Functional (or medicinal) mushrooms are all over the health industry these days. Chaga being one mushroom that gets a lot of hype. While it has grown in popularity recently, it has been used for thousands of years in Russia and parts of Asia. I’ve personally heard claims from people about it being a superfood, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, etc. 

Every winter Jimmy and I try to harvest some chaga near our home. I think part of the appeal is that Alaska is so harsh and barren in certain ways that we appreciate the things we can harvest. We drink it as a tea throughout the winter to take advantage of the anti-oxidants, vitamins, and minerals. 

What is chaga?

Chaga is a type of mushroom or fungus that grows on birch trees (usually) in the Northern Hemisphere. The fungus spore is transported to a tree usually by the wind. Once it finds a tree, it will form a ‘conk’ on the trunk of a birch tree. This porous conk is black on the outside. Once harvested, you can see the inside of the mushroom is a coppery brown color. 

Harvesting chaga

Chaga is really hard and can be harvested with a hammer or hatchet. It takes up to 20 years for a conk to fully develop. When we harvest chaga, we always take less than half of the conk so that it can continue to grow. It should be at least the size of a grapefruit before harvesting. 

It’s important to note that there are other similar looking grows that can look like chaga. Therefore it is best to avoid harvesting what may look like chaga on aspen, poplar, and beech trees. 

I have always heard that it is best to harvest chaga in the winter time – November through March. However, as I did some more research, I haven’t seen this claim backed up by a specific scientific study. It is easier for us to find chaga in the winter because there are no leaves on the trees and off trail trees are more accessible via snow machine. If we were going to harvest in the summer, I would just make sure to do it on a dry day. 

Once we bring the chaga home we let it sit in a dry place for a week or two so any moisture will dry out. Then we use a tote and hatchet to break the conk up into 1-2” pieces. You can leave your chaga this size and brew it as a tea. We like to use an old coffee grinder to break it down even further. By doing it this way, we can add some of the ground chaga when we brew our coffee. The flavors blend well together and it’s an easy way to incorporate it into a daily habit. 

Why do people use chaga?

Some of the major ‘selling’ points of chaga use are: its anti-inflammatory, supports the immune system, supports heart health, some claim it prevents cancer. 

There is an Alaskan business that has sold chaga at markets for some time and he has told me a couple stories of people reversing cancer, going into remission, etc. Obviously this is anecdotal evidence, but it’s neat to know that something we can harvest for free has the potential to have major health benefits. 

Uses for chaga

When harvested by an individual, it is commonly brewed as a tea. Although it is sold mainstream as well and sold as a powder in capsules, tinctures, part of a coffee blend, etc. So if you are interested in trying it out, there are many options! 

If you are interested in purchasing capsules or powder, I personally use Perfect Supplements Mushroom Immunity capsules when I’m traveling or don’t want to drink tea. Use code HAPPYHOME10 to save some money!

If you are interested in purchasing chaga for tea, I highly recommend this Alaskan company. (I don’t receive anything for recommending their products.)