Chaga Progress

For the past X months, I've been using a mortar and pestle to mash the chaga up into a desired grind.  After a short amount of time though, I've experienced this to be strenuous on the hand for any larger quantity.  Sure, it may be 'exercise', but efficiency is a term we all have to be well familiar with.  The reason for this acceleration is because I'm considering the option of doing some online chaga sales.  This may succeed, or may not but the ultimate goal is to provide health to someone in need. So this is how I'm starting. 
In the past, I've tried using electric coffee grinders.  I've ended up burning up 2 of them due to 1 common reason.  The plastic washer underneath of the blade wears out quickly due to overheating and over-usage.  It is possible to provide some sort of temporary fix for those, but once they are done.... they are done more or less.  I won't explain.  As a result, I've tried to go on a new limb.  Hand crank grinders.  This is slower, but consistent.

I've purchased a vintage old food grinder with 3 different heads for coarse to fine grinds.  Today I spent a considerable amount of time hacking up a number of chaga chunks into acorn sized chunks to be fed into the grinder.  I started grinding the chunks with the coarse head, and then processed the chaga again with the fine to get a good fine grade.

It is not an espresso grind, but that's why I got an extra espresso hand crank grinder from ebay. 

This served a purpose for personal use, but hardly had the capacity to do larger amount as any reasonable pace.  It literally trickles like a fine hour glass out of the ceramic grinder head.  So.... as a result, to achieve the extra fine espresso grind, I will look into getting another grain mill vintage type grinder from ebay to achieve the speed needed to do this on demand.  The mechanics are slightly different for this model which provides the espresso grind needed. 

Although this is hardly efficient yet, the vintage hand crank grinder is a life saver compared to the other methods used (electric coffee grinder and mortar and pestle).  One more step to the hand crank vintage expresso grinder and I'll have the depth of grind best suited for efficient chaga brewing. 

To your health and happiness.

True to the Leaf

Today's tea shelf has become quite the smorgasbord of selections these days.  I admit this can be a little overwhelming if you have no idea what section you are looking at.   There are pages which can brief you to education on these sections, but I wish to address something deeper.  Despite which section you land in (if there are sections to the store) you will be bombarded with names and types of teas, some of which will be common, and some that will make you raise and eyebrow, and some you will even be brave enough to sniff.   Some are monstrosities which should never even be uttered again in the tea kingdom.  I digress...

What makes good tea?  There seems to be a great divide.  On the one side, there is the tried, true, traditional teas which have garnered much attention over the years from their mark and demand in history.  On the other, there are the makeshift teas which typically deviate to the synthetic artificial flavorings, often including artificial sweeteners.

Let me divulge this hideous crime.  What seems to have taken place is that there was once a time when something called 'Jasmine tea' was born.  This involved the natural fusion of young budding tea leaves would be scented by adjacent fields of jasmine flowers releasing their beautiful scent to fields of camellia sinensis. This natural infusion later was reinforced by methods of blending so the jasmine is clearly aromatic in the tea infusion.  I've had Jasmine green teas that were excellent.  I've had some that were downright odd.  I'd like to think that the distinction is clear.  One is a artificial flavoring agent, and the other actually has the right natural extraction of the jasmine leaf to give it the true organic essence. 

Why does this matter?  This isn't a Pepsi vs. Cola debate.  In fact, its tea vs. pop.  If tea goes to the hands of huge mass producing corporate mongers, it will lose the time needed to prepare the delicate stages necessary to keep tea what it is.  A leaf.  Despite whether we are talking about green, herbal and yerba mate.  These decisions we make in the store, deciding which one we should enjoy, should not be for novelty sake.   Choosing the wrong will leave you disappointed the tea did not deliver in taste anything what it delivered in aroma.  Choosing the right will force the companies which produce these teas to remove the lines which destroy what is good in tea. 

I hope this makes you think twice about the shelf and which stores you attend! This will not only bring a greater healthy appetite for tea, but help you enjoy what you have purchased.  By all means though - explore!  The teas shelf contains a variety of now just one leaf these days.  Obviously the reason the tea leaf was first used might have been for possibly medicinal and stimulant properties, but there are any other herbal tea medleys on the shelf which can assist in your health!   Do your research and you'll enjoy the selection all the more! 

Thanks for reading!

Just Enough

Late night thought which I desire to record.  This thought has often reminded me of my place in this world, as a imperfect flawed human like everyone else.  I often feel more damaged then others.  This leads to a sense of hope that once day this mind and body will be repaired and cured back to to its original healthy state.  For for now, every step of the way - everything is 'just enough'.  Just enough to get to the next step; just enough to get by till tomorrow.  Often our strivings fall just short to hit our mark, but its just enough to try again.  One more chance to survive.  But amongst all this striving, what is really surviving? The body will soon be defeated, and nothing left to be reminded of its former belongings.  What survives is the soul and its lessons learned, and survival of the soul through these trials and tests are what helps us feel like something in us belongs, even though there is nothing to hold onto but the experiences of highs and lows that bring us to our knees.  These experiences submit us to the choice of continuing for the sake of hope, and belong to the lowly class of human nature for one more day in hope that we might transmute ourselves onto an fallen world which so desperately needs to be transformed.  This can only be done by recognizing the things which carry light, and loving them till they burst forth as the sun.  Until then, life will always be just enough.

CHAGA-BREW-HOW-TO

Hello Chaga-to-be-lovers! 

