Reishi Hot Chocolate: How to Make it At Home [With Product Reviews]

There's nothing like a cup of hot chocolate on a chilly day. But did you know that you can add medicinal mushrooms to your cup of hot cocoa?

Reishi and chocolate make for the perfect match.

In this article, we'll talk about how to make reishi mushroom hot chocolate at home. Plus, we'll outline some of the top commercial reishi hot chocolate products.

What are the benefits of drinking reishi hot chocolate?

Not only does reishi hot chocolate have the potential to warm you up on colder days, or to jump-start your day as an alternative to coffee, but this delicious drink can also support your immune system and boost your mood, too!

Reishi mushrooms have an abundance of potential health benefits that are almost impossible to count. So what’s not to love about this tasty beverage?

Here’s how to make reishi mushroom hot chocolate so you can add this flavorful treat to your diet plan today!

Supplementing with reishi isn’t anything new, either! It’s been around for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine and is popular in teas and other drinks throughout the world.

Only until recently has reishi become more of a household name, as research has started to identify a list of health benefits that reishi may support, including, but not limited to:

• Immune Boosting
• Anti-Aging
• Anxiety Relief
• Lower Blood Pressure
• Cognitive Health
• Depression
• Allergies
• Lower Cholesterol
• Liver Health
• Weight Management
• Sleep Aid
• Fighting Fatigue
• Fertility

For a more complete list of the benefits of reishi mushrooms, check out this article.

We’re only at the cusp of the potential of what reishi can do for your health, and making your own hot chocolate can be a great way to add it into your daily diet and routine!

Is reishi hot chocolate safe for kids?

Reishi is a medicinal mushroom that's been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years. Pending that your child doesn't have any major food allergies, it should be safe for them to have a small cup of reishi hot chocolate.

You should always speak with your child's pediatrician before introducing natural supplements to their diet.

What are the different ways to make reishi hot chocolate?

There are four main ways to make reishi hot chocolate. You can click the links below to jump to the section you want to learn about.

1. Adding reishi powder to hot chocolate mix 
2. Adding reishi tincture to hot chocolate mix
3. Using whole mushroom to make reishi powder at home, and then adding to to hot chocolate mix
4. Buying a commercial reishi hot chocolate pre-mix

Some of these methods are easier than others. Here's a chart comparing each method's cost and ease of preparation:

The hardest method is making reishi powder at home with whole mushroom.

While this may be an enticing option, you’ll have to do a lot more leg work to get to the end product, which involves drying and extracting the mushroom to make sure all the beneficial compounds can be absorbed by our bodies.

The other three methods are much easier. And because they don’t require much preparation, they make it easy to enjoy reishi hot chocolate any time you’re craving it.

We’ll start with reishi hot chocolate using reishi powdered extract.

1. How to make reishi hot chocolate with mushroom powder

The ingredients you'll need are:

• 6oz milk or water
• Swiss Miss hot chocolate (or any preferred brand)
• ½ teaspoon powdered reishi mushroom extract (we recommend Real Mushrooms or FreshCap for the best reishi extract powders. See links below.)
• Whatever toppings you like! We suggest marshmallows and/or nutmeg.

How to prepare:

We like to keep things easy! You can prepare this reishi mushroom hot chocolate in the microwave by first placing your water or milk in a microwave safe mug, heating the liquid, but not to a boil. Then, add in Swiss Miss or other hot chocolate alternative along with the reishi powdered extract. Continue to stir until all powder is dissolved in the liquid.

If choosing to use a pan, place all ingredients into a pot and place on medium heat, heating it through but not boiling. Continue to stir as the liquid heats to completely dissolve the hot chocolate powder and reishi powder!

Then, enjoy! We like to add some marshmallows, and maybe a little nutmeg depending on the day, but to each their own!

We compiled a list of the best reishi powder brands here.

2. How to make reishi hot chocolate with mushroom tincture

Now, similar to making hot chocolate with powdered extract of reishi, tinctures or liquid extract can be done the same way!

Instead of the powder, you’ll be placing a full dropper of reishi extract into the liquid once it has been heated and you’ve mixed the hot chocolate in.

One thing to keep in mind is that tinctures generally have a bitter taste with the presence of alcohol that is used in the process. However, there are a variety of companies that offer alcohol-removed tinctures, which instead of tasting bitter, have a sweet and syrupy type of taste and are excellent for adding into your hot chocolate.

