Chaga Tincture – Recipes

Written by: Mick Simmons, MD

Chaga is known to be a very powerful superfood, containing huge amounts of healthy ingredients and antioxidants that keep you healthy and prevent disease. Let’s make everything around the Chaga tincture clear.

Related: Chaga & Coronavirus – all you need to know

We’ve seen many online products and formulations for Chaga mushroom tinctures, but guess what? Many of them are pointless and unnecessary!

Why? Because you can make the same (or better) Chaga tinctures yourself, and much faster and easier.

Don't Have Chaga? Read Our Buying Guide & Buy->

In This Chapter, You Will Learn:

• What is a Chaga tincture
• How to make it (Recipes)
• What is double extraction
• How to consume it
• What are the benefits
• BONUS: Chaga101’s tincture recipe
• FAQ

If you’re ready, let’s start.

What Is A Chaga Tincture?

A tincture is an extract made by soaking something in alcohol. A tincture is a supplement that is a very healthy drink that is full of antioxidants. Antioxidants keep us healthy because they make free radicals less harmful and this keeps diseases away.

A tincture is just one way to store and consume Chaga. There are other ways like Chaga tea, coffee, pills, powders and so on.  Tinctures, however, tend to be the most concentrated way to consume it, and the most efficient way to store it.

It has both preventative and direct effects. Personally, we’ve used it in cases where we feel a cold coming on. Taking Chaga at this time can reduce the severity and the length of the symptoms.

There are several ways how to make Chaga tincture. We’re going to show you the main ones, which are easy for everyone to do.

We’ve figured out a new Chaga tincture method that is probably more efficient than the ones described on the internet. Ordinary tincture takes months before it’s ready to use. However, it doesn’t have to be that way and on the other hand it’s more efficient, we find.

To get all the healthy nutrients out of chunks, it needs to be heated. Heating cracks the chitin cell walls and ingredients can be released.

What is needed to make Chaga101’s Tincture?

• A handful of Chaga (1-2″) chunks or powder -1.5 – 3oz (See the Buying Guide if you don’t have any)
• Vodka or rum (at least 40% alcohol) – 0.5L
• 2L bottle
• Jar with a tight seal
• Wide-bottomed pot

Start by heating Chaga chunks, similar to the pot method of making tea.

Take 1 part water to 1 part alcohol. If you have 0.5L of alcohol, then you should take 0,5L of water.

1. Place Chaga chunks to bottom of the pot.
2. Add the water to the chunks in the pot (not the alcohol!). When the water starts to boil, turn the heat to low and simmer for at least 30-45 minutes, uncovered until the water has been reduced by half, or until there is little water left.
3. After reducing the Chaga mixture, remove from heat and let it cool. Once cool, pour it into a jar.
4. Add the alcohol to the jar. If you want, include all the chunks in the jar too.
5. Shake it firmly and store it in a dark place for 1 week.
6. After 1 week, filter the mixture, and pour into the bottle. Add water to taste, or leave it concentrated.

NB! Be careful; you need to watch this pot, so it does not boil dry. What you are doing is concentrating the Chaga ingredients, while removing the water. Don’t let the pot boil dry!

Normally a tincture takes at least a month to make (see below). However, in this case, the heating has cracked the cell walls of the Chaga wide open, and the ingredients have now been released and concentrated in the water. Adding the alcohol will get the last bits of healthy ingredients from the Chaga chunks. You could take a tablespoon out right after step 4, and consume it. After a week, it will be totally ready.
Consume one tablespoon (or 1 dram) at least once a month.

Advantages of this chaga101’s tincture recipe is that it takes much less time and it’s ready to consume after several hours. The effects should not be weaker.

Chaga101’s TIP: If you want, you can put smaller Chaga chunks into the bottle. It adds stronger flavor and also it looks more stylish. If you use the Chaga101’s tincture as a gift, it looks much nicer than just a nice bottle with brown liquid.

Another TIP: You may notice that the preparation here is similar to the pot method of making tea. Be creative with your Chaga chunks! When you make tea by the pot method you could remove the chunks and place them in vodka to make a tincture. So you get 2 products in one. Of course, this method would give you a less concentrated tincture because you already drank some of the ingredients with the tea. But some do remain in the chunks. Don’t waste them.

Other Recipes

It was just Chaga101’s recipe. There is more tincture recipe, what you can use. Depending on your needs.

Double Extraction

This is the most popular one!

