As a cancer survivor and one learning tremendously the importance of what is readily available in nature,  I have studied about Chaga.  Found often around birch, or  groves, and locally in stands found in the foothills of Vermont, this very rugged blacken fungi is easy to collect, dry and store.  And it is also very easy to make and keep.  In many countries around the world, mainstream medicine acknowledges the importance is destroying cancer cells and general improvement of one’s immune system.   I have dried chunks collected off trees in the cold northern wood stands off the Lincoln-Ripton road in Addison County, Vermont.  The idea of sensitive collecting is to remove small areas to leave enough of the base for the tree and other collectors.  If I can take a piece the size of my hand,  I’m very grateful.  That amount would be enough to produce two or three Chinese pots of low-heated teas.  With this teas, then cooled,  I would add the juice of our lemons, frozen off our small Meyer tree, and the raw honey from our bees.  If you seltzer this cold drink,  it turns into an amazing therapeutic drink.  From Finland through Russia and into China and Japanese, the use of chaga to fight cancer is accepted by medical authorities.  Here in the US,  the breakthrough has not reached medical doctors,  yet the general population is learning and accepting its value.  So much now that it can be found in farmer’s markets and bottled for local sale.  Presently it has become part of our protocol in diet.