Harvesting Chaga, How to Store and Brew Tea 

Sweet video! When harvesting try to leave some Chaga behind, as the tree is now dependant on it.

When you're pecking it you should never take it all off the tree should always leave a little chunk on their otherwise it takes a long long long time for to go back

When harvesting chaga it needs to be more in the middle of the winter and only take half so the other half will keep growing or you will kill it. Peeling birch bark off a tree in sheets will kill it especially now that the temps are warming up... And the sap will start running if it hasn't already.. Take from already down trees (the bark doesn't rot like the core does) and or when you clear your new property peel it on trees you take down. Just some suggestions.

Great video. We live in Northern Ontario and we have a lot of White and Yellow Birch in our area. I know a few spots where there is Chaga. Yes, leave some Chaga on the tree as it keeps on growing. I bought a high quality extendable pruning saw for and used to for the first time with great success. I do chop it up with a large chisel, in a deep wooden box. I then dry it in a food dehydrator on low heat. I also use a coffee grinder and get it into a fine powder, put it my coffee or tea, and I do ingest it. I've also made a red wine reduction with Chaga in a slow cooker on low heat.

Nice..! Did not know you could get those in Alaska ! Love Light and Wisdom 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚

That looked like a northern flying squirrel to me and probably partially eaten by an owl. Nature is wild! Keep on adventuring!

When we have 44 degrees in my country we are wearing coats, gloves and hats lol

That was a flying squirrel!

chaga is amazing. vanilla.

You found Chaga!! Tip - drywall saw is a great harvest tool to ensure future harvests 😉

You have birch canker in Alaska? I though is was a thing here in Northern Scandinavia but I should've guessed that things that grow on birch trees here, grow on birch trees everywhere. Its cool to watch something American with so "American typical" cultured people in a climate (although further south and you have day/night all year and such) so close to my own. Its funny as here, we usually categorize Americans as "Southerners" in terms of which kind of culture you guys are. Closer to like South Europeans. But you seem to live quite natural and organic lives and not at all materialistic or consumeristic or "comfy-loving" lifestyles.

hey Ariel we are having so much fun following you two , looks like you have created a wonderful life we enjoy watching all your hard work and amazing experience s in Alaska, miss you here in Oregon blessings in all you do🌏

chaga should be taken when temps are below 0 when the sap has came down, when it warms up it flushes the nutriments back up the tree, the polly spore you had also has benifits of chaga, slow seep it in a crock pot..

Hi guys Do you know that you can also harvest sap from birch trees? Simply clip off an 1/8 " to 1/4 " branch and tie a small container onto the cut end.... 10 hours later you will have a full container of spring birch sap 🙂

Maybe you could try a micro-plane zester/grater to do a fine grind? Or a coffee grinder? They make models that you can crank by hand, as well as the electric models... nice haul, there!

You can use your meat grinder to process the chaga.

old fashioned handheld coffee grinder.

It's funny I found you here.I have followed you on your channel from begin.love you guys l live this life but in Ontario Canada.

Oh what a blessing to be able to harvest chaga. Have been wanting to make medicinal tincture with it, but it is just too expensive for me to afford. Thank you for your wonderful videos.

people from Alaska are simply built different

Chaga!! I first learned about this from Dans Bois! It's cool that you guys have that there as well. This makes me want to try foraging for things around here.😀

Thanks. Just got some today in the ADK. Take care.

You guys need to invest in snow shoes! 😄

That's a flying squirrel!

Very cool. On a sad note, my brother had to put his whippet down today. He was 20 years old. That’s a lot of dog years. Great video guys. I don’t think as have chaga here. I’ve never seen it on any trees.

I've got friends in Fox, they always have a couple pounds of Chaga for me, each month. I drink Chaga Tea by the Gallon . I usually have 8 to 12 gal. Of Chaga in the rig at any time

Good job guys. Enjoy your free tea for months to come.

You can grind it in a manual coffee grinder - I even use a juicer and it works really well.

So the way I have been using chaga for about 5 years is 1.find/harvest the chaga, 2. Let it dry for a day or 2 then smash it into small chunks, 3. Use a magic bullet blender to grind it, 4. Put the powder on coffee filters and put it in a dehydrator for like 24 hrs, then bottle it in mason jars, then put a scoop into empty tea bags you can get on amazon, and simmer it in a pot of water for 10 minutes.

OMG I love this

Thanks for taking us along again! I love your trips and adventures! The dog was cute too!

Awesome video guys! We need to look for chaga. Looks like fun!

Never seen anyone drink their chaga so strongly concentrated! Must taste like the earth. Nice find, happy hunting.

Leave some to grow back looks to me your taking it all

Chaga is quite common here in Norther NY and New England mostly on Yellow Birch and some on White Birch. I thought Chaga was a nutty flavor. Our dogs get Chaga tea every day. Here in the central Adirondacks we are also in zone 3 and find snow shoes a must along with back country skis.

Hahaha! We are going to go try to get more, Eric is like, "we? Ariel must have a mouse in her pocket!" Eric waist deep in snow. 😂🤣😂 I'd like to try some, no birch trees around here. 🙄🤔

after you used chaga for tea steeping save the chaga for fire-lighting (once it is dried out again), chaga is a wonderful tinder fungus. It embers very hot and is almost impossible to put out.

