Chaga and Travel: The Mushroom I Never Fly Without

Posted by Sharon Fernie on September 16, 2026

There is a particular feeling at altitude, when the engines rise and we lift up into the air. A deep breath, and I let go of the world I have just travelled and called home. Far below, it becomes a map of rivers and clouds.

I have always loved that feeling of being suspended between places. And for almost as long as I have been chasing horizons, there has been a small ritual that travels with me: a little pot of chaga tucked into my bag, a teaspoon stirred into whatever warm cup I can find. She has been my companion through airports and border crossings, through jet lag and unfamiliar mornings. This is the story of why.

My name is Sharon Fernie, and I am the founder of Herbal Cacao, a brand devoted to high-quality ceremonial cacao blends and the wisdom carried by sacred plants. My path is guided by a deep love for holistic wellness, ancient traditions, and the plant allies that have walked beside me across the world. Long before Herbal Cacao existed, I was a traveller, and chaga was already in my bag. So much of what I share today began on the road, with this mushroom.

Through Herbal Cacao, our mission is to support our community on the journey of self and spiritual discovery, and to share the wisdom of ceremonial cacao and the adaptogenic herbs and mushrooms that have accompanied humanity for generations. So wherever you are reading this, at home or somewhere far from it, let me tell you about the mushroom I never fly without.

What Flying Quietly Asks of the Body

Flying is a privilege, and it also asks something of us. We sit still for hours in dry, pressurized air, we cross time zones faster than the body can follow, and we rise to a height where the atmosphere shields us a little less than it does on the ground. Up there, we meet slightly more of what is called cosmic radiation, the natural stream of high-energy particles that travels through space. For an occasional traveller the amounts are small. For frequent flyers and flight crews, who spend a great deal of their lives at altitude, researchers pay closer attention.

Here is the part that first drew my curiosity. When the body meets radiation, even in small amounts, one thing that can happen is a rise in what scientists call oxidative stress, an increase in unstable molecules known as free radicals. This is the very thing antioxidants are known to help balance. In fact, a scientific review looking at commercial flight altitude proposed that cosmic radiation can induce oxidative stress in the body, and that antioxidants taken beforehand may help reduce it. I want to be careful and honest: that is a review proposing a mechanism, not proof that any particular food protects passengers. But it planted a seed in me, and it is where chaga enters the story.

Chaga, a Mushroom That Travels Well

Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) grows slowly on birch trees in the coldest northern forests, forming a dark, cracked mass that looks more like scorched wood than a mushroom. For centuries it has been brewed as a tea across Siberia, Scandinavia and parts of Asia, earning the name the "king of medicinal mushrooms". She is a medicinal mushroom, not a psychedelic one, which is part of what makes her such an easy, everyday companion. What I love, for a traveller, is how uncomplicated she is: a fine powder that asks for nothing but some warm water, keeps beautifully, and slips into any cup, anywhere in the world.

Chaga is also one of the most antioxidant-rich foods I know. Reviews of its chemistry describe a wealth of polyphenols, immune-friendly beta-glucans, and a remarkable dark pigment called melanin, the same family of pigment that colours our own skin and eyes. This is where chaga's story and the story of radiation meet.

chaga mushroom Close-up of a tree trunk with dark brown bark and green moss, blurred forest background.

The Mystery of Melanin in Chaga

Chaga is one of nature's richest sources of melanin, and melanin is a pigment that has long fascinated scientists. It has a striking ability to absorb and settle energy, including radiation energy, which is part of why certain dark, melanin-rich fungi are able to thrive in places where little else can. Chaga's deep black colour is not decoration. It is chemistry. And it is a large part of why she has gathered such a reputation as a protective, resilient plant ally.

What the Research Actually Shows, and What It Does Not

Most of the intriguing work on chaga and radiation has been done in laboratories, on cells, or in small animal models, not in people, and certainly not in aeroplanes. In one study, chaga polysaccharides given to zebrafish embryos exposed to ultraviolet radiation reduced the damage to their DNA and helped switch on the little genes that repair it. That is a beautiful, hopeful finding. It is also a long way from a person on a long-haul flight. What I can say is true: chaga is a deeply antioxidant-rich food, and its melanin content has fascinated researchers, and this is the honest reason chaga became such a natural companion for my life in the air.

