Golden Teacher is by far the most popular strain of magic mushrooms available in Canada. Why is that? A couple of likely reasons might be:

1. They have a reputation for providing a spiritual, enlightening experience that is anecdotally described by consumers as more gentle and less intense than some other strains.
2. They are an excellent strain for growing indoors; consistent, reliable, and resistant to some of the growing pitfalls of more finicky varieties.
3. People like the name. For many consumers, magic mushrooms are a natural tool for gaining deeper understanding, about the world and about themselves. A “Golden Teacher” seems like a desirable entity to have along on that journey.

Because of the legal restrictions we have endured around magic mushrooms for so long, reliable accounts of where it got the name are few; but one post from a mycology forum in 2010 provides a clue:

“…he named it “Golden Teacher”. He did this because sometimes right before the veils break when the primordia are at their largest size before becoming mature, the entire shroom can have a golden yellowish colour which vanishes when maturity starts to set in.”

And where does it trace its geographical origins? Many accounts put it as a popular strain used by many Dutch growers years ago. It is reported they got it originally from a magic mushroom mycology team in Hawaii, so it may in fact be a native strain to a Pacific island. Regardless, as one of the earliest growers stated in discussion about it’s geographical roots:

“It really doesn’t matter where it came from. The reality of it is that it is a superb Cubensis cultivar, one of the best ever found.”