Shiitake and King Trumpet: the two mushrooms in Mello nobody asks about
Lion's Mane, Cordyceps, Reishi and Turkey Tail get all the attention in mushroom coffee. The other two mushrooms in every Mello pouch, Shiitake and King Trumpet, are the ones you have probably eaten in a stir fry and never thought about as anything but dinner. That familiarity is exactly why they are in the blend, and it is worth explaining plainly.
Shiitake: the one with the longest food record
Lentinula edodes has been cultivated in China and Japan for around a thousand years, which makes it one of the oldest farmed mushrooms anywhere. It is the second most widely eaten mushroom in the world after the common button mushroom. Fresh, it has a meaty texture and a deep savoury flavour; dried, that flavour concentrates, which is why dried shiitake is a stock ingredient across East Asia. In a coffee blend it is used as a dried extract, and at that concentration it reads as a faint savoury depth behind the roast rather than as mushroom.
What the Shiitake research measured
Shiitake is one of the more studied edible mushrooms, partly because it is so widely eaten. Most of the research has looked at its polysaccharides, in particular a beta glucan called lentinan, in laboratory and animal work. There are a handful of small human trials, including a 2015 study of 52 healthy adults who ate whole shiitake daily for four weeks, which measured blood markers rather than anything a person would notice. The honest summary: research suggests shiitake polysaccharides are biologically active, the human trials are small and short, and none of them used a coffee blend. Our research pages set out what each study measured for the six mushrooms rather than what marketing wishes they showed.
King Trumpet: the mild one
Pleurotus eryngii is a close relative of the oyster mushroom, with a thick white stem and a small tan cap. It is native to the Mediterranean and the Middle East and is now grown at scale in Australia, Korea, Japan and China. It has the mildest flavour of the six mushrooms in Mello, slightly sweet and nutty when cooked, and next to nothing at extract concentrations in a coffee. It is the mushroom you can least detect in the cup.
What the King Trumpet research measured
Less than Shiitake. King Trumpet has been studied mainly for its beta glucans and for a compound called ergothioneine, an amino acid that mushrooms are unusually rich in. Most of that work is in cells and animals, with a small number of human studies looking at blood levels after eating the mushroom. It is an early research base, and we say so. There is no human study of King Trumpet in a coffee.
Why they are in the blend at all
Three reasons. First, a six mushroom blend is meant to cover more ground than one or two; Shiitake and King Trumpet bring polysaccharide profiles that differ from Lion's Mane, Cordyceps, Reishi and Turkey Tail. Second, they are both food mushrooms with centuries of ordinary daily eating behind them, which fits a product you drink every morning. Third, and honestly, they are cheap to cultivate and neutral in taste, which keeps the blend affordable and keeps the coffee tasting like coffee. The pack lists all six as one mushroom blend and does not print a per mushroom amount, so we do not either.
What they do to the taste
Shiitake adds a faint savoury depth, the same thing it does in a broth, and it sits behind the arabica in Mello Mushroom Coffee rather than on top. King Trumpet adds nothing you would notice. In the matcha blend, the ceremonial grade leaf carries the cup and both of these disappear entirely. If you have wondered why the blends do not taste of mushroom, four of the six barely taste of anything, and these are two of them.
How they compare to the other four
Reishi is bitter and balanced carefully; our Reishi article explains why. Cordyceps carries a faint savoury note that vanishes with milk. Turkey Tail is woody and mild. Lion's Mane is mild and slightly sweet. Shiitake is the most savoury of the six and King Trumpet the most neutral. Our six mushrooms article sets all of them side by side.
Buying them fresh
Both are in most Australian supermarkets. Shiitake works best cooked hot and fast in a little oil until the edges crisp. King Trumpet is best sliced lengthways and seared like a scallop. Neither has anything to do with what is in the pouch beyond the species; a coffee extract and a dinner ingredient are different things, and we would not suggest the pouch replaces either.
Who should be careful
Anyone with a mushroom allergy should avoid both Mello blends. Shiitake in particular has a documented skin reaction in some people who eat it raw or undercooked, which is another reason extracts in food products are processed rather than raw. Anyone pregnant, breastfeeding, on medication or managing a medical condition should talk to a GP or pharmacist before adding a mushroom extract to their routine. The coffee blend contains coconut milk and MCT oil, so anyone with a coconut allergy should choose the matcha or skip both.
The short version
Shiitake and King Trumpet are the two kitchen mushrooms in the Mello blend: long food history, early research base, mild or neutral taste, listed on the pack as part of the six mushroom blend. They are there to round out the six, not to headline it. Both pouches are 30 serves, ship free Australia wide and carry a 30 day money back guarantee.