What strain of cordyceps is best?

Best eh? This question can lead down an opinionated rabbit hole. Before we define what "best" could mean, let's start by honing in on what cordyceps we are talking about...

At Bffd, we grow a species of cordyceps called Cordyceps militaris. Cordyceps is the genus and militaris is the species. Species represents the most specific level in biological classification and genus is one step above that. There are over 700 species of cordyceps. The two most well known are Cordyceps miltaris and Cordyceps sinensis. However, some examples of other cordyceps species include: Cordyceps taii, Cordyceps nipponica, Cordyceps formosana, Cordyceps annullata, and Cordyceps formosana. Diving into the differences between all these species is beyond this blog's scope -- we'd get too side tracked from our main focus. But, it's fascinating knowing how many different types of cordyceps species are out there. The genus of cordyceps leads all the way up to the Fungi kingdom. Check out the full taxonomic ranking below.

Taxonomic Rank of Cordyceps Militaris

What is a cordyceps militaris strain?

Since Cordyceps militaris is what we know, let's focus on the militaris species for determining the best strain. What exactly are we referencing when we say a "cordyceps strain"? Let's go back to the beginning...to the spore.

A beautiful aspect of mushrooms - cordyceps included - are their spores. The first step in creating a cordyceps strain, which allows for commercial cultivation, is finding these spores out in the wild. If you are located in Pennsylvania like us, cordyceps can be found to the keen eye during the right time of year in the right environment. In the wild, these cordyceps are typically found as a single fruiting body coming out of a bug. The image below comes from a cordyceps hunting video by our good friend and extractor, Justin Knaub at MMM-Labs. The link to this video is below the photo and in the references section.

Cordyceps from the Wild - Screenshot from Justin Knaub's "Foraging Cordyceps in Pennsylvania" Foraged to Foods YouTube Video

After finding wild cordyceps, a process called "ascospore isolation" is done to collect individual spores. Like humans, cordyceps spores are sexual in nature. There needs to be mating of a "male" spore and a "female" spore to propagate. In cordyceps, the two sexes are Mat 1 and Mat 2. Companies that specialize in selling cordyceps genetics, such as Appalachian Gold Fungi and Terrestrial Fungi, have their own processes to mate spores and produce a commercially viable spore combination. These companies will determine which breed of spores are best for commercial cultivation. This spore breed is known as a "cordyceps strain" or as "cordyceps genetics". The strain is typically then transferred to a liquid medium known as a "culture", stored in a syringe, and made available for purchase by growers like us at Bffd.

The naming conventions of these genetics are associated with where the genetics come from. Here are some example cordyceps genetics names from our two favorite genetics suppliers:

• Terrestrial Fungi
• Mound 4#4 bx4
• SGTFCZ 3-8 X 2-7
• Mound 4#4 bx3bx1
• Appalachian Gold Fungi
• Beast 9x10
• H5 X Beast10

When we as growers, refer to a "cordyceps strain" or to "cordyceps genetics", we will typically say something like the "H5 X Beast10 strain" or the "H5 X Beast10 genetics" from Appalachian Gold.

Now that you know what a cordyceps strain is, how do you know what strain is best? Well...best is subjective. First, lets look at the process to go from genetics in a syringe to beautiful orange fruiting bodies that can be consumed. Then, we'll cover some metrics we like to look for determining the "best" cordyceps strain.

The Cordyceps Grow Process

Growing cordyceps is like skinning a cat...there's more than one way to do it! There's no right or wrong. Typically, there are four parts to the grow process which we'll highlight below.

Part 1 - Expanding out the genetics

Genetics typically arrive in the form of a syringe. The liquid in this syringe is highly potent, so the first step is diluting this liquid further. Water is typically used to further dilute these genetics. As of March 14, 2024, we use a 50% spring water 50% coconut water mix with no added ingredients to expand out our genetics. We continually tinker with our grow process to get better results (more on this later). 

Part 2 - Putting Culture on Substrate Base

After expansion, the cordyceps mycelium needs a nutritional starch base to grow further. We use pressure cooked brown rice mixed with water as our starchy base. We use bins as containers for growth. Some other common grow mediums are bags, deli containers, or mason jars. We do the mixing of our liquid culture and brown rice all at once using dough kneading bags. Then, we place this mixture into our bins.

Pouring Myceliated Culture into Dough Kneading Bag

Part 3 - Incubation and Growth

Once these bins are created, they are placed in a pitch black incubation tent until white mycelium is visible on the rice. This usually takes 3-5 days. After incubation, the bins are moved to a lighted grow tent with humidity at around 85%. The bins are in the grow tent for around 60 days until they are ready for harvest.

Incubation Tent - Pitch Black, Non-Humidity Controlled

Growing Tent - Lighted, Humidity Controlled

So, now that we know the grow process, how do we determine what strain is best?

Metrics to Determine the Best Strain

At Bffd, we love growing cordyceps. We see it as a blend of art and adherence. From an adherence perspective, we follow established cultivation methods for successful growth. This is crucial for commercial cordyceps growth at scale. Artistically, there are limitless possibilities for growing customization. The grower can fine-tune growth processes until the cordyceps yield aligns with their desired outcomes. Once we find a new process through creative experimentation that yields better results, we'll adhere to this as the new Bffd standard.

