Chaga! What? Chaga!

Does anyone else find and consume chaga? It is a miracle mushroom that grows on certain species of birch in the northeast, as it grows it extracts betulin from the birch tree wich occurs naturally in birch and concentrates it in the dense wood like mycelium of the chaga mushroom, betulin (the medicine) is then extracted from the ground mushroom and soaked in alcohol to create a tincture making betulinic acid, it is one of the most beneficial plant medicines known to man, from brain and immune system health to heart and nervous system health, it is truly a one of a kind mushroom, easily missed as the mushroom actually looks like charred wood or a knot in the tree it can take almoat 30 years for it to grow the size of a grapefruit. So, does anyone else find and consume this miracle mushroom?

Zak, I have never harvested my own, but I used to drink chaga mushroom coffee and it was awesome. Real boost I felt. I don't drink coffee anymore though. Could do with some chaga if I could find some.

Look in wetter areas with lots of black and yellow birch, tends to grow in wounds on the trees, i always have good luck on riverbanks and in wetland areas

i harvest it all the time here on yellow and white birch. my biggest was a 30lber growing on a 6ft wide yellow birch. was bigger than a 5 gal pail. I've tried the tincture and didn't care for the taste but drink the tea with honey daily. in fall after leaf fall i can find 50lbs in a morning riding the woods roads. i find a lot of fall oysters at the same time.

It is believed that the infusion of chaga can slow down the growth of malignant tumors. In particular, this is due to the presence of pterin in its composition, which is difficult to find in conventional foods. Because of its composition, chaga mushroom is contraindicated for pregnant and nursing mothers and people who have chronic colitis and are prone to allergic reactions. In addition, this folk remedy cannot be combined with taking medications that contain penicillin or a large amount of glucose. If you want to get the maximum result from taking chaga, you should give preference to those recipes for making a drink in which the maximum amount of useful properties of birch mushroom is preserved.