What Is the Psilocybin Cup? (Cup Winners & Strongest Strains 2021 & 2022)

You may have heard us talk about the Psilocybin Cup in a few of our articles when quoting the potency of certain magic mushrooms, but what exactly is it?

In short, the Psilocybin Cup run by Oakland Hyphae is a competition where mushroom growers proudly enter samples of their best Psilocybe cubensis strains for a chance of a podium finish. 

Hyphae Labs, the laboratory that tests samples for the cup, provides psilocybin and psilocin percentages as well as total tryptamine percentages for all the samples that are entered into the cup. The submissions are then ranked and awarded based on the results. 

Awards are also given based on the effects of the shrooms, their looks, their potency, and/or balance in terms of strength and effects.

Some of the potential titles a given submission can win include:

• Spiritual/Therapeutic Champion
• Recreational Champion
• Microdose Champion
• Bag Appeal Champion

The results from previous years are available online and can be found on the Oakland Hyphae website.

When Did the Psilocybin Cup Start?

The idea for The Oakland Hyphae Psilocybin Cup started in 2019 when the City Council of Oakland, California, decriminalized psychedelic mushrooms and other psychoactive organisms. The first Psilocybin Cup was held in the Spring of 2021 and has been expanding in popularity year after year, with entrant samples growing dramatically for every cup.

Hyphae Labs, a laboratory invested in “bridging the gap between health and the environment,” started the Psilocybin Cup to compare the psilocybin and psilocin contained within psychedelic mushrooms. Since the cup’s founding in 2021, there have been 4 competitions (Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022) featuring dozens of samples from growers across the United States.

What’s The Purpose of the Psilocybin Cup?

According to Ian Bollinger, a biologist, and researcher from Hyphae Labs, the Psilocybin Cup began as a means of harm reduction. 

Bollinger has said that due to the growing decriminalization of magic mushrooms, it’s only natural that people are going to actively pursue experimenting with magic mushrooms on their own. Most will evaluate a dose of magic mushrooms by weight, and from this factor alone, it’s impossible to know exactly how much psilocybin is being consumed.

Bollinger wanted to attempt to provide some clarity to those that want to try psychedelic mushrooms. The Psilocybin Cup was his way to gain interest and spread potency information about the several different strains of Psilocybe cubensis that are becoming widely available to the general public in decriminalized regions. 

Thanks to the hundreds of samples that have been submitted to Hyphae Labs, a larger picture of the potency from many strains of psilocybe cubensis has been painted. This allows people to, at the very least, make a more accurate estimation of potency before ingesting any psychedelic fungi. 

When Is the Psilocybin Cup Held?

The Oakland Hyphae Psilocybin Cup is held twice per year — once in the spring and once in the autumn (fall).

The exact date of the release of the Psilocybin Cup results is announced on the Oakland Hyphae website and occasionally on the Oakland Hyphae Instagram page. The results come in the form of a downloadable PDF file that can be viewed on mobile and desktop devices.

Who Can Enter the Psilocybin Cup?

Anyone can register to participate in the Oakland Hyphae Psilocybin Cup. Registration is announced shortly before the Cup is held on their website. Alternatively, you can contact Oakland Hyphae with an inquiry about the registration process by using the contact form on the website.

The requirements to be considered for the Psilocybin Cup are unclear. However, anyone can fill out the registration form to apply. Oakland Hyphae will contact you with the details of submission and provide consultation to those that have registered with details of how to submit a sample.

The Psilocybin Cup Winners: 2021 & 2022

Since the Oakland Hyphae Psilocybin Cup started, several super potent strains of Psilocybe cubensis have come to light. So far, the highest tryptamine content ever recorded was awarded in the Spring of 2021 to Magic Myco Farm with their Tidal Wave submission. 

2021 Psilocybin Cup Results

There were two competitions in 2021 featuring a total of 138 Psilocybe cubensis samples. 

The average psilocybin concentration reported in both 2021 competitions was 0.75%. The average psilocin was 0.14%, and the average total tryptamine levels were 0.89%.

The winner was a Tidal Wave submission by Magic Myco Farm (3.82% tryptamines), followed by a Fuzzy Balls submission from Chip Forsythe (3% tryptamines). Penis Envy came in third with 2.9% tryptamines. 

2022 Psilocybin Cup Results

There were 2 competitions in 2022 featuring a total of 170 Psilocybe cubensis submissions. This year the competition also started introducing other species, including Paneolus bisporus, Psilocybe semperviva-subtropical, Psilocybe allenii, Psilocybe allenii, Psilocybe natalensis, Psilocybe natalensis, Psilocybe galindoi, and Cordyceps militaris.

