I was at a summer festival the other day and at one of the stalls there was a sign that said "HEALTHY COFFEE". I was intrigued, and amused by the concept, so I went over.

It was Ganoderma Coffee: coffee grounds mixed with ganoderma or Reishi mushrooms. Reishi mushrooms are making their appearance known more and more in western health circles ( I am sure herbalists and such have known about it for years, but for the rest of us, Chinese medicine is not common conversation ).

"You can have your coffee without all the bad effects you usually experience."

A free sample, you say? Of course!

I left with some print outs of information, making about 500 claims of the health benefits of reishi mushrooms (most of which I am sure would get canceled out by the coffee itself, if there were grounds to claim that such a small amount of the mushroom mixed in with the coffee would be helpful at all). I also had 2 small packets of instant (gasp! horror!) coffee.

But I am open minded, and I like coffee...and I really like free stuff. Free coffee, specifically, is even better.

The coffee itself tastes different than other coffees (as it would), but it was not unpleasant. In fact, it was nicer than most instant coffees I have had.

Did it make me feel "healthy"? No. Though I must admit, it didn't leave me with the shakes or with the pounding headache that most coffees do.

I would have to say it's more of "good cheat" instead of a "healthy choice".