Key takeaways
- Cordyceps is a genus of parasitic fungi that grows on insect larvae, and of roughly 700 species discovered, Cordyceps sinensis and Cordyceps militaris are the two studied for health. Most cordyceps in supplements today is grown in a lab.
- We include cordyceps to support natural energy production and help reduce occasional tiredness and fatigue. It also supports muscle performance, exercise capacity and recovery, and immune system function. Independent reviewers still describe the benefits of cordyceps as not well defined.
- Hoola carries Cordyceps sinensis fruiting body extract at 300 mg/g dry equivalent, which is 3,000 mg dry equivalent in a 10 g serve.
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Caffeine gives a short, sharp lift. Cordyceps is the energised performance counterpart, included for sustained, lower-key energy support through the day.
- One 10 g scoop a day, every day. Adaptogens may take four to six weeks for their full benefits.
What is cordyceps, and what does it do?
Cordyceps is a fungus you can find in foods and drinks and over the counter as a supplement. It is a genus of parasitic fungi that grows on insect larvae, which is exactly as strange as it sounds. The Chinese name for sinensis translates as winter worm, summer grass, and it is one of the most famous traditional Chinese medicines and medicinal mushrooms. Of the roughly 700 species discovered, two carry the health research: Cordyceps sinensis and Cordyceps militaris.
In herbal practice, both Western and Chinese, cordyceps is traditionally used to maintain and support physical endurance and stamina. Modern supplements are usually taken to support energy levels and endurance. One proposed mechanism is adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, the molecule that delivers energy to your muscles, which cordyceps may help the body produce more of.
Supplements are made either from the mushroom, meaning the fruiting body, or from the mycelia. And no, nobody is harvesting high-altitude caterpillars at scale for your morning drink. Most cordyceps in supplements is now grown in a lab. Ours is a cultivated extract.
Where does cordyceps fit in a day that runs on coffee and a 3pm slump?
It sits underneath the caffeine, doing the slower work. Hoola is a daily wellness drink with nootropics, adaptogens, vitamins and minerals to support energy, focus and mental clarity. Cordyceps is the piece of that formula included to support natural energy production and help reduce occasional tiredness and fatigue.
The claims we list on our ARTG listing are deliberately plain: maintain and support energy production, relieve weariness, tiredness, fatigue and feeling of weakness, and decrease mental and cognitive fatigue. Cordyceps also supports muscle performance, exercise capacity and recovery, supports immune system function, and has been traditionally used to support healthy lung and respiratory function.
There is early work suggesting the fungus behaves like an adaptogen. A 2024 study analysed Cordyceps extract in a test tube and then tested it in a clinical trial with 40 human participants, finding it may help the body cope better with stress. The wider evidence base is still thin, and reviewers say so plainly: the benefits of cordyceps are not well defined. We would rather tell you that than oversell a mushroom.
Energy should feel bright, not frantic. That is the reason cordyceps is in the scoop and the reason it is not the only thing in it.
What form and dose of cordyceps are in the Hoola formula?
Cordyceps sinensis, fruiting body extract, at 300 mg/g dry equivalent, which is 3,000 mg dry equivalent per 10 g serve. Every per-serve figure below is the per-gram figure times ten, and both are published.
This matters because the amounts of each chemical in a cordyceps product vary from brand to brand. Any effect can change depending on how much of each compound is in the product you are actually using. So we publish the lot. No proprietary blends.
Hoola is a Listed Supplement on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods, AUST L 508472, with an ARTG start date of 8 August 2025 and Hoola Australia Pty Ltd as sponsor. The certificate lists all 27 active ingredients with exact quantities per gram, and anyone can look up the number on the public register and check every figure. It is manufactured in Australia by BJP Laboratories Pty Ltd in Yatala, Queensland, with Australian laboratory testing.
A 10 g daily dose of actives will never fit a sensible number of capsules, which is why Hoola is a powder.
