Chaga mushroom

Ninety vegan capsules of chaga (Inonotus obliquus) extract at 500 mg each, with no fillers. The brand describes the product as organic and vegan. Chaga mushroom is not a typical mushroom at all: it is the hard, black, charcoal-like growth found on living birch trees, with a rust-orange interior, and it is nearly always ground and extracted rather than eaten. This is the capsule format.

Up to 3 capsules a day, swallowed with water. A pot is a month at that rate. It is a Herbastore own-label product.

What it is

Chaga has traditionally been broken into chunks and simmered for a long time as a dark tea in Russia and northern Scandinavia. The capsule version skips the simmering: the conk is dried, ground and extracted, then the extract is dried and filled into capsules. The taste when brewed is mild, slightly earthy with a hint of vanilla; in a capsule you will not taste it.

When comparing chaga products, look for whether it is wild harvested or cultivated, extract or whole powder, and the milligrams per capsule. This listing states extract at 500 mg. The harvest source and the extract ratio are not given by the brand, so we do not claim them.

Chaga is slow growing and only forms on living birch, which is why it is one of the pricier mushrooms by weight and why most brands sell it as an extract rather than loose chunks. The part used is the sclerotium, the dense mass that pushes out through the bark, rather than a cap and stem.

A lab report image is in the product gallery; we have not verified it. This is a food supplement and should not be a substitute for a varied diet.

How to take it

Up to 3 capsules a day with water, per the brand. The listing gives no time of day and no instruction about food, so attach it to whatever you already do daily. Three at breakfast is the common approach because it is the easiest to remember.

• 90 capsules per pot
• 500 mg extract per capsule
• 30 days at 3 a day, 90 days at 1 a day
• £19.99 works out at about 22p per capsule, or about 67p a day at 3

Store closed in a cool, dry cupboard away from direct sunlight.

What's inside

• Chaga mushroom extract, 500 mg per capsule
• Vegan capsule shell
• No fillers, as stated by the brand
• Organic, as stated by the brand

Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) is a fungus that grows on birch (Betula species). What is harvested is the sterile conk, or sclerotium, a dense black mass with a cracked surface and a golden-brown interior. It is not the mushroom's fruiting body, which is rarely seen. Chaga has a long history of use as a brewed drink across the birch forests of the northern hemisphere.

Who it's for

People who want chaga without a long simmer on the hob. The capsule suits anyone who likes the idea of the birch fungus but not the time it takes to brew, and it fits a morning supplement routine alongside lion's mane or reishi. It is also the format for travel, where a bag of chaga chunks is impractical.

If you want a labelled extract ratio and a named grower, the Mushroom Dispensary chaga capsules state a 10:1 sclerotium extract grown in Finland. If you want chaga as one of several mushrooms, the six mushroom complex includes it.

Pairs well with

Compare the Mushroom Dispensary chaga capsules, a labelled 10:1 extract of the sclerotium. Chaga is one of the six mushrooms in the mushroom complex, and sits alongside our reishi capsules as the other woody, non-culinary species. Browse the whole mushrooms department or every capsule we stock under capsules.

Frequently asked questions

What is chaga?

A fungus that grows on birch trees as a hard black mass with an orange-brown inside. It is dried and either brewed as a tea or extracted for capsules. Read more in our chaga guide.

Is chaga a mushroom?

It is a fungus, but what is harvested is the sterile conk that grows on birch, not a cap and stem. People call it a mushroom for convenience.

How much chaga is in each capsule?

500 mg of extract. The brand does not publish the extract ratio.

How many a day?

Up to 3, per the brand. The pot of 90 is 30 days at that rate.

Our chaga guide covers where it grows, how it is harvested and how the tea and capsule formats differ. Herbastore ships this product from the UK, with free UK shipping on orders over £40. Orders are packed by Herbastore UK, so if you are buying from more than one of our brands everything arrives together.