Adaptogen is more than just a trending buzzword. These plant-based compounds are thought to stimulate your body’s stress-protection response and offer potential health benefits by supporting natural functions for immunity. Ginseng is a great example of a natural adaptogen – it helps restore balance and eliminate stress by working with the body’s natural systems.
Hyphae Wellness combines the branching filaments that make up the mushroom’s mycelium network, hyphae, with the expression “get hyphy” (meaning to get excited) into a line of fungi-focused products. Their growing line of natural adaptogens and nootropics rely on the benefits of mushrooms and Cannabis to help promote health and wellness.
Nick Ciufo and longtime friend Geoff Ostrove grew up in Oxnard, California and saw careers in food, wine, politics and more recently, Cannabis. When Geoff made the connection between the fungal supplements he was taking for his brain health and the fungal network Nick was utilizing in Tao Garden’s no-till cultivation method, he knew there was real potential to combine their expertise into a functional mushroom brand.
“A lion’s mane actually grows lobes and looks like a brain while it’s growing,” Nick explained. “What’s wild is that it’s been shown to increase blood flow and neurological function to the brain. Even as skeptics, we saw some amazing benefits when adding mushrooms into our daily regimen. I really geeked out on that stuff and we started sourcing products to see what we could do on our own.”
Rather than extracting or formulating from mycelium-based products, Hyphae is using higher potency, fruited body compounds. It turns out, most of what was available failed to meet their high standards – which led them to build out a cultivation facility. “We focus on every element to make sure it’s of a therapeutic grade and that our products are having a positive impact on people’s lifestyles, whether it be in the Cannabis or functional mushroom space,” said Geoff.
Working alongside Tao has been a natural fit – from the existing symbiotic relationships of the mycelium networks in the no-till beds to cultivating, extracting and formulating as much as they can in-house. A rarity in the industry, together Hyphae Wellness and Tao have combined their efforts to produce edibles for the Oregon rec market, combining their functional mushroom blends with solventless hash. It’s a synergistic combo that likely produces a quicker onset and more holistic effect.
2022 is shaping up to be the year of the mushroom. A Hyphae stout is being brewed by Ninkasi, and the guys have a growing roster of wellness products available online and in grocery stores. Their Cannabis-free gummies, tinctures and mouth sprays are developing quite the following. “Currently, we are working with some great local grocery stores, and we would love to see our gummies in every grocer across the country,” said Geoff of their plans for the near future. “We want these high quality products to be as accessible to as many people as possible. Really, the mushrooms are the facilitators, we’re just helping them fulfill their goal.”