Why did Hoola choose a cultivated Cordyceps sinensis fruiting body extract?
Because sinensis is the species with the longest formal record and the fruiting body is the part we want, grown under controlled conditions rather than dug out of a plateau. There are two main types of Cordyceps fungi used commercially, Cordyceps sinensis and Cordyceps militaris. Since 1964, only Cordyceps sinensis has been recorded officially as a herbal drug in the Chinese pharmacopoeia.
Cultivation is standard practice, not a shortcut. Cultured Cordyceps has become the main commercial substitute for the wild species, and since 2002 the State Food and Drug Administration of China has approved 50 medicines and two dietary supplements based on it. Strains of sinensis have also been produced by large-scale fermentation for commercial use.
Extraction method separates products too. Many cordyceps products on the market isolate a single compound diluted in alcohol or water. We use a fruiting body extract, traditionally used in Tibetan and Chinese herbal practice, and we use active and bioavailable forms wherever possible in line with Australian quality manufacturing standards. The formulation aim across all 27 actives is the same: clinically efficacious doses, published.
How does cordyceps work with the other 26 ingredients in the scoop?
It handles the slow, steady end of the energy side while caffeine handles the fast end. Products containing cordyceps often contain multiple ingredients, including vitamins, minerals and other mushrooms. Ours is designed as a single, balanced daily dose, not a collection of separate supplements, and the value sits in how the ingredients work together.
Where a traditional supplement lifts calm or energy on its own, we blend TGA listed nutrients, nootropics and adaptogens to support the dual state modern life asks for. Ashwagandha is the calm clarity side. Cordyceps is the energised performance counterpart.
Caffeine sits at a measured dose so it can do its job without dominating everything else, and 100 mg is roughly equivalent to one standard cup of brewed coffee. Reishi plays the recovery side alongside ashwagandha, so the energising ingredients have a stable foundation to work on.
Who tends to look for a cordyceps supplement?
People with full days and high ambition, who want to feel bright rather than buzzy. Supplements containing Cordyceps extract have grown popular on the back of their many purported health benefits. The tradition behind them is older and narrower: in China it was used for thousands of years by royal and elite families, and in Chinese medicine it has been used as a tonic to support vitality, stamina and general wellbeing.
The training crowd is well represented. In a 2024 study, 14 young adults were given either a placebo or 1 g of Cordyceps before a high intensity interval session. Those who took Cordyceps had less muscle damage and faster cell repair, allowing for quicker recovery. In a 2020 study, Cordyceps extract slightly increased grip strength in mice, which researchers attributed to an increase in ATP production.
Hoola is built for modern lives, busy schedules and high ambition, for someone who wants more out of life, more balance, more adventure and more support. More get up and go, fewer afternoons spent negotiating with yourself about a nap.
How should you take cordyceps day to day?
One 10 g scoop, mixed into 300 to 400 ml of cold water, each morning. Label directions say 350 to 400 ml. Cordyceps comes in powder, capsule and liquid forms across the category. Ours is a powder, and it is one serve a day: no half serve, no double serve, no weekly total.
Take it in the morning or early afternoon. Avoid it close to bedtime, because of the caffeine.
Then give it time. Adaptogens may take four to six weeks for their full benefits, so the arc is gradual. The 150 g pouch is two weeks, which is enough to see how you feel and build the habit. Most of our customers feel the biggest benefits with consistency. One scoop, steady energy, repeated. Living brighter, with balance and a mind that stays clear and ready for what is next.
Frequently asked questions
What are the benefits of taking cordyceps?
Cordyceps is used to maintain and support energy production, and to relieve tiredness, fatigue and feelings of weakness. It is also commonly taken to support endurance. Beyond energy, it contains polyphenols, which can act as antioxidants or support antioxidant activity. Certain chemicals in cordyceps are thought to have antioxidant effects that may help protect cells in your kidneys and other organs.
What has cordyceps traditionally been used for?
