My best gal pal tried to get me to try mushroom coffee over a year ago. I still haven’t tried it.
Recently more friends started mentioning they were drinking it. I thought OK well maybe I should look into it.
I’m not the biggest mushroom fan, though I do like them sauteed in olive oil well done and I’m always interested in a good marsala dish!
But you’ll never get me to eat a really wild mushroom that my other half (a former chef ) might pick up excitedly while foraging through the woods.
No matter how hard he tries to convince me that wild mushrooms are a delicacy, I refuse to ‘go down’ from an accidentally poisonous mushroom.
Because I follow trends, I have become aware that the trend of ‘functional mushrooms and things like mushroom coffee are… well mushrooming!
So, I decided to do a little research.
On my Wellness Wednesday: “Keeping the ‘Live’ in Alive”! segment, I sat down with John P. Gorst, founder of Ancient Extracts, to understand what’s behind what is clearly becoming more than just a quirky health trend.
This Isn’t Fringe Anymore—It’s a Movement
Here’s what got my attention:
- Mushroom coffee interest has surged dramatically in the last 2–3 years
- It’s part of a multi-billion-dollar functional beverage category
- Some brands are already doing hundreds of millions in sales
- And it’s quietly making its way into mainstream retail
There is a definite shift in how people think about energy, focus, and daily rituals.
From Coffee Crashes to Steady Energy
John’s story was interesting.
He went from 3–4 lattes a day to trying Morning Magic Mushroom Coffee and noticing:
- No more afternoon crashes
- More consistent energy
- No desperate reach for a “power nap”
What’s Actually In Mushroom Coffee?
Functional mushroom ingredients like:
- Lion’s Mane for focus & mental clarity
- Reishi for calm & stress support
- Chaga & Cordyceps for energy & immunity
My guest John P. Gorst also mentioned something called ‘Shilajit’.
What?
It’s a hundreds of years old mineral-rich substance that that stinks that literally oozes from Himalayan rocks high up in the mountains. John mixes this stuff every morning into his morning mushroom coffee.
I couldn’t help but ask; “Who is the heck is climbing these mountains to go get this stuff?
And what’s the appeal?
John says ‘Shilajit’ …
- Is packed with trace minerals our bodies need
- Supports cellular energy
- Taps into the growing “replace what modern life depleted” mindset
Very Wild… but apparently very on trend
Why This Trend Is Blowing Up Right Now
This is the bigger story.
We are in the middle of a “coffee that does more” revolution.
People don’t just want caffeine anymore.
They want:
- Focus without jitters
- Energy without crashes
- Daily habits that double as wellness tools
And yes… even decaf that actually gives you energy.
It’s a mindset shift.
Where This Is Going
Mushroom coffee is still a small slice of the overall coffee market, but it’s pointing to something much bigger:
The rise of functional everything
The merging of wellness and convenience
And consumers demanding more from everyday products
My Take?
I went into this conversation skeptical.
I came out thinking:
“Okay… there’s something here.”
I love innovation.
I love when people rethink everyday habits.
And I REALLY love when something helps people feel better in a smarter way.
So yes… I said it on-air, and I’ll say it here:
Ok fine fine fine… I’ll try the mushroom coffee.
John offered to send me some Ancient Extracts Mushroom Coffee to try.
I’ll report back.
Here’s a Thought to Consider
Maybe pay attention to the things that make you say:
“That’s weird.”
Because more than not…
those are the things quietly becoming what’s next.
Enjoy the mushroom education in this podcast of my live conversation with John P. Gorst, founder of Ancient Extracts on Wellness Wednesday on The Debbie Nigro Show where my focus is all about “Keeping the LIVE in Alive!”
The Debbie Nigro Show airs Wednesdays 11-12 noon on WGCH Radio – tune is LIVE from anywhere at WGCH.com.