Within the Psilocybe cubensis submissions, the average psilocybin, psilocin, and total tryptamine concentrations reported were 0.74%, 0.08%, and 0.9%, respectively. 

The sample with the highest tryptamine concentration was Shiva Lingam submitted by PsillySimon — featuring 2.41% total tryptamines by dried weight. 

Second place goes to an Albino Penis Envy strain submitted by MycelicNetwork (1.94% tryptamines), followed by another Albino Penis Envy from CPAP (1.89% tryptamines). 

As in previous competitions, the top 10 list is dominated by Penis Envy genetics. 

Top 15 Most Potent Magic Mushroom Strains Entered in the Psilocybin Cup

There have been hundreds of strains entered in the Psilocybin Cup so far — here are some of the strongest samples tested so far ranked by peak total tryptamine concentrations. 

1. Tidal Wave (TW)

Tidal Wave won the 2021 Spring Oakland Hyphae Psilocybin Cup for its staggering psilocybin and psilocin content. 

The sample that won the cup was cultivated by Magic Myco Farm and produced an overall tryptamine content of 3.82%, made up of 2.26% psilocybin and 1.56% psilocin. To put that into perspective, a typical Golden Teacher sample in the cup produced a total tryptamine content of around 0.75%.

This strain is a cross between Penis Envy and B+ Strain — two strains renowned for their potency. The shrooms have short fat stems similar to Penis Envy but wide golden caps that are similar to the B+ strain.

Specs:

• Peak Tryptamines: 3.82% (spring 2021)
• Total Entrants: 9
• Average Tryptamines: 1.17%

2. Fuzzy Balls (FB)

A strain by the name of Fuzzy Balls was entered into the Spring 2021 Psilocybin Cup by a cultivator by the name of Chip Forseyte. Very little is known about this cultivar, and information about its genetics is impossible to track down. However, the sample did incredibly well in the Cup.

Fuzzy Balls came second place after Tidal Wave in the 2021 Spring Cup with a psilocybin percentage of 1.67% and a psilocin percentage of 1.32%. That’s a total tryptamine content of around 3.00%.

Unfortunately, we can’t provide any more information about this sample. It remains a mystery to the mushroom community. It’s likely that the sample was some kind of offshoot of Penis Envy. Hopefully, we’ll hear more about Fuzzy Balls in the near future.

Specs:

• Peak Tryptamines: 3.00% (Spring 2021)
• Total Entrants: 1
• Average Tryptamines: 3.00%

3. Penis Envy (PE)

Penis Envy is renowned for its potency, and unsurprisingly, it has done extremely well in multiple Psilocybin Cups. 

In the 2021 Spring Psilocybin Cup, a sample of Penis Envy cultivated by Blackapple411 came third place with an overall tryptamine content of 2.90%, made up of 1.65% psilocybin and 1.26% psilocin. 

Penis Envy also won an award at the Fall 2021 Psilocybin Cup. It gained the title of Spiritual/Therapeutic Champion. Oakland Hyphae chose Penis Envy for this award based on the total tryptamine content over several different samples. 

The sample with the highest potency was cultivated by PsillySimon. This sample produced a result of 16.07 milligrams of psilocybin and 0.37 milligrams of psilocin per gram of dried shroom — a total tryptamine content of 1.64%.

Penis Envy gets its name from the phallic-shaped fruiting bodies it produces. It’s known as a “super shroom,” and almost all of the highly-potent strains of Psilocybe cubensis feature its genetics.

Specs:

• Peak Tryptamines: 2.90% (Spring 2021)
• Total Entrants: 23
• Average Tryptamines: 1.15%

4. Shiva Lingam

Shiva Lingam has been entered in the competition twice so far — once in fall 2021 and again in fall 2022 — both times, this strain was entered by PsillySimon — a respected user on the Shroomery forums. However, no information is publicly available about this strain. 

PsilySimon’s Shiva Lingam is impressive. The strongest submission was the fall 2022 sample (CUP319) with 2.19% psilocybin, 0% psilocin, and a total tryptamine concentration of 2.41%.

Specs:

• Peak Tryptamines: 2.41% (Spring 2022)
• Total Entrants: 2
• Average Tryptamines: 1.98%

5. Albino Penis Envy (APE)

Albino Penis Envy is an albino offshoot of the original Penis Envy strain. This strain produces the same phallic-shaped super-potent fruiting bodies with one major difference — they’re completely white.

