THE BRCC STORY
KEVIN KRZYZANIAK
WILD MUSHROOM FORAGER & NATIVE MUSHROOM AND PLANT INSTRUCTOR
I am the owner and operator of Blue Ridge Chaga Connection, which I founded in 2018. Being based in Asheville, NC locates me in the Appalachian mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountain range. I offer wild foraged Chaga, Reishi, Lions Mane, Maitake, Turkey Tail, Cordyceps, Indian Pipe and many other edible/medicinal mushrooms, using 100% sustainable methods of foraging, sourcing, processing and packaging. Find freshly foraged mushrooms like Chanterelles, Chicken of the Wood and Cauliflower, at any one of my local markets, when in season.
My expertise encompasses college classes in Horticulture and Botany, and extensive knowledge and experience gained from local experts in Mycology, Botany and Chinese Herbs. I have studied the arts of Foraging, Plant Identification, Tincture and Tea Making, and learned the many uses and values of medicinal plants, edible plants and mushrooms in our region. I have 17 years of experience foraging and working with mushrooms.
As a life long student of the fungi kingdom, I continue to learn about new species, researching the medicinal properties of many varieties of mushrooms in my region, and creating new formulas.
TO SEE CERTIFICATION CLICK HERE.
Angela Taharnkleaw
WILD CRAFTER, Kitchen Witch & HERBALIST IN TRAINING
Angie is the mastermind behind many of the products we carry. Studying herbs, mushrooms and botanicals, she dove into creating spices, tea blends, tinctures and skin care.
MUSHROOM HUNTER
My introduction to the fungi kingdom came very naturally (in every way possible). Upon moving to Asheville, I quickly became enchanted by the mountains and forest and that enchantment grew into curiosity as I began to observe the world under the canopy alittle closer. Many wild plants and flowers caught my eye but most of all so did the mushrooms! It didn’t take long to get hooked and the desire to know more took hold. I began my study by joining some locally offered forays, it introduced me to an alternative community of people within my community, I learned which mushrooms were meant for the plate and which could help improve our health. It changed the way I looked at the world around me, these mountains are alive with connected networks of plants, trees and fungi. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life emersed in this mushroom realm. Getting to know all the different species and families, poisonous and medicinal took many years.
The journey hit very personal when my father was diagnosed with stage four cancer and later passed, I wanted to learn how to prevent this, how to help others that go through it and that experience pushed me to learn more about medicinal plants and mushrooms and how to turn them into medicine. One of the most influential and important people on my journey was Joe Hollis (pictured to the right), a teacher and mentor. Not long after moving to here, I came across Joe and his home Mountain Gardens in Burnsville, NC. Joe was a Daoist teacher and a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner, I would spend weekends going out to his land, helping to plant seedlings and do weeding in his paradise garden, and help set up simple water line systems along his property, repair fences and chop wood and in return I would learn how to formulate and create tinctures, how to make strong herbal decoctions and tonics, we made medicinal meades, it was the perfect system of work trade. Joe shared his library, wall to wall books of anything from herbal information, to native plants and mushrooms, to books on philosophies and religions, to poetry, we listened to his old records and cataloged seeds, spending time with Joe really catapulted me into starting my own journey with foraging and medicine making. It was some of my favorite times of learning and some of the most inspiring and peaceful moments I can remember.
Currently I’ve been studying for the past 18 years, becoming a small business 7 years ago, truly living my dream!
My focus is on education by guiding local tours, it’s also wild foraging edible and medicinal wild mushrooms, creating products to offer at local markets and online and connecting to communities near and far.
BRINGING THE FOREST TO THE PEOPLE
I named my company with Chaga included, because of the difference this mushroom made in my life. Learning it’s long history of medicinal use, alongside feeling the effects for myself, a stronger immune system and an improvement with arthritis, Chaga represents my beginnings and my always growing fascination with mushrooms.
My knowledge has grown to encompass 80 medicinal/edible mushrooms and plants, along with their different uses and tastes! Medicinal mushrooms such as Reishi, Turkey Tail, Lion’s Mane, Maitake, Birch Polypore, Artist’s Conk, Cordyceps, Birch Polypore and many more grow abundantly in the southern Appalachian mountains. These mushrooms are now the focus of my foraging and teaching. The more that I have learned about the medicinal properties of mushrooms, the more I am awed by the possibilities they have to offer our wellness. These benefits include Immune system support, anti-inflammatory, cancer fighting properties, brain health, antioxidant, digestive and organ support and more. My passion is bringing the medicine of the forest to the people.
All of the mushrooms Blue Ridge Chaga Connection offers come straight from the Blue Ridge Mountains here in Western North Carolina. They are 100% sustainably harvested, 100% organic and 100% processed by hand - the old fashioned way. I rarely forage Chaga anymore but when I do it’s from northern regions in Virginia, New York, Vermont, Maine and Michigan, all other Chaga is sourced from a wild forager in Maine.
I have great respect for Mother Nature and our environment. Special care is taken in my harvesting process, and I always leave a percentage of the mushroom to regrow and percentage for the ecosystem to regenerate. I give thanks to the land and every tree that gives the precious gift of healing medicine.
SHARING THE GOODNESS
Blue Ridge Chaga Connection products include Teas, Soups, Salts, Tinctures and Body Care. Wonderful dried mushrooms such as Reishi, Turkey Tail, Chaga, Lions Mane, Maitake, and Shiitake are offered. When in season, Chicken of the Wood, Chanterelles, Milk Caps, Maitake, Beef Steak, Lobster, Black Trumpet, Boletes and other edible mushrooms are available fresh or dried.
If you live in the Asheville region, or are visiting the area, you can find me at several tailgate markets. My products are also available in several local stores. I can meet you anywhere in Asheville for pick-ups, and sometimes I make deliveries. If local purchasing doesn’t work for you - you are still in luck - I ship my products everywhere!
I also offer Mushroom & Plant Identification Tours in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. These adventurous classes offer information about a wide range of medicinal and edible plants that grow in this diverse region of the world. I love to share the traditional knowledge and earth skills I have gained about plants over the years - honoring our ancestors and native cultures.
