The Flavor Is In The Fungus

I caught this article on the Brazil Post today. Apparently, the true flavor of coffee has nothing to do with the coffee itself, it has to do with the fungi within the coffee. I know what your thinking, "Fungus makes coffee taste better? That's crazy!" But it's true! In fact, this isn't the first time I've heard of such a thing because in the past I used to enjoy the occasional glass of port wine until I read an article that wineries in Portugal had started using people with athlete's foot to stomp the grapes because the foot fungus enhanced the flavor of the port wine. Telling me that the grapes were stomped by incontinent swine would not have made me any less ill to my stomach at the time. But, then again, back then I really didn't have any appreciation for the extraordinary flavor-enhancing properties of a really funky fungus.

Now I must wonder how long will we have to wait before somebody comes out with the first mushroom juice? If these little funguses make beverages so much more delicious, certainly a nice big Portabello or Shitake will be ten times as delectable in liquid form. And it is certainly an untapped market because even V-8, the quintessential juice full of things that should not be turned into juice, doesn't even use mushrooms in their recipe. Halfbakery agrees and thinks they should just get rid of the coffee altogether and start serving frothy mushroom juice instead. As for me, I'll stick with my slightly less psychotropic Coca-Cola for now.