AUDIO TRANSCRIPT:
042226-3 (1)
0:00:00
(Speaker 1)
And now, back to the Debbie Nigro Show. That’s the thing about life, you can’t really turn back, so why waste your time back there? So many people live in their heads in the past, and it just really holds you up, right? So all you have is today, what are we gonna do with today? Hi everybody, I’m all about keeping the live in alive, and here on Wellness Wednesday on the Debbie Nigro Show, I like to bring you interesting products and people. I’m big on innovation and what’s trending and it would be ridiculous not to talk about mushroom coffee since so many of my friends are drinking this and I’ve never had it, but I have friends always trying to make me drink it.
0:01:09
(Speaker 1)
And I’ve got this wonderful friend named Ira Feigelman who’s involved with a company called Ancient Extracts and we were talking about it. I said, you guys should do a story about this because, you know, I didn’t see the mushrooms in coffee coming. I just didn’t. But apparently it works. And since people are being more conscious about what they put in their bodies for the purpose of doing better, feeling better, living longer, I thought I’d do an interview with the guy who founded the company. So John P. Gorst is here to join us today.
0:01:38
(Speaker 1)
He’s the founder of Ancient Extracts. Hey, John. Hey, how you doing, Debbie? Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. Yeah, good to meet you. I did a little homework on you over on LinkedIn, which is what people do.
0:01:49
(Speaker 1)
And you’re a smart guy. You know about business and how to take a product and make something happen happen. I love that you’re in the functional food space. I think that’s where everything’s going. Are you seeing that trend as well? you’re doing this?
0:02:01
(Speaker 1)
Absolutely. I mean, real quick story. So I started working with my partners in the UK. So the company was actually founded in the UK about 24 months ago. And I was working with them on another supplement that I was developing here. And I just happened to find out about their other business, Ancient Extracts UK.
0:02:21
(Speaker 1)
And I tried, I’d never tried mushroom coffee. I’ve tried products, the large products, you know, rice, mud water, etc. And I really just didn’t feel the energy boost, etc. I didn’t really, I didn’t care for the taste. Okay. So I tried the product and within a couple of weeks, I just saw a profound difference in my energy level. Really?
0:02:49
(Speaker 1)
I start really seriously and you know, I was a guy drank three, four lattes a day, one or two in the afternoon. I had afternoon crashes. Sometimes I had to take the 20 power or 20 minute power nap, quote unquote, in the afternoons. And I don’t have, I no longer have afternoon crashes. And I attribute that to the mushroom coffee as well as the chili G, which is also very powerful. Wait, wait, say it again.
0:03:17
(Speaker 1)
The second word, you said it fast, like shilijit. What’s that? It’s called shilijit. Shilijit. So shilijit, yeah, that’s another product that we sell. It’s very popular.
0:03:28
(Speaker 1)
That comes, it’s harvested above 16 ,000 feet in the Himalayan mountains. And what it is, it’s thousands, hundreds or thousands of years old that bleeds from the actual rock. substance it doesn’t smell very good actually kind of smells like a rubber to be honest so you got wait you got me up in the Himalayas I’m thinking who they gonna get to work and go get this stuff you got a blue rock with some stuff coming out that stinks. Now, what are we talking about here? Yeah, it is.
0:04:00
(Speaker 1)
It’s a very interrupting substance, but I got to tell you. You keep cutting out, John. I don’t know where you’re going. You’re going in and out. You actually cut out completely from the conversation. Oh, sorry.
0:04:14
(Speaker 1)
Can you hear me now? Yes. Just stand still. Okay. Because I’m interested. So stand still and continue.
0:04:20
(Speaker 1)
Yeah. Continue. So anyway, going back to the Shilajit, so I mix the Shilajit every morning with my morning magic coffee, my mushroom coffee. Really? And which gives me extra energy and an extra boost. It’s also 85 trace minerals of 105 minerals that our body requires to process foods and to actual nutrients for our body.
