Among the customers who contact our company, there are still those who look for chaga mushroom chunks or ground powder. Many of them ask, "If you're a company specializing in chaga mushrooms, why don't you sell raw chunks or ground powder?"
In fact, about 20 years ago, we selected and imported the largest quantity of chaga mushroom chunks and ground powder in Korea from Siberia, and sold them through famous domestic department stores and large supermarkets. Then, after much difficult deliberation, we discontinued sales, and now we make and sell only chaga mushroom extract powder products. I will tell you honestly the reasons for that decision.
Why Chaga Chunks and Ground Powder Are Chosen
The fact that our company stopped selling them does not mean that chaga chunks and ground powder have no advantages. Even today, chaga chunks and pieces, as well as ground powder made by machine-grinding them, are actively sold in offline stores such as department stores and supermarkets. There are clear reasons for this.
First, because chaga chunks are raw material in their original state, consumers can judge the quality with their own eyes—looking directly at the size, color, and firmness of the tissue. In contrast, extract powder, being a finished powder that has already gone through processing, has a psychological barrier in that it is difficult to directly verify the original quality of the raw material.
Second, in terms of the visible purchase price, chunks and ground powder are much cheaper than extract powder. However, producing high-quality extract powder requires 10 to 20 times the amount of raw material, so a simple price comparison per weight is not valid. Still, the fact that the perceived price at initial purchase is low acts as a great attraction for consumers.
The Three Reasons We Discontinued Sales
First, it was a matter of hygiene.
Chaga chunks are an unprocessed, pure natural product. After being harvested in Siberia, they go through long transport times and distribution stages before reaching domestic consumers, and throughout this process the risk of exposure to mold or bacteria is ever present. Moreover, the key active compounds of chaga are vulnerable to heat, so boiling water cannot be used; they must be steeped in lukewarm water for a day or two. An extraction method that leaves them sitting at room temperature in lukewarm water creates conditions ideal for microbial growth, so the hygienic burden and worry were never light.
Second, it was a matter of efficacy.
The method of steeping chunks in water at home has clear limitations in fully drawing out the nutrients of chaga. When steeping chunks or ground powder, the active compounds of chaga that dissolve into the water amount to less than 10% of the total nutrients. The remaining 90% or more of the beneficial compounds are discarded. Compared with extract powder, whose beneficial nutrients are 100%, the difference in the amount of nutrients absorbed into the body and in the efficacy customers actually feel in the field was greater than one could imagine.
Third, it was a matter of oxalic acid.
Chaga itself is not a substance with abnormally high oxalic acid compared to other plants. However, because chunks and ground powder must be steeped and drunk in large quantities over a long period in order to consume sufficient active compounds, the risk of increased oxalic acid intake naturally arises. Extract powder goes through a water-based extraction process during manufacturing, so oxalic acid is removed or diluted, and since it is a product with 100% of the beneficial nutrients, a small amount is sufficient—but raw material is not. In fact, over the past 10-plus years, all cases where oxalic acid became a problem arose from drinking large amounts of chaga chunks or ground powder over a long period, not extract powder.
Customer Safety and Certain Efficacy Come First
Hygiene, efficacy, oxalic acid. After deliberating over these three things, we discontinued the sale of chaga chunks and ground powder. They had the advantages of being quality you could verify with your own eyes and a price that seemed cheap, but we judged that customer safety and certain efficacy were far more important.
For chaga that grows by itself on Siberian birch trees, the time it takes to arrive in Korea is already quite long. To protect hygiene and efficacy throughout that long journey, we concluded that only the form of "chaga extract powder"—with only the active compounds safely extracted and sealed in hygienic, specialized pharmaceutical facilities—can deliver the complete value of chaga to our customers. Going forward, this principle will not change.
I hope this article serves as a helpful reference for those who are still looking for chaga chunks or ground powder today. Enjoy your chaga comfortably today as well, and always stay healthy.
- Kinam Oh, kinam_oh@hanmail.net
