Chaga Harvest

I'm happy say that Spring is starting to warm up permanently around here - and so we do not have long before the bugs will set in and we'll be reminded of all the horrors Spring brings.  But in the meantime, this is the ideal time (right before the buds bloom) to be harvesting the chaga mushroom.

My reasons for this as follows:
1. As I mentioned, it isn't black-fly season yet; saves a lot of pain when trying to hack a piece off a tree.
2. Since the bushes and trees lack foliage, you can see the chaga clusters much easier.  Navigating to the chaga cluster is easier too.
3. It's easier knock / cut a chunk off the tree and trim any additional chaga out of the tree which did not come out with the first chunk.
4. Its just nice to get out and smell a growing forest again.

The ideal time for this is after the heavy Spring rain.  The chunks that I found were a little dense with moisture, so they came off relatively well.  I think the majority of the chaga growth happens in the spring (my observation of frequenting a certain chunk).  This is probably due to birch producing a syrup that the chaga thrives off of.

Earlier in the winter, I tried hacking a chunk of a tree with a hefty knife and didn't get anywhere.  Impossible to break a chunk off or get anywhere into the piece.  In the Spring, I used a basic thin 'survivalist' type blade and wiggled the blade in and around a chunk of this tree which popped off in no time.  Take precaution doing this though -- I lost part of a fingernail.  I was trimming a bit of the birch bark still clinging to the chaga and slipped through.

Anyway, after pulling off the chunk, it was easy to trim out any bits of rich yellow chaga out from the tree and bag that.   In the pictures, you'll see that I pulled off one half of the chaga to see what growth will occur in the place of the old chaga (yellow spot) compared to the other chunk I did not harvest.  This way its possible to figure out later in the season(s) if the yield is getting better or worse after harvesting a hunk.

Again, if you know nothing of chaga and why the hell I'm harvesting a mushroom/tree fungus, refer to one of my old introductory blog pages here.  There is a reason I tell you, and its not psychotropic hallucinogenic reasons!

To your health - Cheers!

Original chaga chunk of the tree.

Half of the chaga chunk taken off to compare growth later in the season.

Size of the one chunk - not to shabby!

Some of the easy trimmings taken from the tree (trimmed out with a blade).

Tea and Self Control

As of late, I've come to realize my evolution of tea drinking has progressed from the traditional to the modern, sadly.  Let me explain. 

When I desired to write a blog post on the history of tea, I was found hardly equipped with a ounce of knowledge on the subject.  Just legends of yonder years in the Asiatic lands.  I'd still yet like to write about this, but for now I'd like to get this thought out. 

In Zen (A Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism emphasizing the value of meditation and intuition), the tea-master was ... pretty much a profession.  They sought to regulate standards of everyday life by the high standard of refinement which was obtained in the tea-room.  This was to reflect a refinement of mind to be maintained.  The tea-master would prepare the tea-room spotless throughout every corner, or else he was not a tea-master.  You can imagine what refinement the rest would entail. 

So I guess we can see the value of having such a 'profession', even in today's culture.  Tea is on the rise and still climbing.  Its roots go into 34 countries, so its traditions are many. But now, we brew a cup with our electronic kettles, pour it into a tea thermos and take it on the fly, drinking it till its cold.  Then we invented a new drink by adding more sugar to it and tossing in ice.  My point here is not to dis your milk and sugar, but the heart of this nostalgic beverage I believe has its place because its not the next thing since coca-cola, but because of what it asks to truly enjoy it. 

Here it is: Tea encourages self-control.  Traditionally, tea requires us to stay seated while the beverage is still hot.  This can be indulged alone or with a friend/guest - the stimulating effect tea encourages healthy internal or external dialogue (from the Zen point of view).   The philosophy is that it teaches us the art of augmenting our demands through honoring the simple denominator of tea.  If tea is to be enjoyed, it requires us to find find our secret source of asceticism which can only be found inside, through reflection.  By using tea as an 'excuse' to sit down and shut up, we attempt to lower the standards of personal gratification through material means.  This brings us naturally to a state of meditation when one is convinced that tea can provide as a substitute for selfish gratification.  We can say, less is more in this case --- but above all, this practice of 'sitting down an shutting up' Zen style can teach us one thing (safely and smoothly) THE ART OF SELF-CONTROL. 

This to me is the heart of teaism, and it took me many years to figure this out.  A Buddhist knows this - he is the master of his mind that molds and makes reality.  Self-control is the axiom of all human traits to be desired.  Everything deemed a positive human quality stems from this leaf.  And the tea leaf can be a mediator for this.  So next time you drink this beverage, practice it with the hands laid heavy and the mind awake, and charging. 

I'd like to close with my favorite quote from James Allen which I believe ties up the loose ends.

Mind is the Master power that moulds and makes,
And Man is Mind, and evermore he takes
The tool of Thought, and, shaping what he wills,
Brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills: —
He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass:
Environment is but his looking-glass.

English Tea

"Tea to the English is really a picnic indoors"

                                                        - Alice Walker

Teaism

' Those who cannot feel the littleness of great things in themselves are apt to overlook the greatness of little things in others. '