Chaga Tea – Ground
$18.50
The appealing light vanilla flavour and nutty aroma of wild Chaga tea will help you clear your head and harness that extra energy you need to finish a hectic day (without the caffeine!). This wild fungi can also be blended with other teas, beverages or enjoyed chilled on a hot day. The renowned Wild Chaga Fungi is becoming popular in North America as a super-food. The wild chaga mushroom (Inonotus obliquus) used in these teas are ethically hand harvested in Canada’s North and the teas are manufactured using solar energy. Contains 100 gm.
In stock
Description
Only Chaga harvested from birch are utilized for tea and medicine. You might find look alikes on species of Aspen, Willow, or Poplar. Please avoid these specimens. Betulin, a compound found in birch bark, has medicinal properties that are said to benefit human health and immune systems. Betulin is difficult for our bodies to break down and utilize when harvested directly from the bark of the birch tree. When wild Chaga develop on birch trees they change the betulin’s chemistry, transforming the compound into a form digestible to humans. The betulin is absorbed by the Chaga mushroom as it grows. The healing powers of Wild Chaga have been well documented over the past fifty years. Only a small amount of Chaga is required to make tea (1/8th of a cup will make 2 liters of brew!). If you plan on adding the Chaga to your smoothies or hot chocolates, or other beverages, you can use more. We also use this fantastic fungi in our favourite baking recipes, especially brownies. Our four legged friends (dogs) enjoy the benefits too!
Wild Chaga Fungi (Inonotus obliquus) is found in the world’s northern regions. Northern Chaga tends to be smaller in size, denser and takes longer to grow than wild Chaga growing in southern Canada and the United States. This elusive fungi has a unique symbiotic relationship with its host the birch tree. Some also call it a parasitic relationship. One thing we have learned from years of harvesting and studying the biology of wild Chaga across Northern Canada is that without birch there would be no Chaga! It is hard to tell if Chaga actually causes its host tree’s eventual death or not as there are many factors involved. When the host birch tree dies so does the Chaga growing with it. Once this happens a rare, special event occurs in which the fruiting body erupts for a short time on the trunk of the birch tree. This fruiting body looks nothing like the sterile conk of Chaga that we collect for tea. Instead it forms a thick 1-2 inch layer comprised of thousands of tiny spores that blow away in the wind or are carried by insects to new birch trees. Thus the life cycle of Chaga begins once again.
