mushrooms with coffee and matcha is as much about flavour as it is function. CALM, a green adaptogenic blend featuring Reishi, naturally aligns with matcha’s grassy, vegetal profile. Lion’s Mane, a beige-to-brown powder with deeper, earthy, almost cacao-like notes, pairs beautifully with coffee. A simple guide is to follow the colour of the powder – when it looks right in the cup, the flavour usually blends more smoothly too.
You can try these blends for yourself at the New Brighton Farmers Market on Tuesday, 27 February, when Shroom Brothers will be offering free samples. Visitors can taste ready-made drinks in five flavours and take home 20g sample packs, providing around a two-week supply to explore how the powders fit into their daily routines.
Find Shroom Brothers every Tuesday at New Brighton Farmers Market from 8am to 11am,
and every Friday at Mullumbimby Farmers Market from 7am to 11am.
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