How to Test Mushrooms
How to Test Mushrooms for Potency
How strong is this material?
That's the one question the Psilocybin QTest answers. It measures how much psilocybin and psilocin a dried sample holds, and it reports that as a percentage and a milligram amount. It can't tell you which mushroom you're holding, and it can't tell you a mushroom is safe to eat.
Magic mushrooms owe their effects to two compounds, psilocybin and psilocin. How much of either a mushroom carries is not fixed. Potency varies widely from one species to the next, from one flush to the next on the same fungus, and even within a single mushroom, where caps and stems can differ. Two pieces that weigh the same can be a long way apart in strength, and you can't see that difference by looking.
The Psilocybin QTest measures the concentration of psilocybin and psilocin in dried fungal material: mycelium, fruiting bodies, sclerotia (often sold as truffles), and dried extracts. The single-use kit reports both a percentage and a milligram amount of psilocybin present, so you learn how potent the material in front of you is. That's where it stops. It works on dried material only, not fresh, because water weight throws off a reading taken by weight. It measures potency, and it does not identify the species or tell you that a wild mushroom is a safe one to eat. Misidentifying a toxic look-alike can be dangerous, and this test does nothing to answer that question for you.
Common mushroom terminology
New to this? These are the words the rest of the page uses, so tap any term to expand it.
Psilocybin
The main psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms. A QTest measures how much of it a dried sample holds, and that number describes the potency of the material, not which mushroom produced it.
Psilocin
Psilocybin's active partner, and the form the body converts psilocybin into. The Psilocybin QTest accounts for both compounds when it measures potency, but it still can't tell you the species carrying them.
QTest (quantitative test)
A test that measures the concentration of one target, here psilocybin and psilocin. It quantifies potency and nothing more: it doesn't identify a substance, screen for contaminants, or clear a sample for use.
Fruiting body
The mushroom itself, cap and stem, the part most people picture. Potency can differ between the cap and the stem, so a QTest reading describes only the piece you actually put in the test.
Mycelium
The root-like network a fungus grows from, before any mushroom appears above ground. The Psilocybin QTest can measure psilocybin in dried mycelium, though the amount there often differs from the fruiting body it feeds.
Sclerotia ("truffles")
Hardened masses that some psilocybin species form below ground, sold as truffles. A QTest measures their potency once they're dried, and it still won't tell you they belong to a safe species.
Flush
One wave of mushrooms produced by a single batch of mycelium. Potency can shift from one flush to the next, so a reading from an earlier flush may not describe a later one.
Potency vs. identity
Two separate questions. Potency is how much active a sample holds, which a QTest measures. Identity is what the mushroom actually is, which only a laboratory or a qualified expert with proper methods can establish.
Dried vs. fresh
The Psilocybin QTest works on dried material only. Fresh mushrooms are mostly water, and that water throws off a potency reading taken by weight, so the material has to be dried before a reading means anything.
Species misidentification / look-alikes
Some toxic mushrooms closely resemble psilocybin-containing ones. A potency test says nothing about this: a number tells you strength, not whether you've correctly identified a safe mushroom, and getting that wrong can be dangerous.
What the Psilocybin QTest does, and doesn't
The QTest gives you a number you couldn't otherwise get at home: the concentration of psilocybin and psilocin in your dried sample, as a percentage and a milligram amount. That number matters, because potency varies so much between species, flushes and even parts of one mushroom that weight alone tells you very little.
What the number is not: it isn't the name of your mushroom, it isn't a contaminant screen, and it isn't a sign the material is safe to consume. A reading describes the potency of the exact piece you tested, and nothing beyond it.
Testing dried material, in general terms
The Psilocybin QTest is a single-use kit, and the exact procedure ships with it and lives on the QTest Basics page. In broad strokes, three things decide whether your reading is worth trusting:
- Dry the material fully first. The kit reads dried mycelium, fruiting bodies, sclerotia or dried extracts. It does not work on fresh mushrooms, whose water weight skews a reading taken by weight.
- Sample so it represents the batch. Potency differs between caps and stems, between flushes, and from one mushroom to another, so a single small piece may not stand in for the rest. Read the result as describing what you tested.
- Read in bright, neutral light. Keep colored or dim lighting out of it when you interpret the result, and follow the kit's own instructions for the measurement itself rather than anything reproduced here.
None of this turns a potency number into an identity or a safety check. It only makes the potency number honest.
What the QTest can't do
- It doesn't identify the species. A percentage and a milligram figure describe strength, not what the mushroom is. Only a laboratory, or a qualified expert using proper methods, can identify a species.
- It doesn't make a wild mushroom safe. Some toxic look-alikes closely resemble psilocybin species, and a potency reading says nothing about which one you have. If a mushroom was foraged, treat identification as an open question the QTest cannot close.
- It doesn't screen for anything else. The test measures psilocybin and psilocin. It isn't a contaminant check, and a result is never permission to consume.
For the questions a potency test can't answer, mail-in analysis is the honest next step: Transparency Testing, our lab analysis service.
Questions
Can the Psilocybin QTest tell me what species I have?
No. It measures how much psilocybin and psilocin are present, which is a question about strength, not about what the mushroom is. Identifying a species takes a laboratory or a qualified expert with proper methods, and that matters most when a mushroom was foraged, since toxic look-alikes exist.
Can I test fresh mushrooms with it?
No. The kit reads dried material only: mycelium, fruiting bodies, sclerotia or dried extracts. Fresh mushrooms are mostly water, and that water throws off a reading taken by weight, so the material has to be dried before the number means anything.
Does a potency result mean the mushroom is safe to eat?
No. A potency number describes only the strength of the piece you tested. It isn't a species identification, it isn't a contaminant screen, and no test result is permission to consume.
Where do I find the procedure and the price?
The full instructions are on the QTest Basics page, and current pricing and kit contents are on the Psilocybin QTest Kit product page.
My material is a wild mushroom I'm not sure about. What should I do?
Treat identification as the first problem, not potency. A QTest won't tell you whether you've picked a safe species, so get the mushroom identified by a qualified expert or a laboratory before anything else. Transparency Testing handles the questions a home potency test can't.
Measuring potency at home
The Psilocybin QTest reports the psilocybin and psilocin in dried material as a percentage and a milligram amount. Check the product page for current price and contents.
Single-use · Dried material only · Measures potency, not species or safety
More resources
- QTest purity test kit basics
- Lab testing with Transparency Testing: for the questions a potency test can't answer
- Our types of test kits
A sample that has been tested should not be considered safe. There is inherent risk when choosing to consume any substance.
Many factors are involved when conducting a test and examining results, and The Bunk Police does not assume responsibility for the interpretation of results.
Bunk Police kits are intended for identifying unknown substances for harm reduction purposes only. The Bunk Police does not assume responsibility for the use or misuse of this information. Proceed at your own risk.
