Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) is a type of mushroom that grows mainly on birch trees in northern Europe, Asia, Canada, and the northeastern United States. - Chaga contains massive amounts of the pigment melanin and as such When exposed to the sun, the exterior of the mushroom will turn a deep black, while the interior will remain a bright orange-ish color. Chaga also contains among the high  levels of oxalate 

Your chaga supplement powder can be brown or orange in color and i would suggest one with fruiting bodies in is as well as making sure it is organic 

Why we like it: 

• Endurance enhancing 
• Insulin regulating 
• Lowers blood pressure 
• Anti-cancer 
• Possibly due to high levels of antioxidants
• Cognitive enhancing 
• Anti Inflammatory 
• Immune modulator 
• It wont boost your immunity if you don't need it 

Full of melanin, vitamin D, manganese, potassium, iron, magnesium

A lot of the studies that have been conducted are not clinical trials, the supporting evidence is often done on cells in petri dishes and not inside the human body.  Take this for what you may but it is important to note that humans are a lot more complicated than our cells in a little dish.  I do believe however the risk to reward is very low 

The flip side of this is that chaga mushroom cant be patented by a drug company and studies are often run by drug companies.  Which means studies might not have been done because there is no ability for this to be patented and money be made off of it 

Contraindications:

• Chaga can thin your blood and if you are on a blood thinner you might not want to take it 
• People who are on blood sugar regulating medication might also be contraindicated 
• If you are prone to kidney stones you might also not want to take chaga because oxalates in high amounts can damage the kidneys 

Ingesting Chaga: 

• Can be made into a tea 
• Aka hot water extraction 
• Can be fresh or powdered 
• Often taken powdered if you cant find it near you