655486 Mon Sep 28 08:57:20 -0700 2009 2 12 Boston Area 0 5063848 Had dinner at the Blue Ginger Lounge saturday. When DCs ordered coffee they were told that the coffee is made with maitake mushrooms in it but that you would not taste it. DCs did not taste it. The server said something about Asian tradition but I was trying not to laugh out loud and missed the total explanation. Have any of you Asian experts out there heard of this?? I assume since you can't taste it that the info was for anyone alergic to mushrooms. Mon Sep 28 08:57:20 -0700 2009 13202 emilief 1 5063994 I know that the maitake has for some years now been the subject of serious scientific study relative to its purported cancer-fighting properties. In one of the episodes of Simply Ming that I saw recently, Chef Tsai mentioned this. Perhaps he is especially interested in uses for maitakes. Mon Sep 28 09:35:05 -0700 2009 5063848 159317 greygarious 1 5064018 If you google maitake, there's a decent amount of info on maitake used in teas, and in Chinese medicine certain mushrooms purporting to contain a number of healing properties have been commonly used in teas for years as well. Doesn't say anything about coffee, though this may be the next generation of that I suppose. Mon Sep 28 09:42:59 -0700 2009 5063848 13028 kobuta