0:04:44
(Speaker 1)
Our farmlands are farmed out. The minerals are farmed out of the soil. We don’t get the minerals anymore in our food and our vegetables. So this is a great way to replace the minerals in our body that it naturally requires to process foods and to provide more nutrition to our body, which then turns it into natural energy. Wow. That’s a lot to have learned.
0:05:07
(Speaker 1)
That’s a lot to have learned from somebody who didn’t drink water. this before. I’m in the before stage here. So I’m very interested and I know it has had great impact on a lot of people I know and their lives and their energy level. And I’m listening to you with like fascination here. But this is how long before you actually see it happening in your body?
0:05:30
(Speaker 1)
Does all this happen? I mean, for me, it was within a couple of weeks. I mean, some people try it and it’s, you know, a few days. Our bodies metabolize different. Everybody metabolizes food, nutrients different. So we’re going to have, you know, have different timelines and we’ll experience the difference.
0:05:49
(Speaker 1)
Okay, cool. Now, are you taking any other supplements? And I’m just talking straight because you know this, you’re passionate about the company that you’re now taking to another level here. But are you taking any other like vitamins and things in there? Is there any interaction with the mushroom benefits with other stuff you might be taking for an average person? Yeah, I’ve always been someone who takes supplements.
0:06:11
(Speaker 1)
I believe in supplements for the body. Um, so, but, but really I’ve switched my morning ritual and my supplement intake to about 80 % functional mushrooms. And what type of mushrooms are they? So there are lion’s mane for cognitive health and support, focus, brain fog, uh, reishi and the shilajit together are a natural detox for our system for liver support. Um, and then you have lion’s mane, of course, I do a little bit more than lion’s mane. for extra focus and energy, and then there’s quarter steps and chaga.
0:06:50
(Speaker 1)
Chaga mushrooms are also for energy as well as digestive. It’s very interesting. The functional mushrooms have been around for thousands of years. Yes. Yes. That I know.
0:07:01
(Speaker 1)
That I know. But who in the modern world all of a sudden was like, oh, we better pay attention because mushroom has all these words. It’s like their own language. Right. But, you know, when I I’m a breast cancer survivor and there was a time I had a meeting with their integrative medical people about what to do in the post, you know, survivorship thing. And it was about taking a mushroom supplement that was known to help with breast cancer.
0:07:25
(Speaker 1)
trying to think I know the exact name I came across it but that’s first time I was like hmm and I was kind of nervous to take that too but this is very loud conversation and research going on right now about the power of mushrooms. Why haven’t we paid attention to this sooner in the US? Well I think what you’re speaking of is the tail. Yes, Yes, yes, thank you so much. Yeah, because that has been something that has been researched and more research is being done on turkey tail as a potential supplement to fight cancer.
0:07:57
(Speaker 1)
There are many stories of people that have had skin cancer, they’ve had liver cancer, And, you know, without, you know, who knows really what helped or supported their, their comeback and, and getting into remission. But turkey tail is one, one functional mushroom that is used for supplementing your, you know, regular therapy when you’re, you had to have cancer in your body. Yep. Yep. Thank you for helping me with the name. I should have known better, but okay.
0:08:24
(Speaker 1)
So the company started in the UK and here in the US, um, what’s going on? Yeah, so look, again, going back to my original story, I started out as a consumer. I wanted to try it. I loved it. I loved how it made me feel. And so I acquired the rights to Ancient Extracts brand in the U .
0:08:44
(Speaker 1)
- market. Really? And then we launched November 1st. We soft launched and then we did a hard launch this February. And we are sold on TikTok, Amazon and Meta.
0:08:58
(Speaker 1)
So we’re on the major social channels, and which you’ll see the handles in these different posts. But yeah, so we’re growing. We’re growing at a nice pace, and I think there’s a big future in functional mushrooms. And going back to your original question, why hasn’t anybody studied this? I mean… It sounds like all of a sudden, right?
0:09:22
(Speaker 1)
All medicines, all medicines are from natural plants. Right. And so I think what got this started, really, to be frank, was the psychedelic side of mushrooms. I did a whole show on mushrooms today and all the news. There’s mushrooms in the news all week. Do you follow mushroom news?