Throughout my experience, these are the top questions people have about Chaga when first being introduced to it.

Q1. What did you just call it? 
A1. I could phonetically spell this out, but here is a link to the pronunciation on this word [click on the word] Chaga.

Q2. What is it? 
A2. In short, a tree fungus. Chaga has been used for thousands of years in Asia and Eastern Europe. It is only now gaining more awareness in the West, and we're sure that as more time passes, you will be hearing about Chaga more and more. Just recently, it was named the "Anti-Cancer Herb of the Year" in Russia, and its popularity is slowly beginning to grow all over the world.

Q3. What do you do with it?
A3. Consume it using a variety of methods.  Actually- its now being worked into creams for the body since its chemical constituents are known to have beneficial qualities to skin health and maintenance.  That's besides the point.  You can take it in a pill form, or as tonic (tea) for the more effective and efficient method of enjoying it.   This is why I made this video for you on how I do it now. 

By the way, you do not have to use the slow cooker method as I'm showing -- you can take it straight in the teapot just like you would any lose leaf tea but this method gets the most 'bang for your buck' out of the chaga.... even if you did pay for it.  

To your health and longevity! 

P.S.  Keep it in the fridge no longer than 2 weeks to be safe.

Pottery - Tea Vessel of Choice!

Tea is the beverage of choice of the 21st century, and the vessels used for steeping and serving are fast beyond measure. The world is a large place.  From antiquity the vessels used for boiling, steeping and drinking tea morph from culture to culture.  What is true of all; they would have used a pottery at some point in their past. 

Pottery can be termed earthenware, stoneware or porcelain. Modern materials have included metal-ware, glassware and plastic (perhaps more).  They all have their pros and cons.  I've owned them all and have developed a taste for each one respectively (except for anything containing plastic).  Above all though, I have to tip the hat to the pottery hand. 

Pottery has always been pure of impurities, easy to clean, resistant to breakage, comfortable to hold, thick enough to hold a temperature but not too long.   Its aesthetic appearance can be skillfully arranged with bold to delicate features, controlled masterfully with glazes which blend together to form an appearance akin to an artists palette.   Every piece is uniquely distinct.  The finishing movement of the potters hands can be seen in the rich glaze. 

The history of the pottery is long before we can recall, or find record of (no doubt).  I remember my friend who lived in the exact town where Jesus of had lived.  Because of excavation, he was able to crawl under a stone to discover some old aged pottery, most likely dated 2000 years old.  I picked up a piece of worn pottery that had been eroded in lake Huron for long years - no way of knowing exactly how long it had been there.  These are just personal reflections, but was all know even Sumerian record 6000 BCE isn't even the beginning by our best guesses. 

I'm proud to have an Aunt who has cherished this gift she has.  She owns a pottery Studio in Algoma Mills, Ontario - just off Highway 17. Her work embodies careful craftsmanship and unique glazes in combinations I can only compare to a work on canvas.  My kitchen will not be complete until I have it completed with her work!   You'll understand why I'm being praiseworthy. 

Recent bead I received from her - love this glaze!

Over my Tea Cup

Over my Tea Cup.

by Charles J. Everett

This homely can of painted tin
Is casket precious in my eyes;
Its withered fragrant leaves within,
Beyond all costly gems I prize.

For in those crumpled leaves of tea,
The sunbeams of long summer days,
The song of bird, the hum of bee,
The cricket's evening hymn of praise,

The gorgeous colors of sunrise,
The joy that greets each new-born day;
The glowing tints of sunset's skies,
The calm that comes with evening grey;

The chatter of contented toil,
The merry laugh of childish glee,
The tonic virtues of the soil,
Were caught and gathered with the tea.

Lifeless those withered leaves may seem,
Locked fast in slumber deep as death,
But soon the kettle's boiling steam
May rouse to life their fragrant breath.

With sigh of deep content we breathe
The sweet mists rising lazily,
With eager, parted lips receive
the first ambrosial taste of tea.

For light and warmth and mood of men,
Whate'er the plant hath heard or seen
Or felt, while fixed in field or fen,
And stored within its depths serene,

Are now transmuted into thrills
Of sense or feeling, echoes faint
From peaceful perfumed tea-clad hills,
From placid Orientals quaint.

And fancies born in other lands,
Which dormant lie in magic tea,
Dream-castles fair not made with hands,
By some mysterious alchemy

Emerge from cloudland into sight,
Transform the sombre working-world,
The gloomy hours of day or night
From leaden hue to tint of gold,

Bring rest to wearied heart and brain,
Kind nature's soul to us reveal,
Enlarge the realm of Fancy's reign,
Renew the power to see and feel

The radiance of the rising sun,
The sunset's glow, the moon's pale light,
The promise of a day begun,
The rest from toil that comes with night.

And as I sip my cup of tea,
Though not a friend may be in sight,
I know that a brave company
Is taking tea with me this night.

Antiques

Welcome tea lovers!

I have a confession to make.  I get a real kick outta antique shops.  I picked up this amazing 1920 or so looking-glass from Sandy's Attic in Spragge which is a stunning tabletop piece recently.  Love it.  But there is note only 1 - but 2 antiques shops in Spragge!  Low and behold, I went to North Shore Antiques & Storage to find a emporium of antique tea paraphernalia.  I picked up this tea kettle and brasso'd it till it shone, and voila!  Keep your eyes peeled.   The older the better I say - character cannot be faked.