Is this made from the fruiting body or from the mycelium? Also, does it need to be extracted by hot water to be most effective?

Hello this information is directly from the manufacturer. "Mesima is mycelium grown but has some of the more obvious potency, color, and fragrance comparisons to the fruiting body itself. Mesima is very challenging to fruit as it turns out. As with most fungi steam or hot water extraction is advocated to ensure bio-availability."

Has anyone brewed this as tea? What does it taste like?

Tastes like toasted rice. I like to chew it.

This is made in my home town, I just found out. According to their website: Our mushroom powders grown in a manner exceeding industry standards to provide the highest quality product possible. They are rich in 1,3 β-D and 1,6 β-D glucans, glycoproteins, arabinoxylans, triterpenes, essential sugars and antioxidants. The mushrooms and mycelium are grown on a certified organic substrate with cGMP’s (current Good Manufacturing Procedures), HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point procedures), and SOP’s (Standard Operating Procedures). The mushrooms and mycelium are dried to a moisture level below 8% and are ground to a fineness of 200 – 500 microns. They are then activated through a steam process to make the constituents readily bio-available for maximum potency. Each lot is sent to analytical labs for microbial testing before being cleared for shipping.

why is this Contains brown rice.?

Per the product details: "Contains brown rice. The myceliated brown rice is not a filler. It is the growing medium, and we fully disclose all aspects of our herbs"