Frequently Asked Questions
Common Questions.
If your question is not answered here, contact us at lab@cynicandspore.com or visit the contact page.
About Our Products
What products do you sell?
We sell four sterile media products: a 250ml Liquid Culture Expansion Broth, a 3lb Hydrated Grain Bag, a 5lb Fortified Masters Mix substrate block, and a Standard Cultivation Kit that bundles all three. Every product is sterilized in the same facility under the same process controls.
Are your products ready to inoculate?
Yes. All products ship sterile and ready for inoculation. The LC broth jar has a septum cap for needle access. The grain bag includes a pre-installed injection port for syringe or liquid culture transfer. The substrate block is heat-sealed with a 0.5-micron filter patch.
What is the shelf life of your products?
Sealed, uninoculated LC broth is more shelf-stable than the filter-patch bags, but we still recommend using it by the date code on the Manifest Card rather than treating it as open-ended room-temperature inventory. Grain bags and substrate blocks are released on a strict freshness window and should be inoculated within 14 days of receipt to minimize moisture drift through the filter patch.
What species work best with your media?
The LC broth works for all species and is used upstream of grain inoculation. Grain bags are a universal transfer vector compatible with most cultivated species. Masters Mix performs best with wood-loving species: Lion's Mane, Shiitake, King Oyster, and Reishi. The Standard Kit covers the complete two-stage workflow: LC → grain spawn → substrate fruiting.
Sterilization & Quality
What does F₀ ≥ 120 mean?
F₀ is a lethality calculation that represents the equivalent sterilization effect of 120 minutes at 121°C (250°F). It accounts for temperature, time, and the thermal death kinetics of bacterial endospores. A value of F₀ ≥ 120 means our sterilization cycle provides at least that level of lethality — calculated from continuous thermal integration data, not estimated from a timer.
Why does altitude matter for sterilization?
At our operating elevation of 4,984 ft in Longmont, CO, 15 PSI autoclave pressure yields a saturation temperature of 118.3°C — not 121°C as at sea level. This 2.7°C difference significantly reduces the lethality rate per minute. To hit F₀ ≥ 120 at elevation, we run product-specific extended hold times (up to 229 minutes for substrate). Hobbyist bags sterilized at sea-level timing protocols at this altitude may achieve only F₀ ≈ 30–40.
How do I verify the sterilization data for my order?
Every bag ships with a physical Manifest Card bearing a QR code. Scan the QR code or navigate directly to /batch/[BATCH-ID] on this site to access the thermal integration log, F₀ lethality value, sterilization parameters, and the name of the operator who signed off on your batch. All published batch data is immutable.
What is a QA hold window?
After sterilization, each batch is held at 78–82°F for a product-specific incubation period. LC broth is held for a minimum of 3 days, grain bags for 7 days, and substrate blocks for 5 days. During this window, we visually inspect for contamination indicators (discoloration, gas, turbidity). Batches that show any flag are pulled and do not ship. Only batches passing the full QA review are added to inventory.
The Manifest Card & Batch System
What is the Manifest Card?
The Manifest Card is a physical record of the batch that produced your bag. It is printed on heavy Kraft paper, sealed with green wax, and bears an archival ink operator signature and a pH test strip. It ships inside your box. Do not discard it — it is the chain-of-custody document linking your unit to the batch's full sterilization record.
What is a Digital Birth Certificate?
Each batch has a Digital Birth Certificate hosted at /batch/[BATCH-ID]. It contains the thermal integration log, calculated F₀ lethality, sterilization cycle parameters, QA hold outcome, and operator sign-off. The QR code on the Manifest Card links directly to this record.
What does the pH test strip on the Manifest Card measure?
The pH test strip affixed to the Manifest Card is a reference calibration point for the grain or substrate in your bag. Compare it to your own pH meter reading at receipt. A significant deviation may indicate a batch consistency issue worth investigating before inoculation.
Where can I see all batch records?
The Public Batch Ledger at /archive lists every batch we have produced, including batches that failed QA. Pass/fail status is publicly visible. We publish failed batches as a commitment to transparent process accountability.
Ordering & Shipping
How does the batch-drop release model work?
We do not maintain an always-in-stock inventory. Products become available when a batch completes its QA hold and clears for release. The Laboratory Ledger (release list) notifies subscribers first. Inventory is finite by design — batch sizes are fixed and published on the waitlist page.
How do I get notified when a product is available?
Join the Laboratory Ledger at /waitlist. This is a release notification list — not a newsletter. You will receive an email only when a batch clears QA and inventory opens. You can also sign up for notifications on individual product pages.
Does signing up for the release list reserve a product?
No. Enrollment is notification only and does not reserve inventory. Releases are first-purchased, first-served and may close quickly after notification.
Where do you ship from? How long does delivery take?
All products ship from Longmont, CO. Standard shipping is 3–7 business days. Priority shipping is 1–3 business days. Shipping options are presented at checkout.
What is your sterility guarantee?
We replace units that arrive contaminated, provided: the contamination is reported within 30 days of delivery, the Manifest Card wax seal was intact on receipt, and evidence including a high-resolution contamination photo and intact Manifest Card is submitted. Full policy details are at /guarantee.
Getting Started
I'm new to cultivating. Where should I start?
The Standard Cultivation Kit is the recommended entry point. It includes all three media types (LC broth, grain bag, substrate block) so you can run the complete sterile workflow in sequence: expand your culture in the LC broth, build grain spawn, then inoculate the substrate. Each component is batch-documented and released independently before the kit is assembled.
Do I need a flow hood to use your products?
LC broth is accessible via the septum cap with a syringe. The grain bag includes a pre-installed injection port that allows inoculation without opening the bag, which reduces the need for a laminar flow hood for that step. The substrate block requires breaking and mixing spawn into it, which benefits from a clean or low-contamination environment.
What temperature should I colonize at?
Most gourmet species colonize optimally between 72–78°F. Our QA incubation is conducted at 78–82°F. Check species-specific requirements — the range varies. Avoid temperature spikes above 85°F which can stress or kill mycelium.
Where can I learn more about your process?
The Cynic Protocol at /protocol contains technical documentation covering thermal kinetics and altitude compensation, laboratory-grade inoculation, substrate chemistry, and the lethality constant F₀. The Kineticist at /kineticist is an interactive calculator for altitude-adjusted F₀ estimation.
Still Have Questions?