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Mushroom powder or capsules?
A capsule is a measured dose of powder in a shell. The choice between the two is about control, taste, and what you pay per gram of mushroom, and each has a case.
Updated October 2026
Side by side
| Compared on | Powder | Capsules |
|---|---|---|
| What is in it | The ground mushroom and nothing else. | The same kind of powder inside a shell, usually gelatin or a plant cellulose, sometimes with a flow agent such as rice flour. |
| A serving | A level tablespoon, about 2.8 g, on our label. | Usually two capsules, about 1 g in total. Check the panel: it states milligrams per capsule and capsules per serving. |
| Choosing the amount | Any amount, with a spoon. | In steps of one capsule. |
| Taste | You taste it. Lion's Mane and the blend are mild; Reishi is bitter. | You do not. |
| Cost per gram | Price divided by the container weight; ours are listed below. | Price divided by capsules times milligrams per capsule. A 60-capsule bottle of 500 mg capsules is 30 g. |
| What it is good for | Cooking with it, coffee, and taking more than a gram at a time without swallowing several capsules. | Travel, a species you would rather not taste, and the same amount every time without measuring. |
What a gram costs
The honest comparison is price per gram of mushroom, and for a capsule that means reading the panel rather than the front. Two products at the same price can differ by a factor of two once the shell, the fill weight, and the part of the fungus are accounted for. Ours, at the prices in the shop today:
- Organic Lion's Mane Powder, 1 oz: $15.00, $0.53 per gram
- Organic Maitake Powder, 1 oz: $15.00, $0.53 per gram
- Organic Reishi Powder, 3/4 oz: $15.00, $0.71 per gram
- "Johnny Blend Plus" Mushroom Powder, 1 oz: $15.00, $0.53 per gram
- "Johnny Blend Plus" Mushroom Powder, 3 oz: $40.00, $0.47 per gram
For a capsule product, multiply the capsule count by the milligrams per capsule to get the grams in the bottle, then divide the price by that. Then check whether the panel says fruiting body, mycelium, or nothing at all, because a gram of mycelium grown on grain is partly grain. Here is how to read that part of the label.
When capsules are the better choice
If you travel with it, if you would rather not taste Reishi, or if the same amount every morning without a spoon is what keeps the habit going, capsules do that job and a powder does not. Some people keep a powder at home for coffee and cooking and capsules for the road. There is no wrong answer here, only a label to read.
Where we stand
We sell powder because it is the least processed form of the mushroom and the one you can cook with. Every Davidson Exotic Mushrooms powder is ground from 100% fruiting bodies, with no additives and no extracts, so the only thing in the container is the mushroom.
See the powders, read about each mushroom, or see how to take it in coffee.