The ingredients you'll need are:

• 6oz milk or water
• Swiss Miss hot chocolate (or any preferred brand)
• 1 full dropper of alcohol-removed, reishi liquid mushroom extract (we recommend Cure Mushrooms Alcohol-Removed Reishi Tincture)
• Whatever toppings you like! Again, we suggest marshmallows and/or nutmeg.

In a microwave, pour water or milk in a microwave-safe mug, heating the liquid, but not to a boil. Then, add in Swiss Miss or another hot chocolate alternative along with a dropper full of reishi tincture.

Stir until Swiss Miss or other alternative is fully dissolved.

If choosing to use a pan, place all ingredients (except for the dropper of reishi tincture) into a pot and place on medium heat, heating it through but not boiling. Continue to stir as the liquid heats to completely dissolve the hot chocolate powder. Once it’s dissolved, add your dropper of reishi tincture and enjoy.

Pro Tip: Always use an alcohol-removed reishi tincture, like this, to add to the sweet profile of hot chocolate.

3. How to make reishi hot chocolate with whole reishi mushroom

Our hot chocolate recipes above are tasty, convenient, and extremely easy to make. Just the way we like it! For those looking to go a step further, you can always make your own reishi hot chocolate by buying the actual mushrooms.

This can be a complex process, but here’s what you’ll need to do:

1. Purchase whole reishi mushrooms.
2. Next, you’ll need to dehydrate or dry the mushrooms. If you’re new to this, please read this article to teach you how!
3. From there, you will grind the mushrooms down. Don’t worry, we have the process for that as well right here! Understand that if you’re grinding mushrooms at home, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to get it as fine as needed to dissolve completely in the hot chocolate, so it may be a little grainy when drinking.
4. Once you have your reishi mushroom powder made from scratch, you’ll follow the same instructions as above, heating milk or water, adding in your reishi powder, and stirring until it all mixes together and is ready to drink. Then, just use any additional toppings you’d like!

Reishi hot chocolate is a surefire way to warm your insides and provide you with a wide list of health benefits thanks to one of the most researched medicinal mushrooms!

But hey, if you don’t want to make your own, there are ready-to-drink options out there for you!

Did you know that reishi mushrooms are also tied to improved sleep? As if reishi hot chocolate couldn't get any better!

What does reishi hot chocolate taste like?

The benefit to adding reishi powder or tincture to hot chocolate is that you shouldn't really taste it at all. Reishi has an earthy and somewhat bitter taste. Chocolate is the perfect cover for it. 

Try adding marshmallows, cream, or cinnamon to your reishi hot chocolate to further disguise the taste of the reishi!

4. The best commercial reishi hot chocolate products

If you want to skip the hassle of making your hot chocolate from scratch or buying other ingredients, it's best to opt for a pre-made pack, offered by one of the best mushroom companies in the industry, Four Sigmatic.

Four Sigmatic Reishi Hot Cocoa - 10 Packets, $20.00

Four Sigmatic is a leader in medicinal mushrooms and their Mushroom Cacao does not disappoint. Each serving contains 500mg organic reishi, cacao, cinnamon, and cardamom, coconut palm sugar and stevia.

Best of all, the packets are easy to take with you on the go. So take reishi hot cocoa with you on your next ski adventure!

You can use water or milk (preferred for a creamier drink) and add in additional toppings and sweeteners if you choose.

Botanic Reishi Hot Chocolate - 15 servings, $20.39

We also recommend Botanic, which offers an unsweetened version, packing hot chocolate and 1500mg reishi powder per serving. The beauty of this product is that it allows you to sweeten it as you choose. It’s recommended to use water or milk as well, depending on personal preference.

This is the ideal reishi hot chocolate for those looking to get maximum mushroom benefit in an easy-to-make pre-made mix.

Reishi mushrooms have been used for thousands of years as a tea. Adding chocolate is a relatively new phenomenon. If you want to try the traditional route, check out our complete guide to making reishi tea. 

What are the side effects of reishi mushrooms?

Reishi has very few side effects, but it's important to know that reishi mushrooms can include:

• Nausea
• Allergic Reactions
• Dry Mouth
• Itchiness
• Rash

Thanks for reading! Are you thinking of trying reishi hot chocolate? Have a product you love that we missed? Let us know by contacting us today!