If your online algorithm detects your having even the slightest interest in growing mushrooms, you will, at some point, probably see an ad for the Lykyn. It looks like something out of a science fiction movie—a clear box with theatrical lighting, fog, and a giant mushroom displayed like an otherworldly specimen.

After trying the Lykyn myself for a month, I can confirm that it really does look like that in real life, and as someone who has tried many different mushroom-growing methods, I was impressed by how well the Lykyn worked as a legitimate fruiting chamber. The thing you’ll have to decide for yourself is whether it’s worth $300 to showcase a process that lasts only a week or two.

Even though the company is based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Lykyn manufactures all fruiting chambers in Turkey and ships them straight from Istanbul for free. I worried about a delay, but my unit arrived in just 11 days, with none of the duty fees or other customs weirdness that seem to plague many overseas shipments these days. The speed was even more impressive given that I had the custom wood handle engraving add-on ($15), which puts your own text on the handle instead of “Lykyn.” (Mine had my name.)

The 13 x 13 x 15-inch unit, available in white or black plastic, arrives mostly disassembled—you will need to peel the protective film off both sides of each acrylic panel, slide them into plastic tracks on the base, add the corner posts, and fill the unit with distilled water.

Source link