Why These Six Mushrooms? The Story Behind Six Sisters™
Mushrooms are having a moment. But at Madre, we’ve been thinking about them for a lot longer.
Our founder, Maria, spent decades as a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist, studying traditional approaches to wellness and integrating herbs into her practice. Functional mushrooms became part of that larger body of knowledge long before they started showing up in everyone’s coffee.
So when we set out to create Six Sisters™, we weren’t asking, Which mushrooms are trending? We were asking a different question:
If we were going to build one foundational mushroom blend, which mushrooms would we choose, and why?
A Mushroom Blend Built Around Purpose
There are plenty of ways to formulate a mushroom product.
You can choose a single mushroom and build around it. You can create a long ingredient list. You can chase whatever happens to be getting the most hype.
We wanted something more intentional.
Six Sisters brings together Lion’s Mane, Chaga, Cordyceps, Turkey Tail, Himematsutake, and Maitake—six mushrooms with long histories of traditional use and significant interest in scientific research. And each has its own story.
Together, these six fungi form the foundation of Madre’s mushroom beverages—and now, a versatile functional mushroom powder you can enjoy however you like.
Learn more about the benefits of functional mushrooms for mind, body, and spirit →
Meet the Six Sisters
1. Lion’s Mane
Lion’s Mane is one of the most recognizable functional mushrooms, thanks in part to its shaggy, white appearance.
It has a long history of use in East Asian traditions and has become particularly interesting to modern researchers studying cognitive and neurological health.
For us, Lion’s Mane belongs in a daily formula because of that intersection between traditional knowledge and emerging science.
Learn more about the history and benefits of Lion’s Mane →
2. Chaga
Within the realm of functional fungi, Chaga has a very different “personality.”
Traditionally used across parts of Northern Europe and Asia, Chaga is known for its naturally occurring antioxidant compounds and continues to draw interest from researchers.
In Six Sisters, Chaga adds those antioxidant compounds to the equation, complementing the blend with compounds that iprove energy, focus, stress support, and immune function.
3. Cordyceps
Cordyceps has a particularly fascinating history, including its place in traditional Tibetan and Chinese medicine.
It’s traditionally associated with vitality, stamina, and endurance—qualities that made it an obvious fit for an everyday formula.
Learn more about Cordyceps and its benefits for energy, endurance, and performance →
4. Turkey Tail
Turkey Tail may look delicate, but it has an impressive research history.
It’s one of the more extensively studied functional mushrooms, particularly in connection with immune and digestive health.
We included it because a thoughtful daily mushroom formula should consider the body as a whole, not just whatever wellness concern happens to be trending.
Learn more about Turkey Tail and its connection to the gut microbiome →
5. Himematsutake
Himematsutake has a history of traditional use in South America and Japan and has attracted research interest around immune function.
It’s less familiar to many American consumers than Lion’s Mane or Cordyceps, which is part of why we’re excited to give it a place at the table!
6. Maitake
Maitake, also known as hen of the woods, is one of the rare mushrooms that has a strong culinary tradition alongside its functional uses.
Beyond its rich, earthy flavor, Maitake contains beta-glucans and other naturally occurring compounds that have been studied for their potential role in immune function and metabolic health.
Learn more about the difference between functional and culinary mushrooms →
Why Put Them Together?
We’re not particularly interested in the idea of a “hero mushroom.” The mushroom world is much more interesting than that.
Each species has its own compounds, history, traditional uses, and areas of research. Bringing several together allows us to create a more comprehensive foundation rather than asking one mushroom to do all the work.
That’s the thinking behind Six Sisters: not more mushrooms for the sake of more mushrooms, but rather the right mushrooms, thoughtfully combined.
Dose Matters
There’s another piece of the equation that often gets overlooked: how much mushroom is actually in the product?
Each serving of Six Sisters provides 1.5 grams of our functional mushroom blend.
For us, this matters because we wanted a meaningful, consistent serving that reflected a practitioner-informed approach.
Where Your Mushrooms Come From Matters
This may be the most important part of the story...
The functional mushroom category has grown quickly, and consumers are becoming increasingly savvy about what is actually inside these products—and where those ingredients come from.
At Madre, our mushrooms are grown in the United States, Certified Organic, and third-party tested.
We’re not simply buying a generic mushroom powder and putting the Madre name on it We’ve partnered with with M2 Ingredients, a US-based Certified Organic supplier, and we know where each of our mushrooms come from.
Our blend also intentionally includes both myceliated organic oats and mushroom fruiting bodies.
Why? Because we don’t believe “fruiting body vs. mycelium” needs to be a marketing battle. Different parts of the fungal life cycle contain different compounds, and we believe there is value in a full-spectrum approach.
Learn more about mycelium, fruiting bodies, and why full-spectrum mushrooms matter →
Transparency matters to us because if you’re adding something to your daily ritual, you should be able to ask where it came from, how it was grown, and whether the finished ingredient has been tested—and the answers should be easy to find.
Learn more about how to add functional mushrooms to your daily routine →
Six Sisters, Your Way
We created Six Sisters because we believe good ingredients, good information, and good rituals belong in everyday life. Six mushrooms and one thoughtful foundation. You make it yours.
Image credit:
Photo #1 by Rod Ramsell, via Unsplash. Licensed under the Unsplash License.