Why Chaga Became My Travel Companion

For me, this was never really about a headline or a health claim. It began as an instinct and became a ritual. In my early travelling years I carried her from Europe across to Asia, then back to Mexico and beyond, a small pot of dark powder that felt like my medicine, easy to slip into my hand luggage. In the beginning I stirred a teaspoon straight into my morning coffee, in hostels and airport lounges and tiny kitchens in languages I did not yet speak. Later, as cacao became the centre of my life, chaga found her way into my daily cup of cacao instead, and that is where she has stayed. She is not the only fungal ally I lean on, either; Lion's Mane, the smart mushroom, has its own quiet place in my routine for the foggy-headed days. But chaga is the one that comes with me. It is why we now offer a blend that brings cacao and chaga together.

What chaga gave me was steadiness. Travel can scatter you, thin you out, leave you wired and depleted at the same time. That one earthy cup was a way of gathering myself back together, wherever I happened to wake up. It was grounding in the truest sense, a small act of care that told my body, we are alright, we are held, even here. I think that is the real magic of a travel ritual. It is not that a single cup changes your biology. It is that it returns you to yourself.

A Simple Travel Ritual with Chaga

If you would like to carry chaga with you too, here is the rhythm I have kept for years. Nothing about it is complicated, and that is the point.

Pack her simply. A small jar of chaga powder, or your chaga cacao blend, travels easily and needs no fridge. She is happy to live in a carry-on and asks only for warm water.
The morning before you fly, stir a teaspoon into your drink. Let it be a small moment of calm before the airport.
Drink plenty of water through the journey. Chaga is a companion to good hydration, never a substitute for it, and the dry cabin air asks us to drink more than we think.
When you land, make it your first ritual in the new place. Boil the water, whisk the cup, wrap your hands around it, and take one slow breath. It is a way of saying, I have arrived.
Set a soft intention for the days ahead. Something steadying, like: I am grounded wherever I go.

If you are moving away from coffee and wondering what might take its place on the road, you might enjoy our reflections on ceremonial cacao versus coffee. It is the very journey chaga and I took together.

Herbal Cacao Chaga & Cacao package with a cup of cacao, ingredients, and a notebook on a rustic surface.

The Blend That Now Comes With Me

These days, the cup I reach for before a flight is our Chaga & Ceremonial Cacao, Divine Strength blend: the grounding chaga I have always loved, held now within ceremonial cacao that is itself wonderfully rich in antioxidants. It is deep, earthy and steadying, everything I want beside me when I am far from home. If a travelling ritual of your own is calling, she is waiting for you in the shop, ready whenever your next horizon calls. There is no rush, and no need. Only an invitation.

I have come to believe that the things we carry across the world say a great deal about who we are. For me it has always been chaga, this dark, patient, generous mushroom, stirred into a warm cup in a hundred different places. She has felt like my protection in the sky, and my way home to myself. May you find something that does the same.

With love,
Sharon

Frequently Asked Questions

Does chaga protect you from radiation when flying?
There is no human evidence that chaga protects against the cosmic radiation we meet when flying, and we would never claim that it does. What research shows so far is that chaga is very rich in antioxidants and in melanin, and that in laboratory and animal studies these have shown interesting protective and antioxidant qualities against oxidative stress and radiation-related damage. That is a reason for curiosity, not a promise of protection. Chaga is best thought of as an antioxidant-rich, grounding companion, not a shield.

Why do people take chaga when they travel?
Partly for her antioxidant richness, and just as much for the ritual. A familiar warm cup can be deeply grounding when everything else is unfamiliar, and many travellers, myself included, simply feel steadier with her along. She is also wonderfully practical: a shelf-stable powder that needs only hot water.

How do I use chaga while travelling?
Stir a teaspoon of chaga powder, or a chaga cacao blend, into warm water, coffee or cacao. It keeps well without refrigeration and packs easily in a carry-on. Pair it with plenty of water, especially in dry cabin air.

Is it safe to travel with chaga powder?
Chaga is a food, carried like any other powdered drink or tea. As with all supplements and herbs, if you are pregnant, nursing, on medication or managing a health condition, it is always wise to check with your own practitioner first.

Can I use my Divine Strength cacao blend instead of plain chaga?
Yes, and that is exactly what I do now. Our Divine Strength blend brings chaga together with ceremonial cacao, so you carry one simple, grounding cup that holds both.