When you think of mushrooms maybe you think of this
or this 
but probably not 
I don’t know what you think about really, I sometimes think of my friend Sandra. She had two neighbors in Olympia named Bryan and Ryan. They were best friends and they had names that rhymed and those boys loved their mushrooms.
Like a lot of people that went to the Evergreen State College these young men studied the many endless variety of mushrooms that can be found in the rainy state of Washington. In retrospect, I wish that I too had gotten into mushroom hunting, but I was too busy doing important stuff like making movies and watching Twin Peaks to be bothered with survivalist life skills. These classes, also, always seemed to involve drum circles so I passed and am trying to get caught up now.
A long tangent to get to the matter at hand: Kombucha tea which is probably not even a mushroom as Sleepy Smurf and I have been debating this morning as we drank our Buddhas Brew here in Austin Texas. I recently went to a talk with a mushroom expert and I was sure that he said Kombucha was a mushroom. Sleepy is sure that it is not since it is a yeast but I think that the mushroom expert said yeasts and mushrooms are the same. Bryan and Ryan would know for sure but it really doesn’t matter (Evergreen says it is not a mushroom). People in both Russia and China call it Mushroom tea and have been drinking it since ancient times for its healing properties.
It is a relatively new phenomenon in the US. I first tried it a few years ago when I was trying to do an all raw diet but I really didn’t like the flavor. It had a strong vinegary taste. Since then I have tried it off and on. I learned that Kombucha can be really good for your digestive tract, this is something that I have always struggled with and when I learned that Kombucha could grow good bacteria in my system I became intrigued. I later learned that people think it has all sorts of healing properties, from fighting cancer to warding off infections people think it is great for everything but I couldn’t get over my taste issues. Lucky for me, I gave it another shot the other day at the Live Oak Market and discovered what I friend I have in Blueberry Buddha’s Brew. It made my stomach feel immediately better and I am pretty sure that I grew a couple of inches. Really, I felt like my whole system was fortified with goodness. The effects were immediate and totally unexpected. Buddha’s Brew touts the tea as a “Daily Elixir of Health” so I have been trying to drink one every day. I recently discovered that I can buy a whole case of the blueberry and the grape (my favorite flavors) at the Farmer’s Market at a great price so hooray! And it is brewed right here in South Austin. I read on Addie’s blog that she had recently learned to brew her own and following these instructions I think I might try it soon. Until then I am stoked that I can get Buddha’s Brew at the Live Oak Market, the People’s Pharmacy, the Whip In, and Thom’s Market. I love when convenience stores are actually convenient!