I’ve never heard of chaga until I came upon a bottled drink of chaga made by Sayan Health.
The bottle stated that it’s not a tea or juice, but more of an exotic medley of healthy herbs and berries. It was not bitter at all. it was actually very good.
This is the bottled Chaga I tried in wild raspberry. Can be found at your local Whole Foods Market or ask about it at your favorite health food market. Photo from Amazon.
The label on Chaga tea also stated that this mushroom has antioxidants that are 6 times stronger then acai. The fact that it’s not as pretty looking (as many of the superfruits) probably make this fungus less popular.
Sanya Health got it’s company name from the Altai-Sayan Mountains in the Siberia taiga (where temperatures are below -40 degrees most of the year). As this is where they harvest their chaga, since the extremely cold temperatures produce more potent chaga.
Chaga (scientific name: Inonotus obliquus) also known as cinder cork. It’s a unique fungus that grows especially on the wounds of birch trees. But it can also be found growing on ironwood, elm, alder, beech and other hardwood species.
It has the highest antioxidant concentration of any known natural food. When made into tea (and no sweetener added), the taste is suppose to be slightly bitter. Like many herbal medicines, the bitterness seems to be a common factor.
Due to chaga’s health benefits, it’s been referred to as “King of Herbs” and “Nature’s Silver Bullet”. Chaga has been researched as an antiviral, anti-tumor for breast and uterine and other cancers, and diabetes.
