Making Tea from Wild Ingredients
Make Delicious Teas with Naturally Growing Wintergreen and Sassafras
Sep 9, 2009
When collecting wild plants for consumption, it is absolutely imperative that the species are identified correctly. Always check for all identifying characteristics of a plant before deeming it edible!
The plants in these recipes are easily identified by sight as well as smell. This article also includes images of the plants to aid in positive identification.
Making Sassafras Tea
Sassafras root is what gives root beer its name; the popular beverage is made from the roots of this common tree. When the tree has its foliage, it is easy to identify by its three distinct shapes of leaves. It can also be identified by the smell and taste of its sap, which is much like that of root beer.
Sassafras tea is made from the roots of the tree. These are best collected in late fall or early winter, when the sap has run into the roots but the ground has not yet frozen solid. They are best harvested from mature yet smaller trees. Dig the roots up with a shovel, then use a hatchet to remove a piece. When harvesting multiple roots, it is best to take roots from several different sassafras trees.
These directions are for 3 to 4 servings of tea.
Supplies:
- A section of sassafras root three to four inches long
- A meduim-sized pot
- Water
- Stove or fire
Directions:
- Wash the root thoroughly with a vegetable brush under running water to remove all traces of dirt.
- Place the root in a cooking pot. It may need to be cut into smaller sections to fit inside the pot.
- Add water until the pot is about 3/4 full. Place it on the stove or over a fire and bring to a boil.
- Boil for about 6 minutes. The water will turn red when the tea is ready.
- Remove from heat. Take out the root and strain the liquid to assure there are no bits of wood left in the tea. Pour into cups and drink!
Most or all of the sap will be boiled out of the root during the process of making the tea, so a new root should be used for each batch. Sassafras tea is a natural stimulant, so drinking a cup should provide a boost of energy. It is also a natural diuretic.
Making Wintergreen Tea
Wintergreen is a small, shrubby groundcover with small but broad leaves that are dark green and waxy. It can be positively identified by breaking a leaf in half and smelling it; it will smell minty. In the fall, the plants have berries that start out white and ripen to a bright red, and are edible as well.
The following directions are for a single serving of tea.
Supplies:
- A glass jar with lid
- Enough wintergreen leaves to loosely pack the jar
- Water
- A pot
- Stove or fire
- Strainer
Directions:
- Place wintergreen leaves in the jar. The jar should be full but not overly-stuffed.
- Fill the rest of the jar with water. Cover the jar and place in a warm place, such as a windowsill, for a couple of days.
- When the water appears bubbly, your tea is ready to brew. Remove the lid from the jar and place the jar inside of the pot. Add water around the jar and place the pot on the stove or over a fire until the tea inside the jar is warm.
- Carefully remove the jar from the water bath. Strain the contents of the jar to remove the leaves and pour into a cup to enjoy!
This tea will have a very strong, minty flavor. It is a natural painkiller, containing the active ingredients of asprin called methyl salycliates, and has been used for this purpose by many native peoples.
After this initial brewing, the leaves may be dried then infused in water for a second serving of tea, though this tea will have a much weaker flavor than the first batch. The leaves can also be combined with other ingredients to make a blend of flavors. Try adding them to sassafras tea for a hint of minty flavor.
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