Cheerful Chaga
- May 30, 2024
- 3 min read
Where do I start on Chaga?
My first exposure to chaga was back about 8 years ago when I got my first health food store job. I had a customer that told me a story about him healing his liver cancer from Chaga. I got the sense he wasn’t very big into natural medicine based on how our conversation went.
At that moment I wasn’t able to provide any education on Chaga because I still was in my McDonalds days, mentally.
I just turned vegetarian at 19 years of age and was lost, I was so new to the whole natural world. Without getting into too much detail about my transition into vegetarianism, this blog is about Chaga.
After I finally quit Mcdonalds, I started working for a huge holistic company. A customer came into the store and told me how he cured his own liver cancer by consuming chaga mushroom. I was shocked. To be honest, I really didn’t do any research into mushrooms or Chaga, I just knew what I knew from what the Man had told me. He also had mentioned that was not a believer in natural medicine. To keep in mind, this was the year of 2017- mushrooms were not yet at the front line. Not long after that, I was given Chaga morsels, I had no idea what to do with them. I decided to make a chaga tincture concoction. I was able to get my hands on 94% proof ethyl alcohol (I went to school for Homeopathy and was given a letter allowing me to buy that high of a concentration of alcohol, which is not accessible anymore :( ) I gave away my tinctures as well as consuming it myself. I personally didn’t feel any effects from it but knew I was nourishing my body whole heartedly.
Years went by and I barely had any exposure to any mushrooms. Being involved in the holistic industry, I have opportunities to be invited to watch live online podcasts. I have watched many on Host Defense (magical Paul Stamets) and Harmonic Arts.
It wasn’t until recently this late winter that I went deep into the Dorset woods and foraged a whole heck of a lot of chaga off of beautiful birch trees.
When your eyes stumble on that black mass growing from a birch tree, you feel you just hit the lottery. It’s such a beautiful experience to cut the chaga off the tree and know that nature provides in the most beautiful ways and the extract that will be produced will be extra special because you harvested it yourself.
My first batch was an extract that simmered for 72 hours straight. From that I would add a good cup into my water bottle and topped it off with filtered water. The taste is like no other, such a rich chocolatey birchy flavor. My second batch was made into a tincture. I got 76% proof grain alcohol and has been marinating since March 3 and will probably bottle it up in a couple weeks, which makes it approximately a 6 week batch.
The benefits of chaga are endless. To list a few:
High in antioxidants
Boosts your immune system (contains beta-glucans which regulate immune system)
Fights inflammation
Prevents and fights cancer (contains betulin)
Lowers blood sugar
Lowers cholesterol
Lowers blood pressure
Liver protectant
Boosts intestinal health
It’s amazing that this powerful fungus is missed by so many people because it doesn’t look like anything special until you know what you’re looking for.
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