While perusing around our website, you may have noticed an odd-sounding ingredient called Chaga. We sell raw chaga in ground form to use as a tea, and it is a featured ingredient in our Mocha Chaga Honey Tea.
Chaga is a medicinal mushroom that grows on decaying birch trees. It is known to help prevent ailments such as lyme disease, cancer, tumors and the flu. The health benefits of chaga have been recognized for centuries. The Japanese call it “the diamond of the forest,” while the Chinese deem it “king of plants.”
It is believed that chaga supports the whole system. Some say chaga even helps you to live longer. It is especially popular in Siberia, Russia. This article claims “the chaga drinker lives 85 to 100 years, while the non chaga-drinking person, the Inuit, lives only about 50 years.”
Chaga is able to withstand harsh climates by concentrating natural compounds for its protection. Here in Maine, you can often find chaga sold in health food stores and farmers’ markets.
All of the Zen Bear Honey Tea chaga is wild harvested in Maine by our son, Ian, a licensed arborist.
In case you were wondering, our favorite way to brew chaga tea is with the ground chaga. We suggest simmering (not boiling) approximately two tablespoons of chaga in a small saucepan of water for 30 – 40 minutes. Note: the longer it is simmered, the more nutrients are drawn out. Once you are done simmering the chaga, strain it into a cup.
You can drink the chaga straight or with added milk or cream, just as you would with coffee or tea. Some people also like to add it to their morning coffee.
Here are a few articles we recommend for more information on chaga and its health benefits:
- Farmers, herbalists look to chaga mushrooms for health benefits
- The “Gift from God”
- How Chaga Mushroom Can Help You Be Healthy
Have you tried chaga before? How do you use it?