I live in alabama and would love to try this , I have seen alot about it and its benefits

Nice. I have never heard of it.

we have this stuff all over our forest in the ADKs. Been drinking it for about a year now as a tea. my son drinks the tinctured stuff that we bought but I think he does so for the vodka! lol

That was some deep snow that you guys were trudging through. Shorts and a tank top? Haha! I guess you were working pretty darn hard getting through that snow. I thought Eric was going to shimmy up that one tree for the treasure. Man, I'm envious of you guys and Dans Bois Homestead having that stuff around. We haven't seen any Birch trees in our immediate area. We heard that it's tasty to mix the Chaga powder in with hot chocolate so we want to try that. Gin just bought some but we need to go hunt for a source on some of the logging roads around here as soon as some of the snow melts. Nice haul guys.

Have you guys considered growing your own mushrooms? Oyster, shiitake, and plenty of other mushrooms grow well on logs you probably have plenty of access to, and continue to produce for several years.

If you store it in jars, put a small cloth with rice in it too, will absorb moisture. I make a decoction, let it simmer on the absolute lowest setting on my stove, for about 30 minutes. Also look for birch polypore on birch trees only. Medicinally used as well. You can make tincture out of it or decoction. Tastes bitter and just gross, but it has many health benefits. Birch polypore needs to be taken when mature, but not old. If it has a thin white layer of mold on it, do not consume it at all! Dry it until it's like crackers and you can snap it, then store in jars with a bit of rice or make a powder, or you can make a tincture with 97 or 98 degree alcohol. If you have a wound, birch polypore will heal that a lot faster. Take a fresh slice and apply it to the wound and keep it there for a few hours or mix a bit of powder with a drop of water and apply it on the wound. I make a decoction of birch polypore and ginger when I have the flu and it works like a charm. If the birch polypore decoction is not bitter, your polypore is too young. Happy hunting!

The smelly one looked like dead chaga to me. It should just have a woody smell. Your smelling fermentation. Probably won't hurt you but yeah. Should have bright golden and yellow colors , with white near the tree. As soon as you started crumbling it with your fingers i knew . And when i saw the dark interior with a little orange i was sure. I pick these sometimes if the packs light and use them for bug repelant incense. Sometime the trees defences defeat the chaga.

Groovy!

Good afternoon

That looked fun. Never had it before. Does it taste like anything else? All I drink for tea here is mint.. Have a great day you two..!!

Pole climbers. I used to wear them to climb old telephone poles to take down the lines to get the copper.

I seen a video where you had some nice looking tea in a french coffee pot can you tell us what was in that one . i believe it was the last of the video where you were going off to bed .

Chaga!!!!

Nice to learn about changa - but isn’t harmful for the trees? You know best. Teach me. I like to learn from you 👍

ERIC .....what do you use to sharpen your kitchen knives !!!

The animal at 2:30 is a Northern Flying Squirrel.

I just found a big chunk on a recent hike up in Maine. It's definitely dry by now so breaking it up might be tougher but it's cool to know I don't have to do too much to make it useable after that. How hot do you steep it?

Does Chaga feel velvety on the outside?

It looks like you managed to keep the cats out of the seed trays : ) I know with my dogs there is NO question as to if they are coming out with me. lol It's every time, every where. : ) Best wishes Paul

Greetings from Delta Junction! How many times can chaga be used to make tea before it is "used up" and needs to be replaced with fresh? I've heard of folks putting chunks in the tea pot and leaving them in there for several brewings... Thanks!

You are not supposed to take the whole chunk fyi… take 50% max so it can reproduce… :)

snow shoes!

Interesting, never heard of it/Chaga, before until I started watching My Self Reliance, does it taste like anything in particular? .. :-) have you guys thought of investing in show shoes up there? lol

don't take all the chaga, leave some behind to allow it to grow back!

My friends dad gave me some that's a few years old. Is it still good to use? I'm totally new to this.

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Awesome

I was told not to take the entire chunk of Chaga off the tree when harvesting - it could kill the entire tree if you do. Don’t know if this is true or not. Better to be safe than sorry.

FLYING SQUIRREL I THINK OR A PINE MARTIN ONE YOUR THEY OTHER.. I GRIND CHAGA IN AN OLD HAND CRANK MEAT GRINDER.. ALOHA

First thought snowshoes

Please send some chaga! I drink that stuff 2 to 3 times a day.

That’s a flying squirrel

Hi, was it birch trees the Chaga was growing on? If so could it be tapping into the sap and that is why it smells sweet?

👍👍👍

what camera do you use for the video? really enjoy your videos. thanks

I know this is an older video, but what's it like?

👍🏻

And now it's time to trip balls.

Need some tree climbing spikes.

Hey what part of Alaska are you in I’m kenai

Would a Mortar and Pestle work to crush the chaga at all? If it can powder star anise and cinnamon quills etc then it should be able to powder the chaga. Worth a try anyway. Michelle

When you take the chaga off, do you leave any on the tree ?

Hey, my buddy Mike told me about your channel. I just found some chaga out by the Susitna today, i chopped it up like the you said, and I’m going to let it dry for a couple days. Is there anything weird to look out for? Like spores or fungus growing on it within the next couple days as it dries?

You let it cool ,,,, ? Is it not as tasty when hot ?

You guys could definitely sell this!! It goes anywhere from $20 to $2,000 a pound!!

How was it? Does it taste mushroomy or woody?

Love your dogs, please spoil them.

Who knew.

This was very interesting. Thanks. 💕. NonnaGrace

Snow shoes

you guys also need to learn about your wildlife. how about a flying squirrel?

nice chaga, but you guys take too much off. at least 15-20% should remain so they can grow back. :)

Snow shoes. Seriously.

This was torturous watching you mistreat medicinal trees...use a saw, and leave some behind to regrow. you literally killed entire trees by taking too much of the Chaga.