Cordyceps has been used in the traditional medicine system in China, where it is known as dong chong xia cao, for a wide range of reasons. In that tradition, sinensis is described as sweet in taste and neutral in nature, used to replenish the kidney, soothe the lung, stop bleeding and eliminate phlegm. It has been known and used as a remedy for more than 300 years.
Is cordyceps a mushroom or a fungus?
Both. Cordyceps are a type of mushroom, and the genus is a parasitic fungus that grows out of an infected insect rather than out of soil. If you are exposed to it, the fungus cannot stay alive in your body. There are more than 750 species in the genus.
What is Cordyceps sinensis?
Cordyceps sinensis is a fungus, also known as Ophiocordyceps sinensis, and a parasitic mushroom found on the Tibetan high plateau. In China it grows in prairie soils at elevations of 3,500 to 5,000 m, mainly in Qinghai, Tibet, Sichuan, Yunnan and Gansu. It was first recorded in Ben Cao Bei Yao by Wang Ang in 1694, and the Italian scholar Saccardo gave the Chinese species its official name, Cordyceps sinensis (Berk.) Sacc. It is the species in every Hoola scoop, as a cultivated fruiting body extract at 3,000 mg dry equivalent per 10 g serve.
How is Cordyceps militaris different from Cordyceps sinensis?
They are two separate species from the same large genus, and in the health industry they are the two that tend to take centre stage. More than 350 Cordyceps-related species have been found worldwide, classified by fungus and insect host.
Does cordyceps come as capsules, powder or liquid?
All three. Supplements provide cordyceps in powder, capsule and liquid forms, and it is one of the fungi used in mushroom coffee drinks made with mushroom extracts. Hoola is a powder, because a 10 g daily dose of actives does not fit a practical capsule count.
What should you check before buying a cordyceps supplement?
Check the species, the plant part, the dose per serve and whether the brand publishes it. Cordyceps naturally contains many different chemicals, so what you get depends on the product in front of you. In the United States, the FDA has not reviewed cordyceps for safety and effectiveness. Our certificate lists all 27 active ingredients with exact quantities per gram, and anyone can look up AUST L 508472 on the public ARTG register and check every number.
When is the best time of day to take cordyceps?
Morning or early afternoon. Mix one 10 g scoop into 300 to 400 ml of cold water, ideally as part of your morning routine. Avoid taking it close to bedtime, because Hoola contains 100 mg of caffeine per serve.
How long should you take cordyceps before judging it?
Four to six weeks. Adaptogens may take that long for their full benefits, so a single week tells you very little. The 150 g pouch covers two weeks, which is a fair first look at how you feel. Most of our customers feel the biggest benefits with consistency.
Is a cordyceps supplement suitable for vegans and vegetarians?
Yes. Hoola is vegan, with no sugar, gluten free, naturally flavoured and free of artificial fillers. The cordyceps in it is a cultivated extract, traditionally used in Tibetan and Chinese herbal practice.
Is the cordyceps hidden inside a proprietary blend?
No. We provide full formula transparency, including dosages of all functional ingredients, with nothing to hide. Hoola is a listed supplement in oral powder form, and the cordyceps figure sits on the register alongside every other active: 300 mg/g dry equivalent, 3,000 mg dry equivalent per 10 g serve.
Do cordyceps benefits differ for men and women?
The research described here reports results for participants as a group rather than splitting them by sex. The proposed mechanism is the same either way: cordyceps may help increase the body's production of ATP, the molecule essential for delivering energy to the muscles. A 2024 study across a test tube analysis and a clinical trial with 40 human participants found it may have adaptogenic properties, helping the body cope better with stress. An earlier 2024 study gave 14 young adults either a placebo or 1 g of Cordyceps before a high intensity interval session. Every Hoola scoop carries the same 3,000 mg dry equivalent. Curious about the rest of the formula? Our blog goes ingredient by ingredient.
Always read the label and follow directions for use.