0:09:42
(Speaker 1)
Oh, yeah. Oh, absolutely. Of course I do. Okay. But it started out with psychedelics. That’s what grabbed the headlines, if you will.
0:09:50
(Speaker 1)
And then people really started to dive down into, okay, what’s functional mushrooms? You know, we know what psychedelics are, but functional mushrooms are just any mushroom that grows in five different regions of the world. They all come from different regions, the best strains. So it’s a process and there’s an ethos to making sure that you’re picking the right product and it’s pure, it’s lab tested, and you’re getting purity versus adulterated products, fillers, additives, preservatives, et cetera. So all of our products are all natural, functional mushrooms. Some of the mushroom news was about mushrooms that were not good and poisonous and hallucinating.
0:10:34
(Speaker 1)
How do you keep quality control on the mushrooms that go into your product? Yeah, good question. So, I mean, everything that we do is lab tested. So we use Eurofins. Eurofins is the largest food grade lab in the world. And we have all of our products tested.
0:10:53
(Speaker 1)
So we always have the lab results. We always test for heavy metals, microbials. any type of carcinogens that could have somehow entered the supply chain. So we are very particular about the end product and its efficacy and the purity of it. Great. Now, what is the future of mushroom coffee here in the United States?
0:11:15
(Speaker 1)
Is it going to be mainstream where you’ll be walking into any place that serves coffee and your option is mushroom coffee as well? Well, look, that’s already started to happen. I mean, there’s there are one or two brands that have made it onto the shelves of Whole Foods and Target and, you know, Safeway grocery stores, Costco, et cetera. But it’s, you know, the coffee industry is a half a trillion dollar a year industry. It’s one of the largest consumer segments there is. And I contribute healthily to that market.
0:11:48
(Speaker 1)
I can’t even believe how much coffee I buy or drink or stop by. It’s like ridiculous, right? Yeah. So to answer your question, yes, they’re already appearing on retail shelves and there is a lot of room for competition, which is the main economic reason why we got into this is because we did it a competitive analysis. And we say, look, there’s a great, we have a fit here, a niche. And we want to, you know, some of these companies are doing six, $700 million a year in revenue.
0:12:15
(Speaker 1)
I mean, it’s a big movement, mushroom copy, especially. So we have a unique differentiator. We’re decaf. And so you’re getting that natural energy lift without the caffeine. Interesting. So a lot.
0:12:28
(Speaker 1)
Yeah, a lot of people are trying to eliminate caffeine from their from their diets for various reasons. So this is another way to naturally get sustainable energy throughout the day without the caffeine. Okay, that’s cool. So okay, I get the morning thing where you know, you get the lift without the caffeine. But you also have a product that puts you to sleep like sleepy mushrooms. What’s that about?
0:12:50
(Speaker 1)
Well, there’s the reishi. Reishi mushrooms are known for calming folks. And we have that in our evening. We have it and we sell all these functional mushrooms separately, by the way, so they can be added to smoothies. They can be added to a coffee, your latte, Starbucks, whatever you want. So that’s one thing.
0:13:12
(Speaker 1)
And then we have our morning magic coffee, which is decaffeinated. And then we have our evening elixir, which is a cocoa base. So it’s pure cocoa. and uh with decaf coffee and and reishi yeah we’re coming to the end i’m so sorry that music means we’re coming to the end but john I want to make sure everybody knows they should go to ancientextracts .com com to look at your products, because they sound wonderful.
0:13:35
(Speaker 1)
I like your passion for it, and I like how you’re proving that everything is safe that you’re serving. It’s terrific. I’m going to try your coffee, okay? John Gorst, who’s the founder of Ancient Extracts Coffees, and there’s Morning Magic and Evening Elixir, and you may be the guy to have swayed me, John. so I’ll let you know. I’ll report back because I can’t let you have all this energy and not me.
