A chaga infusion can be prepared at home in several ways:
Basic Recipe For a Chaga Infusion
This method of preparing an infusion from birch chaga is optimal, and preserves the greatest number of useful compounds and medicinal properties. It is recommended as the primary way for preparing infusions for treating various diseases:
Take a piece of chaga and wash it. Then pour some room-temperature water, which has been either boiled or purified, and leave it in the water for 6-7 hours until it is completely softened. You should not use metal or wooden dishes; glass or ceramic dishes are most suited for this purpose.
Soaked fungus should be squeezed and dried out, while the water should be left, rather than poured out. After that, you need to chop up the chaga, which can be done by grinding it up with a grater or a mince. Then it is necessary to heat the water, in which the chaga is soaking, to 40-50°C, and pour it on the fungus in the proportion 1 part chaga to 5 parts water. It is important not to overheat the water; otherwise the fungus can lose its beneficial qualities. Afterwards, the fungus should infuse for two days. It is better not to do this at room temperature, but instead put the tincture in a cool place so that the fungus does not inadvertently ferment.
The prepared infusion should be carefully drained and stored under cover in a cool dark place. The infusion is suitable for consumption for the next four days.
There are no contraindications for the use of this infusion.
Accelerated Recipe For Preparing Chaga
When using this method, the number of useful nutrients in this beverage is somewhat less than the infusion achieved using the basic recipe. This is because a higher temperature is applied and the time for the infusion is reduced to only a few hours. Nevertheless, this infusion also has a high curative effect.
- Wash and chop the chaga into small pieces and put it into a jar;
- Pour pre-treated boiling water onto the chaga in the proportion 1 litre of water per 250 grams;
- Let the chaga infuse for 5-7 hours (it can be left for longer to obtain a richer infusion);
- The resulting and filtered infusion can be consumed immediately or within the following three days.
Preparing Tea From Chaga
If you are unable or unwilling to devote much time to preparing an infusion, you can also brew chaga in the same way that you brew tea. This option can be used, for example, under field conditions or in the case that you want to drink tea in the forest, made of freshly collected chaga. This beverage is inferior to the first two infusions in terms of its therapeutic properties.
- Boil water in a saucepan (or pot). Avoid using aluminium cookware;
- Put the pieces of chaga in mildly boiling water in the proportion 200-250 grams per 1 litre of water;
- Let the liquid boil for 10-15 minutes;
- Cool the resulting beverage to a suitable temperature and, as they say, enjoy your tea.