What are these metrics?

In this case, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As a grower, what are you trying to optimize? Here are some common output metrics cordyceps growers use to determine what is the best strain:

• Weight of cordyceps after harvest (yield)
• Retention weight after drying
• Cordycepin content
• Content of other compounds
• Days to grow
• Visual look of cordyceps
• Contamination rate

You know what's even cooler and more trippy? The strain of cordyceps being used is only a single factor playing into your growth results. It may be the most important factor...but it's still just a factor. The above list covers some of the output metrics - what can be measured after growth (or lack of growth) is complete. What about input metrics?

Every step we mentioned in the cordyceps grow process provides opportunities to experiment. This is why we see cordyceps growth as an art.

You need a container to grow your cordyceps in, right? Well what kind of container? What are your cleaning processes for these containers?

You expand your genetic culture out with additional water? What kind of water? Are you mixing other ingredients into this water? What kind of ingredients? How much of these ingredients? How long do you let your genetics incubate in it's expanded out form before adding it to your starch base?

Speaking of starch base...what are you using for your starch base? What other ingredients are you adding? How much? Are you adding a liquid? What's your ratio of base to liquid?

Once your container of myceliated starch is full, how long do you let it incubate for? What temperature are you keeping your incubation tent? When do you move it to a different location to grow?

What are the humidity and temperature conditions of your grow tent? What about the light?

You see why this is so exciting?

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At Bffd, we tend to optimize for cordycepin. If you were to ask Johnny or Adam at Bffd "What strain of cordyceps is best?" We'd snap back with the strain that has been testing for the highest cordycepin content. As of March 14, 2024, that strain has been the H5 x Beast10 strain from Appalachian Gold Fungi. BUT, we are constantly experimenting with genetics and grow processes to increase this cordycepin content number.

So there you have it...we answered the question "What strain of cordyceps is best?" We answered it in the opinion of Johnny and Adam on March 14, 2024...this will certainly change...but we answered the question.

Let's now answer some other questions...how do you determine cordycepin content? And do you track all these metrics? Lets call this "A Bffd Blog Bonus"

Bffd Blog Bonus

How do you determine cordycepin content?

There are plenty of companies out there who can do analytics testing. We've enjoyed using Flourish Labs out of Oregon. They are priced really well. They also test for adenosine, guanosine, and adenine in addition to cordycepin content. They test quick and send you a cool report detailing your cordyceps contents.

Section of Flourish Labs report - provides mg of compound content / gram of material

Bffd Growing Database

We developed customized cordyceps growth and inventory tracking software that allows us to collect data on our grow processes. All the input and output metrics we mentioned in the "Metrics to Determine the Best Strain" section, we capture. This allows us to experiment with our inputs to see what effect it has on the growth output. 

Example Screenshot from Bffd Database

That concludes the Bffd bonus!

We have an answer for now on the best strain of cordyceps...but given our constant testing and data collection...this will change :).

In the writing of this article, I used ChatGPT to look up some additional cordyceps species, and to proofread my work. I had a fantastic conversation with Justin Knaub at MMM Labs about the cordyceps genetic process. I also used a screenshot from Justin's YouTube video (that is also the thumbnail for this article). The other parts of this article outline our specific processes and metrics that we are continually working to improve.

I apologize for any mistakes or missed citations in this article. All mistakes made are mine and mine alone.

Much love and be your best,

Johnny

Thank Yous

We owe a thank you to several folks with this article. First and foremost...the biggest thank you. Our man Justin Knaub at MMM Labs, coming through with his wealth of knowledge as always. In addition to me borrowing that "Cordyceps from the wild" image from his YouTube video, he walked me through the process of creating cordyceps genetics for commercial cultivation. We couldn't be more grateful to have this man around. If you've read this far and want to try a cordyceps tincture from Bffd...use the discount code mmmlabs at checkout -- you'll get 10% off and support Justin and Christian at MMM Labs in the process.

Also, big time thank yous to Jeff Manganaro at Appalachian Gold Fungi, Ryan Paul Gates at Terrestrial Fungi, and George Sellhorn at Flourish Labs. We've been using the cordyceps militaris genetics from Jeff and Ryan's companies for a couple years. We've had about six batches of analytics done on our cordyceps by George at Flourish Labs. These gentlemen have terrific companies with outstanding products and services that we've been a beneficiary of here at Bffd.

References and Further Reading

Conversation with ChatGPT to assist with this article located here

The taxonomic rank is a screenshot taken from Episode 4 of the Cordyceps Chronicles.

Justin Knaub and his wisdom were instrumental in the writing of this article. We also used information and a screenshot from his YouTube video, Foraging Cordyceps in Pennsylvania. We strongly recommend checking this out.

For those interested in exploring the scientific basis of cordyceps benefits further, reputable sources such as PubMed and Google Scholar offer a wealth of research articles and studies on the topic.

Also, stay up to date with Bffd Cordyceps Research on our YouTube Channel, Instagram, and website.