The property owner told me he had found some chaga in a grove of birches. I asked him to show me, so we went for a short hike. This one was the largest and was about 4' off the ground. We harvested it and shared it among friends.
I never tried chaga, how does it taste and how did you prepare it?
or did you just give your friends big pieces of it raw?
This one was so large that we had to cut it into smaller pieces so it would dry properly. I use it to make a hot beverage similar to coffee. It has a flavour and aroma which is rich and earthy and woody and relatively mild. Chaga has medicinal properties: antioxidant & anti-inflammatory, used for both heart and brain health, and may have anti-cancer potential to inhibit tumor growth.
thanks, I'd love to try the drink sometime.
I'll keep that in mind, I imagine at some point I'm going to get into mushroom hunting.
Nice load of chaga! Enjoy it.