Chaga anyone? (not sure if this should be in gardening) (grow, trees)

[gouligann]

I just recently learned about Chaga Chaga.net from my son, and evidently we have some on our property. He cut some and simmered it into tea. The taste didn't really turn my crank, but I wonder if any of you have tried it or are finding beneficial effects from ingesting it?

[Submariner]

Chaga grows on my land.

It tastes bad.

It is very hard, you may need to grind it to powder with a power rasp or mill, then boil it for an hour or more. You can not over boil it.

I grow green tea, mint, lemons, stevia and I have beehives for honey. I mix these things for my tea. Never do chaga in tea by itself.

If you live up North somewhere, you might not be able to get all of these things to grow on your land, but here in Maine we do fine.

[gouligann]

Thank you Submariner, I was beginning to think no one would answer this thread. After reading the link I posted and another link full of testimonies and recipes, I'm wondering if people are reading (or ingesting) more into it than it's cracked up to be... possibly a health food? phase that is all hogwash.

I checked and it's a hot item in various forms on Amazon also.

[Submariner]

I am not sure how well this forum's posters truly represent the population of our society.

[ukrkoz]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inonotus_obliquus

Yes, chaga is officially in Pharmacopoeia of many countries and is highly valued in Chinese traditional medicine.
No you do not take it for taste. No good medicine tastes good and somehow all that is bad for you does.

[6.7traveler]

I have some chaga on my land in Alaska, and it's pretty easy to find on birch trees behind my land as well if you look around. Some people up here swear by it, and it seems there are quite a few wild chaga businesses around. They package it up nicely and sell it in quite a few stores so some people must be buying it. I have never tried it, but maybe I should. I've heard everything from it helps with leaky gut syndrome, boosts energy levels, and is high in antioxidants. Don't know what is true and what is hype.