Well, you need:

• A handful of Chaga (1-2″) chunks – OR Chaga powder -1.5 – 3oz
• Vodka or rum (at least 40% alcohol) – 0.5L
• Glass jar with a top
• 2L bottle
• Wide-bottomed pot
• PATIENCE

The steps to make the tincture

#1 – Place the Chaga chunks or powder into a glass jar.

It is important that the glass jar has a lid that can be sealed, as you don’t want the alcohol to evaporate. It’s easy to use chunks instead of powder for these processes. The Chaga amount should be around 1:10.

#2 – Fill with alcohol

Vodka is used the most cases. It is often misunderstood that the stronger the alcohol the better. Absolute alcohol kills bacteria pretty well but it doesn’t make any sense for Chaga tincture. 40% alcohol works just as well as higher concentration!

#3 – Close the lid and store in a dark place

Check that the lid is tight enough not to let the alcohol evaporate. I suggest to mark the date and month to the jar because believe me, you won’t remember later, when it was stored 🙂 You may as well mark a line on the jar at the top level of the liquid, just to be sure your lid is sealed: the liquid in a sealed jar should not go down.

#4 – Shake it weekly

Shaking helps chunks to move and break apart, giving new spots where the alcohol can soak in better. There are Chaga tincture recipes that tell you to shake it every day. Why? Actually, there’s no such need to do it that often. Just shake it occasionally.

#5 – After 2 months

Consumption is quite easy. This Chaga supplement is quite strong.

What should be the Chaga tincture dosage and how to consume it? You could just pour the alcohol into a sealed bottle, and use this as is. It is still 40% alcohol. You could take one tablespoon of this, at least once a week.

Pure tincture – 1 tablespoon  once a week

But since you are making a double tincture, not pure tincture, then you have some steps ahead.

Do you see those Chaga chunks in the jar full of alcohol? Well, they still have healthy nutrients left in them too. It did not all go into alcohol. We know that by heating Chaga, the chitinous cell walls crack and release all those ingredients. Therefore, it is suggested to make another extraction with hot water from the same chunks that have been soaking in the alcohol. Also, this makes the tincture smoother, because it will dilute the alcohol by 2/3rds.

Start Today, Read The CHAGA Buying Guide (& Suggestions✅) ->

• What Is Chaga tincture?
  A Chaga tincture is a powerful drink containing alcohol, that is full of antioxidants. It keeps you healthy. It is made of Chaga mushroom, which grows on birch trees.

• How is Chaga tincture made?
  The Chaga tincture is made by soaking Chaga chunks or powder with vodka, or any strong spirit. It takes at least 2 months to make it.

• Why do I need the double extraction, rather than just the alcohol extract?
  Chaga cells are very hard and to get the healthy nutrients out, you need to break the cell walls. You could just do the ordinary tincture, but you would lose some of the healthy extra ingredients that you would get from double extraction.

• What is Chaga tincture good for?
  The tincture (like Chaga itself) is known to be very powerful against different diseases like cancer, psoriasis and others. You can read more on Chaga and medicine page.

• How long does Chaga tincture stay preserved?
  The main component next to Chaga is alcohol. Alcohol is a known way to keep healthy ingredients preserved. If stored in a dark place, then it can keep for over 10 years without losing its healthy ingredients.

• Can I use other alcohol?
  Of course. But be very careful; only drinkable alcohols. NOT methanol, or antifreeze! There are plenty of alternatives to vodka, like rum, gin, or whiskey. Keep in mind that the alcohol doesn’t contain the health benefits (and in fact is bad for alcoholics) – it’s the Chaga that provides the health benefits. The alcohol just preserves it.

• Can I use Chaga tincture on kids?
  No, that’s not recommended because alcohol should kept away from children. The double extracted tincture is as strong as wine. However, pure Chaga hasn’t been shown to be harmful for children.

• Chaga Health – what is it?
  Chaga health is a phrase we hear sometimes, and we’ve thought about it a lot. The short answer – We don’t know exactly what it means. Maybe its a catchy marketing phrase to describe all the healthy benefits of Chaga.

• Where are Chaga tinctures for sale?
  Well, there are plenty of places where you can buy it online. However, we’ve always recommended that by harvesting it yourself, and making it yourself, you can control the quality of the product at every step. If you can’t do it yourself, then you should only reputable sellers that you can trust about the quality. So, if you’re looking online where to buy Chaga tincture, at least make sure it’s wildly harvested and well prepared. This Chaga buying guide will help you.