When Hernan Castro's father suffered three consecutive strokes and doctors said his brain could not recover, Hernan didn't take that lying down. Instead, he threw himself into researching and learning about medicinal mushrooms, specifically Lion's Mane, and how it might help his dad.
Listen to this inspiring story and how it launched a wild-foraged mushroom extract company called Desert Alchemist on the latest episode of Ryan's Remarkable Mycology Podcast.
Hernan and I discuss his unique extract-making process, fueled by a background in chemistry and an intense devotion to trying out-of-the-box approaches for his extracts. We also go over some tips for extract making, the wild mushrooms of Arizona, hot debates amongst the mycology community, foraging stories, and more! Enjoy.
Timestamps
0:00 - Intro
5:08: Starting with Lion's Mane
11:50: Extract making process
14:00 - Hernan's father's miraculous recovery
16:30 - Getting involved with medicinals + foraging
19:26: Unique Medicinal Mushrooms of Arizona
23:30 - Cultivating Wild Mushrooms
25:20 - Brain Boost Formula
28:08 - Myceliated Grain vs. Fruiting Body
32:00 - Wild Mushrooms vs. Cultivated Mushrooms
36:08 - All about making extracts
44:15 - Mushroom coffee
47:10 - Other tincture ingredients
48:45 - Foraging + Forays
56:50 - Hernan's future projects
59:14 - Outro
Resources:
Theme Music: Lacuna (ft. Sunsquabi) by Cloudchord
My info
Website: https://www.remarkablemushroomemporium.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/remarkablemushroomemporium/
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