Chaga or Explosive Tick

Chaga is a fantastic fungus that grows on birches. It has been used to make tea for thousands of years and it has been well known that it has good health-promoting effects.

The 5,000-year-old iceman Ötzi had chaga in a leather bag fastened to his belt. Chaga was also used to store fire with and to create fire.

Chagan is full of antioxidants and  complex nutrients. The proportion of antioxidants per 100 g of food is measured in a value called ORAC,  Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity.  The explosive tick achieves a very high ORAC result of between 60,000-360,000, which makes it the king of health fungi.

In 2018, I brewed a chaga beer together with Eskilstuna Ölkultur.

To pick the mushroom, you must have the landowner's permission because it is not included in the right of public access. And when you pick it, you should only take a small piece of the mushroom so that it can recover better. This chagan is picked  in  Sörmland, with the landowners' permission.

Cooking:

Boil two to three pieces in a liter of water until the water turns golden brown to black. Then place the pieces on a platter until the next time they are to be used. When the water no longer gets color and taste, the chagan has done its thing and ends up in the compost.

Chaga tea is good to drink as ice tea and mixed in smoothies.

Sold in packaging of about 100g /  95kr.

The Latin name is: Inonotus Obliquus.