Monday, April 13

I am working on my blog about maple syrup, but want to do it in one entry (which will be large) so today I want to tell you about the new tea I experienced while at Bob and Doris’. The above picture was where I sat in Bob’s wood shop – blogging and taking pictures of their maple syrup process – and drinking chaga.

Chaga is a fungus in the Hymenochaetaceae family.

It is parasitic on birch and other trees. The sterile conk is irregularly formed and has the appearance of burnt charcoal.

I took this picture on one of their birch trees to show how it grows.

This is a piece of chaga that was in Bob and Doris’ house.

Bob said it is best to cut/chop it up soon after it is removed from the tree, as it gets very hard if it is left to sit long.

They store theirs in a jar and put it in small bags when selling it.

If I remember correctly, it sells for $40.00 a pound, and if you look it up on the internet, you will see that it is very valuable health-wise.

Doris puts hers in a tea strainer, then pours hot water over it.

It has a nutty/woodsy taste.