A sample of Albino Penis Envy was entered into the Spring 2021 Psilocybin Cup by a cultivator by the name of Dr. Greythumb. The sample produced 1.73% psilocybin and 0.61% psilocin — a total tryptamine content of 2.34%. This put the strain in fourth place.

In the Spring 2022 Psilocybin Cup, another sample of Albino Penis Envy was provided by “CPAP.” This sample won the title of Spiritual & Baeocystin Champion, producing 15.68 milligrams of psilocybin and 0.43 milligrams of psilocin per gram of dried shroom.

Baeocystin is another minor psychoactive alkaloid found in magic mushrooms. Often, baeocystin is found in extremely small amounts of 0.10 milligrams or less per gram. However, the Spring 2022 sample of Albino Penis Envy had a staggering 2.47 milligrams per gram of dried mushroom.

Specs:

• Peak Tryptamines: 2.34% (Spring 2021)
• Total Entrants: 29
• Average Tryptamines: 1.16%

6. Penis Envy Uncut

Penis Envy Uncut is an isolation of the Penis Envy strain. As the name implies, the veils on this strain like to remain attached even after the mushroom becomes fully ripe for harvest. 

This strain is even stronger, on average, than the original Penis Envy mushroom — with psilocybin and psilocin average of around 1.36% and 0.68%, respectively. The total tryptamine average (so far) in the competition is 2.04%. 

One sample of Penis Envy Uncut submitted by Minds Eye ranks 5th for 2021 overall (tryptamine concentrations). This sample registered 1.39% psilocybin and 0.93% psilocin for a total of 2.32% tryptamines. The Second sample, submitted by Mrs. Viscius, ranked 15th with a total tryptamine level of 1.75%. 

Specs:

• Peak Tryptamines: 2.32% (Spring 2021)
• Total Entrants: 2
• Average Tryptamines: 2.04%

7. Brain Coral

Not much is known about the Brain Coral strain. It’s very likely this is from the private stock of the grower and has not been made available to the general public (yet). 

The only sample ever submitted to the Psilocybin Cup came in the Spring of 2021 by Chip Forsythe. This sample contained 1.65% psilocybin and 0.51% psilocin for a total tryptamine concentration of 2.17% (considered very potent). 

Chip Forsythe is also the entrant who submitted the only Fuzzy Balls sample to enter the competition so far — another exceptionally powerful mushroom with little information about its origins and no available source for spores. 

We look forward to seeing what Chip comes up with in the future and hope he makes some of his private stock public in the future. 

Specs:

• Peak Tryptamines: 2.17% (Spring 2021)
• Total Entrants: 1
• Average Tryptamines: 2.17%

8. Old Dirty Penis Envy

This strain is one of the many potent offshoots of the original Penis Envy strain. It was (allegedly) created by a Shroomery user called “Old Dirty.” 

In total, three samples have been submitted to the competition so far; the strongest was a sample submitted by Fungi Guru in the Spring 2021 competition that showed a total tryptamine concentration of 2.13%. 

Specs:

• Peak Tryptamines: 2.13% (Spring 2021)
• Total Entrants: 3
• Average Tryptamines: 1.26%

9. Amazon

The Amazon strain is best known for its affinity for developing monster mushrooms and is currently the record holder for the largest magic mushroom ever collected. This strain is also notoriously potent. The combination of large mushrooms, excellent contaminant resistance, and high potency make it one of the most popular strains available today.

Despite how popular this mushroom is amongst home growers, only 2 Amazon mushroom samples have been submitted to the competition thus far. The strongest was submitted by Mind Works Mushrooms in the spring of 2021. This sample contained an impressive 1.85% total tryptamines. 

Specs:

• Peak Tryptamines: 1.85%
• Total Entrants: 2
• Average Tryptamines: 1.36%

10. Casper

Casper was the fourth most potent strain of 2022 (based on total tryptamine concentrations). So far, we’ve only seen one sample of the Casper strain submitted to the competition, and not much is known about its origins or growth habits.

This sample was submitted by Traejen Veladorn (CUP 179). This mushroom contained 1.51% psilocybin, 0.08% psilocin, and 1.79% total tryptamine levels. 

Specs:

• Peak Tryptamines: 1.79% (Spring 2022)
• Total Entrants: 1
• Average Tryptamines: 1.79

11. Enigma (ENIG)

The Enigma strain, aptly named because it’s unlike any other magic mushroom out there, produces coral-like fruiting bodies rather than phallic or toadstool-shaped mushrooms. 

Enigma is a crazy-looking shroom, but it’s not just its looks that intrigues people. When grown well, Enigma can produce potent fruiting bodies that are extremely stable. Now, Enigma isn’t nearly as potent as the likes of Penis Envy or Tidal Wave, but its stability is what won it its title in the Fall 2021 Psilocybin Cup.

