I have been wondering about the double extraction for some (all?) of the mushrooms and might have found the answer as to why they do double extraction.  According to what I’ve read, the cell walls are protected by chitin, a hard coating that makes hot water necessary to release the nutrients within.  With the chitin removed/dissolved, all of the active ingredients within Chaga can be absorbed.  I saw where some that sold powder said it was only for making tinctures, not for ingestion.  Of course I had to dig deeper – and found that (according to many mushroom growers/foragers), one needs to “crack open” the chitin before ingesting it or you don’t get much benefit.  So how would I use it in a smoothie then, I don’t boil my smoothies LOL!  Turns out they recommend making the tea in the hot water, then you can refrigerate and store it for up to 2 weeks.  There is how I would use the chaga (or other similar mushrooms) in my smoothie – as nice cold tea.

Obviously I have much more to learn, but it appears that mushrooms are so good for me that it’s worth the additional learning curve.  What do you Doc, and fellow students think?  Have you been dealing with the chitin before making mushroom tinctures, and if so, what are your steps?  I’m looking forward to learning enough to jump in and have some great mushroom benefits.  Thanks all!