I made a comparison of brewing loose chaga vs teabags. I also experimented with how many gallons I could get out of the loose chaga 4 oz. bag of tea rebrewing 4 tsp. 3 times. First brew was very very dark, second brew med. dark, 3rd brew looks like regular ice tea.
1 box of chaga tea bags has 16 bags, which if each tea bag makes 8 ounces of tea that is 128 ounces which is 1 gallon so you are looking at $10.00 per gallon.
The loose chaga 4 ounce bag at $24.00 I made 12 gallons of tea. I used a large tea ball and put 4 teaspoons in it and brewed 1 large pot refilling and brewing 3 times with the same tea ball making 2 gallons per 4 tsp. used. There are 24 tsp. in 4 oz's. 4 tsp. ÷ 24 oz's =6. 6 ×2= 12 gallon's per 4 oz. bag costing $2.00 a gallon. I brew 4 gallon's each week and love how much further the loose chaga last vs the tea bags and the huge savings of $2.00 per gallon as opposed to $10.00 a gallon per a box of tea bags.
I also save my grounds and put them in a mesh bag for a 4th lighter brew that I did not include in quantity or price savings actually making 14 gallons.
I am going to try to post some pics with a first brew in the small mason jar and 3rd brew in a 1/2 gallon jar as well as the tools I use.