Enigma won the Recreational Champion award in the Fall 2021 Psilocybin Cup. The reason for this was based on its relatively potent psilocybin level of 10.09 milligrams per gram and its low psilocin content of fewer than 0.10 milligrams per gram.

With low amounts of psilocin, the mushroom is far more stable when used in cooking. This makes it the perfect candidate for making psilocybin chocolates, extracts, and other edibles. 

The sample that won the 2021 Fall Recreational Champion title was cultivated by Mendo Myco.

Specs:

• Peak Tryptamines: 1.67% (Spring 2021)
• Total Entrants: 23
• Average Tryptamines: 0.85%

12. Tosohatchee Cubensis

Not much is known about the Tosohatchee Cubensis strain. So far, three Tosohatchee samples have been submitted to the competition, all by the same entrant — West Coast Gold Caps:

A) Leucistic Tosohatchee (CUP 33) — ranked 20th in the spring 2021 cup with 1.52% tryptamines. 

B) Tosohatchee Aborts (CUP 165) — ranked 6th for overall potency in the spring 2022 cup with 1.63% total tryptamine levels. 

C) Green Cap Tosohatchee (CUP 164) — ranked 43rd in spring 2022 with 1.13% tryptamines.

Tosohatchee appears to be a formidable strain, with tryptamine levels remaining consistently over 1%. Interestingly, the aborts sample contained the highest concentration overall. An abort refers to a small pinhead that forms on the surface of the mycelium that never matures into a full-fledged mushroom. 

Specs:

• Peak Tryptamines: 1.63% (Spring 2022)
• Total Entrants: 3
• Average Tryptamines: 1.43%

13. Yeti

The Yeti strain is a genetic isolation of the True Albino Teacher Strain. It scores consistently well in the Cup with average tryptamine concentrations around 1.2%. It was allegedly created by a mycologist using the online handle “Jik Fibs.”

There were no yeti samples entered in 2021, but 6 showed up in 2022. Yeti scored both 8th and 9th overall for tryptamine concentrations in 2022 — but the margins were very close. The strongest of the two was submitted by Socal.myco and contained 1.56% tryptamines. The next in line for 2022 was a sample from Orion’s Saucers with 1.54% tryptamines.

Specs:

• Peak Tryptamines: 1.56% (Spring 2022)
• Total Entrants: 6
• Average Tryptamines: 1.17%

14. Albino Chodewave

Albino Chodewave is a combination of Albino Penis Envy with Tidal Wave. This strain has only been entered into the competition twice so far, once by “Purple Mystic Myco” and another by “Pappy.”

The strongest submission so far was in the spring of 2022, with a total tryptamine concentration of 1.47%. 

There isn’t much information about this strain online, and so far, none of the big vendors carry its spores. 

Specs:

• Peak Tryptamines: 1.47%
• Total Entrants: 2
• Average Tryptamines: 1.20%

15. Melmac

The Melmac strain is believed to be an offshoot of the Penis Envy strain — which could explain the high average potency of this strain. There’s also an albino version of the Melmac strain, but this version is less potent overall. 

Melmac is consistently potent, with an average of nearly 1% tryptamines throughout the competition. The weakest sample submitted so far had 0.73% tryptamines, which is still on the higher end of what we’d consider average. 

The strongest sample of Melmac submitted was in the Spring of 2022 by Chad’s Mycology NPB. This sample contained 1.45% and ranked number 16 out of all the Psilocybe cubensis samples submitted in 2022. 

Specs:

• Peak Tryptamines: 1.45% (Spring 2022)
• Total Entrants: 6
• Average Tryptamines: 0.98%

Summary: The Oakland Hyphae Psilocybin Cup

The Psilocybin Cup was originally created as a means of harm reduction. The creator of the Cup, Ian Bollinger, believes that providing people with solid data on the potency of different magic mushrooms will help people calculate doses more accurately. 

This competition is still relatively young, but it’s quickly becoming extremely popular among the mushroom community. Every Psilocybin Cup sees more and more submissions, and the data sheets are filling up with new and exciting strains.

The Psilocybin Cup not only provides data on the most potent strains, but it openly displays the tryptamine content of all the submissions. The Cup is also evolving with champions for therapeutic value, microdose value, recreational value, and aesthetic value.

We hope to see more from the Oakland Hyphae Psilocybin Cup in the future. With its growing popularity, we can only expect that more strains become listed and potency data for the many strains of Psilocybe cubensis becomes available to the wider public.