{"id":2638,"date":"2025-09-08T10:49:23","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T10:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2025\/09\/08\/spores-cafe-brings-functional-mushrooms-to-ann-arbor\/"},"modified":"2025-09-08T10:49:27","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T10:49:27","slug":"spores-cafe-brings-functional-mushrooms-to-ann-arbor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2025\/09\/08\/spores-cafe-brings-functional-mushrooms-to-ann-arbor\/","title":{"rendered":"Spores Cafe brings functional mushrooms to Ann Arbor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Ann Arbor coffee lovers have a new spot to explore between Packard and Hill streets since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sporescafe.com\/\">Spores Cafe<\/a> opened in<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DMJwCoXNcyH\/\"> mid-July,<\/a> offering a menu full of mushroom-infused beverages and products.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with The Michigan Daily, co-founder Joe Boumaroun said he was inspired to open the cafe with his lifelong friends because he wants to change some of the connotations around<a href=\"https:\/\/healthcare.utah.edu\/healthfeed\/2024\/01\/functional-mushrooms-whats-these-fun-guys\"> functional mushrooms<\/a>, which have been used in traditional medicine for potential health benefits such as enhanced focus and memory.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI guess what inspired us to create Spores Cafe is to bring a sort of wellness and awareness of the use of functional mushrooms,\u201d Boumaroun said. \u201cAnd we thought a great way to do it would be through coffee.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Customers can grab a coffee, refresher or latte and \u201csupercharge\u201d it with mushroom extracts including Lion\u2019s Mane, Cordyceps and Reishi, which are intended for focus, energy and relaxation, according to the cafe\u2019s website.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>Spores serves a variety of beverages with or without functional mushrooms, including coffee staples like espresso and lattes, matcha and their signature Tom Brady, a lemonade-iced tea blend.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The space is intended to be grab-and-go, with no seating inside. Aside from drinks, customers can also buy \u201cmagic mushroom\u201d-infused products including chocolate bars, gummies, drink mixes and capsules.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As opposed to functional mushrooms, \u201cmagic mushrooms\u201d contain hallucinogenic drugs called psilocin and psilocybin, which can produce feelings of euphoria and sensory distortion. These compounds are <a href=\"https:\/\/recovered.org\/hallucinogens\/psilocybin\/psilocybin-legal-status\">not legal<\/a> in the state of Michigan, but were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.poison.med.wayne.edu\/updates-content\/public-service-announcement-psychedelics-decriminalized-in-ann-arbor\">decriminalized<\/a> in Ann Arbor in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Boumaroun reflected on his own experience with functional mushrooms \u2014 using<a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthline.com\/nutrition\/lions-mane-mushroom\"> Lion\u2019s Mane<\/a> \u2014 which he said can boost the immune system, reduce inflammation and fight dementia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI started taking Lion\u2019s Mane a while ago,\u201d Boumaroun said. \u201cAnd I did notice a difference in my sharpness, my memory, my focus, and I\u2019ve been taking it ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-2    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>LSA sophomore Luca DeSanto spoke about the cafe\u2019s appeal to students becoming<a href=\"https:\/\/www.texashealth.org\/areyouawellbeing\/Health-and-Well-Being\/Study-Shows-Younger-Generations-Are-More-Health-Conscious-Than-Previous-Generations\"> more health-conscious<\/a> in an interview with The Daily, after purchasing a drink.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think students today are really focused on health stuff, and being more intelligent with that,\u201d DeSanto said. \u201cSo I think this alternative path is going to be pretty attractive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jesse Luckett, a barista at Spores, told The Daily he tries to help customers understand the benefits of different mushrooms without overwhelming them. He said people often question what each mushroom is supposed to do.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI usually start with asking them what type of effects they\u2019re looking for,\u201d Luckett said. \u201cThat way, I\u2019m not overwhelming them with information, just because otherwise I\u2019d be teaching a class on each of the mushrooms and I don\u2019t really need to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>DeSanto, who lives just minutes from the cafe, sees Spores as a unique addition to the area.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-3    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cI live right down a couple minutes from here,\u201d DeSanto said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know it existed before this. So, I think it\u2019s really unique, and I would definitely be frequenting here a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Boumaroun said he has been pleased with how students and locals have embraced the cafe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI see it fitting in pretty well,\u201d Boumaroun said. \u201cI feel like a lot of the students in the area have been coming in for coffees and have been adding the functional mushrooms to it, whether it\u2019s for studying, whether it\u2019s for working out, whatever it may be. So I think we\u2019ve been fitting in pretty well with the local community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Daily Staff Reporter Kayla Lugo can be reached at klugo@umich.edu.<\/em><\/p>\n<aside>\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related articles<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ann Arbor coffee lovers have a new spot to explore between Packard and Hill streets since Spores Cafe opened in mid-July, offering a menu full of mushroom-infused beverages and products. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, co-founder Joe Boumaroun said he was inspired to open the cafe with his lifelong friends because he wants [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[242,243,318,2593,2828,2829,2827],"class_list":{"0":"post-2638","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-ann","9":"tag-arbor","10":"tag-brings","11":"tag-cafe","12":"tag-functional","13":"tag-mushrooms","14":"tag-spores"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2638"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2640,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2638\/revisions\/2640"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}