We travel to the Himalayas to collect Cordyceps mushrooms.
Our family has been living in Nepal since 2012. We went through the devastating earthquake in 2015, and our children were born and grew up in Kathmandu.
In 2023, we began exploring the herbs of the Himalayas, particularly Cordyceps.
My husband, Michael Pham, has climbed many mountains to learn about this valuable herb.
He has climbed Manang, Langtang, Lapchi, Mustang, Lower Dolpo, and Upper Dolpo. These mountains are extremely dangerous to climb, requiring several days of hiking, which is physically demanding and requires good health. But driven by a passion for adventure and discovery, he persisted and explored these mountains. After each climb, he would bring back a variety of herbs—sometimes Snow Lotus, sometimes Reishi mushrooms, and sometimes Cordyceps. We kept these herb samples in the fridge, and once we had enough from different mountains, we began comparing which region produced the best herbs. Ultimately, we realized that the best Cordyceps came from the Upper Dolpo mountain, also known as Dolpa High Mountain.
We started working with 1-2 local people to collect Cordyceps from the Upper Dolpo mountains and bring them to Kathmandu, where we sold them to a few Chinese traders and also exported them to Vietnam.
After more than ten years of working with Cordyceps, I can now tell the quality of the Cordyceps just by looking at a photo. I can tell whether it’s good or not, whether it’s moist or dry, and whether it’s from the Himalayas or grown in a lab. If it’s from the Himalayas, I can even identify which region it comes from.
Cordyceps is a highly valuable product, so you should be careful when purchasing it. Otherwise, you might end up buying lab-grown or adulterated Cordyceps. The name Cordyceps includes both the animal (the larvae) and the plant (the fungus), but in reality, when harvested, it is purely the fungus. We’ve learned through thorough research that when Cordyceps is harvested, the larvae is already dead long before the fungus grows on its body. At that point, the larvae only serves as a shell, and the process involves the exchange of nutrients between the dead insect and the fungus to create the healthiest product for human use.
Therefore, we are proud to provide the wonderful herbal products gifted by the Himalayan mountains, but without causing harm to any living creatures.
Wishing you health and happiness.
