Have you ever seen a herd of Yaks suddenly get all excited, energetic and overly playful with each other? Neither have we. Still, about 1,500 years ago yak herders in the Himalayas of Tibet and Nepal noticed that their Yak would graze on some capless mushrooms and suddenly become very energetic and playful. The herders investigated what the Yaks were eating and cordyceps was discovered. In AD 620 (during the Tang Dynasty) the first written record of cordyceps is made. Cordyceps quickly becomes prized by the ruling emperors of China for its healing and longevity properties. Starting in the 1400's Tibetan scholars start to write extensively about cordyceps. In the 18th century, the Western World was introduced to cordyceps. A French Jesuit priest named Jean Baptiste du Halde was a guest of the Chinese Emperor when he was introduced to cordyceps and its revitalizing powers. In 1757 Cordyceps makes its first appearance in a medical text - New Compilation of Materia Medica. From that point on, scientist have been fascinated by the health properties of the cordyceps sinensis mushroom.
