How to make drinks with chaga
Which chaga is healthier: tea, powder or extract?
Let's first look at chaga tea. Two-step brewing requires that chaga is first brewed in hot water at 50 °C, and then the remaining pulp is boiled for 1-3 hours. Thus, chaga tea will give maximum benefit.
ChagaLaboratories extract is also a very useful product. When we produce chaga, we use the highest technology and equipment. We produce double chaga extract because different biological substances are the most effective when mixed in different solvents: water and alcohol.
ChagaLaboratories fine-grained chaga (powder) is a great product that can be used for rapid brewing and dissolving in water. You can drink it as tea, it is quickly brewed, digested, and acts as a useful sorbent.
Be careful when buying chaga powder from China. Make sure that you do not buy chaga powder made from extruded chaga residues. That chaga is useless.
Chaga cryogenically ground powder manufactured by ChagaLaboratories is an exclusive product that is rarely found on the market. The cryogenic powder is obtained in the process of freezing the powder at -196 ° C in liquid nitrogen (a safe gas from which 78.09% of the air is composed). This method of making chaga powder eliminates all oxidation reactions, thus retaining a maximum of beneficial properties. Freezing destroys the chitin wall of the fungus, which makes it easier for the body to absorb all the nutrients.
"The extracts obtained from the mushroom are soloists, while the mushroom used as a whole is a well-coordinated symphony orchestra”.Therefore, each chaga product has its own useful properties; they differ in the methods of preparation and the level of absorption of nutrients. Depending on the method of processing, different nutrients show themselves in varying degrees.
We recommend that you try all the products to choose the right one for your body.The useful properties of cryogenically ground powder in comparison with ordinary chaga powder are best described here.
How to make chaga drinks
You have to be careful when making chaga drinks. The way you make your drink will guarantee whether or not it will benefit you.
Brewing is a home-made option for extracting nutrients from chaga.
Under the influence of solvent (water or alcohol), the cell membrane swells and certain substances are released.
Different manufacturers have different recipes for brewing chaga, and the consumer may have questions about which one is right.
The ChagaLaboratories team will help you solve this problem.
The thing is that chaga is so rich in various components, with different chemical and biological properties, that there is no single technological method that would allow extracting all the useful substances at the same time. Therefore, different methods of drinking chaga will allow you to get the most nutrients.
ChagaLaboratories recommends alternating different methods of making chaga to obtain the most useful properties of chaga.
ChagaLaboratories technologists have analyzed all existing recipes for chaga cooking, and together with the researchers have developed the most versatile, scientific-based method.
Express brewing:
1) Making tea: pour half of the volume with boiling water, let it brew a little, and add warm water. Let it brew.
2) Pour boiling water over the powder and add warm water in equal volumes. Stir it and you can drink it.
3) Making tea at a temperature of 50°C (recommended). Let it brew for 12 hours, but it will be even better if it brews for a longer period.
4) Pour extract or cryogenic powder with warm water, stir it and your drink is ready.
Chaga Alcohol Extract
For the best extraction of alcohol and fat-soluble chaga compounds, alcohol with a strength of 80% is required. Add 3-4 tablespoons of chaga powder to 0.5 liters of alcohol. The tincture should be kept for a month in a dark place, periodically shaking the bottle. After a month, filter the tincture and dilute it to a working fortress that suits you (30-50%). Those who use the drip method of consumption can pour the tincture into bottles with dispenser caps. You can store it in any dark place, not necessarily in the fridge.
Chaga Laboratories Recommends two-staged brewing
Chaga is a unique medicinal mushroom with a large variety of different enzymes and compounds, so some substances need brewing (extracting) in warm water, while others need boiling.
That's why we recommend two-staged brewing:
1st stage - brew chaga in warm water (50°С) in a thermos; if you brewed it in the evening then you can drink it in the morning. We recommend that you leave chaga in a thermos for further extraction.
2nd stage – pour the remaining from the 1st stage chaga pulp with water and boil for 1-3 hours.
This method of brewing is considered the most effective and reveals all the benefits of chaga.
Double extract
For the same reason, we produce double chaga extract, namely water-alcohol, to take advantage of all the benefits of chaga and give you the opportunity to enjoy a healthy and delicious drink.
All you have to do is mix the chaga extract or cryogenically ground powder with warm water to get a ready-to-drink product.
Note that cryogenically ground powder does not require brewing.
The reason is that cryogenic chaga doesn't have the chitin walls, so the product becomes bioavailable and you can easily get all the nutrients from chaga.
The best way to store chaga
The shelf life of the chaga, during which the fungus does not lose its original properties, is 2 years if the storage conditions were controlled and maintained.
For maximum preservation of the beneficial properties of chaga, store it in metallic zipper bags.
It is not recommended to store chaga in plastic transparent sachets, as this can destroy the healing properties of the chaga and make the mushroom useless.
How to consume chaga?
To get the most out of the chaga, some rules must be followed.
The most important thing is to use it regularly. The best way is to substitute tea and coffee for a drink of chaga.
ChagaLaboratories specialists are constantly developing new Chaga products so you can enjoy a variety of drinks while still benefitting from the chaga mushroom. We have a wide assortment of chaga coffee, chaga cocoa, matcha tea with chaga, and chaga elixir.
Those who have been regularly using chaga for a long time have a lower risk of cancer or diabetes. For example, people in Siberian villages who drink chaga instead of tea or coffee are less likely to suffer from stomach diseases and cancer rates there are much lower than in regions where chaga is not so popular.
Side effects of Chaga consumption.
There are no scientifically proven facts about the side effects of chaga. Nevertheless, Chaga Laboratories recommends that you consult with your doctor prior to taking chaga.