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Introduction – What Are Verve Honest Mushrooms and Why Am I Interested?

For several years now, I’ve been hearing about people utilising mushrooms for various reasons. The main one that has always intrigued me is for mental clarity and performance. I’ve always been the type of person who spins far too many plates in the air at one time – most of which are still up there but teetering on the edge of shattering on the ground. This constant tug of war in the busy thing that is life has led me to wonder – would there be any difference to my ability to complete day to day tasks as well as feel more in balance if I did choose to try a mushroom-based supplement?

As a brief disclaimer here, I am not a medical professional – just a person who is interested in wellness. Always consult a suitably qualified professional if you have concerns about beginning new supplements.

I’ve tried Verve before and really like the transparency of the brand. When they contacted me to ask whether I’d be interested in trying their new mushroom powder – Honest Mushrooms, I was immediately interested. It’s been on my list for a long time now and with some new projects on the horizon, I was interested to see whether I’d notice any change to my mental performance.

Verve Honest Mushrooms includes lion’s mane, reishi, cordyceps, and chaga. The brand advertises that these can help with focus, energy and immunity. They also state that they include an ‘unmatched mushroom potency delivering a total of 12,400mg of medicinal mushrooms per serving’. Personally, I’ve often noticed that budget brands in stores near me have very low or unclear amounts of ingredients – this is definitely not the case with Verve as they pride themselves on clarity of what is in each of their products.

First Impressions

On opening my package from Verve, I found the pouch of Honest Mushrooms and a lovely glass bottle to prepare it in. The pouch contains 30 servings and it can be mixed with water or other beverages like coffee.

I was surprised about my first experience of the taste. In my mind, I imagined a distracting earthiness that would make consuming it daily a challenge but I couldn’t have been more wrong. When mixed with only water, it reminds me of if you were to mix milkshake powder with water as opposed to milk – perfectly fine but lacking creaminess. It really shines when added to other beverages however. My personal favourite is adding it to hot chocolate made with oat milk. I’ve tried it with low-calorie hot chocolate, a budget option and a higher-priced powder – Verve enhanced all of them to taste more rich and decadent. I also really enjoyed it with coffee – specifically a shop-bought bottle of macchiato. When mixed with this, it tasted almost exactly like the single-serving cold mocha coffees you can purchase.

An interesting fact I’d like to mention is that Mike, my fiancé, absolutely hates mushrooms. He can detect mushrooms in a recipe, even if no one else would have known they were there (and therefore, refuses to finish the meal unless he can pick the mushroom pieces out as he hates the flavour so much). To say he was sceptical of Verve Honest Mushrooms would be an understatement. But, when he tried it, he confirmed that there was zero ‘odd’ mushroom or other unpleasant flavour. To both of us, it tastes just like a rich cocoa powder.

I also want to add that I had no issues at all with mixing the powder into any of the liquids mentioned previously. When used in a cold drink, I would shake it up in the Verve bottle while I’d just use a spoon or mini whisk to add it to hot chocolates.

Pros

• Premium product – Given Verve’s commitment to transparency of ingredients as well as potency, I really respect the thought that has gone into Honest Mushrooms as well as their greens that I tried out previously. In a world where marketing and flashy packaging is everything, I’m pleased to see that Verve is producing a product that feels premium and value for money for what it is.
• Transparency – Verve operates a third-party testing policy to ensure batches of their products meet purity and potency standards. This is important to me as I like to know exactly what is in my products, whether they are in effective enough amounts and that they meet standards so I feel safe.
• Taste – Having come into this as a sceptic on how good it would actually be, I’m really happy to report that the taste is amazing. If you hate the flavour of mushrooms, don’t be afraid of this product as it tastes just like hot chocolate/cocoa powder to me with no funky flavours or textures whatsoever.
• Effectiveness – I never want to come out and say that something 100% worked without considering variables but I was very impressed by what I observed when using this product. Personally, I noticed enhanced focus and concentration during the afternoon (I tended towards having it at lunchtime – it’s recommended to consume it in the morning but it was just my preference to use it at lunch). I struggle to drink caffeinated beverages regularly due to being quite sensitive so it was nice to have an alternative that appeared to help me focus but without the anxiety or jitters. I also felt like my mind was quieter with less of a tendency to stress over the little things.

Cons

• Packaging – This is incredibly minor but I wish the bag was a little shorter. As you don’t need much product per serving, there isn’t a huge amount of powder in the bag. This means I found myself reaching to the bottom of the bag to scoop each day with me worrying about getting the brown powder onto my sleeves. As the bag ran lower, I also found it slightly more difficult to see how much I was getting onto the scoop. Personally, I’d love to see this product presented in a small jar, with smaller pouches available as refills.

Overall Thoughts

I’m really happy that my first experience with a mushroom supplement was with Verve. I think the flavour is excellent given what is inside it and I have found it a convenient product to have each day – for me, it feels like a treat as I most often enjoy it with hot chocolate. I was also pleasantly surprised to experience the aforementioned increases in focus and clarity after use. If a friend was looking to try a mushroom-based supplement, I’d definitely encourage them to check out Honest Mushrooms from Verve.

If you’d like to try out anything from Verve, you can purchase their products here.