Thursday, January 23, 2014

Pine Needle Tea


It is the dead of winter here in Middle Tennessee, and there is not a lot of plants to forage at this time of year.  The landscape is frozen and brown.  January is my least favorite month of the year.  It is the only time when your breath gets taken away from you when confronted with the cold temperatures outside, and it has the least amount of daylight.  Oh well, it is a great time to cuddle up with the kids, have a cup of tea and watch television.


One foraging item you can find easily right now is Pine needles.  Just the smell alone can perk me up.  If you examine a Pine tree closely, you will see that the needles actually grow in bundles which helps to determine what type of Pine that you have.  The most common types of Pine that you will find growing in this area is Loblolly Pine (three needles, 6-9" long), Shortleaf Pine (two or three needles, 3-5" long), Virginia Pine (two twisted needles, 1 1/2 -3" long), and Eastern White Pine (5 needles, 3-5" long).  The Eastern White Pine is the tree I most often come across.  Here's a little shortcut in identification.  White has five letters in the word and an Eastern White Pine has five needles in a bundle.  If you find a Pine tree with five needles in its bundle in North America, you can be very confident that it is an Eastern White Pine.  Any of the above Pine trees can be used to make Tea.  You want to avoid choosing Yews (short stubby needles often with red berries), Norfolk Island Pine (frilly, flat, pretty needles often sold as indoor Christmas Trees) and Ponderosa Pine (smells like turpentine and is found growing in the North Western part of the U.S.).


My children and I were watching a series called Alaska, the Final Frontier on Netflix last night.  It is about a family that has been homesteading on 600 acres of Alaska wilderness for three generations.  It is fascinating.  They have no running water, frequently hunt, raise farm animals and grow their own food.  Tired of the lifestyle, one of the twenty-something sons had left in his teens to make his way in the civilized world.  He returned disenchanted and with a new found appreciation of the wild Alaska frontier.  Unfortunately, he and his wife spend a lot of time playing catch up on survival skills.  In one scene he is talking about one of the first years back when he spent a winter (nine months) eating mostly red meat and cheese.  He had not spent any time focusing on growing a garden.  He ended up with Scurvy, an ancient disease caused by a lack of vitamin C.  There had not been a case of this disease in the area since the 1800's.  In the background of the scene, I could see mountains filled with Pine trees.  If he had just plucked some Pine needles and had Pine Needle Tea on a regular basis, he would not have had Scurvy.

Not only is Pine Needle Tea tasty, but it has 4-5 times the vitamin C of fresh squeezed orange juice and is high in vitamin A.  When the first European colonist arrived in the new world, many were suffering from Scurvy, often with teeth falling out due to the disease.  The Indians introduced them to the use of Pine needles as a remedy and saved many lives.  There are also historic references to sailors adding Pine needles to their beer on long journeys to prevent Scurvy.  It has been a popular herbal remedy for preventing and relieving the symptoms of colds and flues.  The inner bark of the tree can also be used as a food source if times are truly tough.

Trees can have slightly different flavors so I would suggest trying a few until you find one that is most appealing to you!

Pine Needle Tea

Ingredients:

1 cup Pine needles
3 cups water
Honey or any sweetener (optional)

Directions:

Rinse and chop your Pine needles.

Bring the water to boil in a saucepan. Add the Pine needles, reduce heat and simmer for ten minutes. Turn heat off and let sit for five minutes. 

Strain liquid into cups and add sweetener.

Alternate Directions:

Add Pine needles to bottom of cup. Pour in boiling water. Steep for twenty minutes. Strain, reheat and add sweetener.






28 comments:

  1. I can't believe I've never tried a cup of Pine tea. Gotta find me a source here in North Texas. I'm familiar with Crossville, Tennessee. I stayed up there with my husband's cousin while we we're building their house. For a tree & nature lover like myself, I was truly in awe. I could actually see myself living there, (which is not a good Native Texan thing to say, btw).
    Health & happiness to you & yours.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We have family in Texas. It has been basically our alternate state! It has a very similar mind state to Tennesseans. However, I do love the lush flollage of Tennessee and would miss it. I wouldn't mind having some of that mild winter temperatures right now enjoyed in Texas. Hope you enjoy the pine tea!

      Delete
    2. Dr Mom, is shortleaf pine needles safe to use for tea?

      Delete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Many Tennesseans moved to Texas in the 1800's (such as Davy Crockett and some of my ancestors). That is probably why we have similar mind sets.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Loblolly pine is not safe for tea

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I heard that loblolly pine is safe unless you're pregnant or breastfeeding. Can you explain why loblolly isn't safe, or post a link to info?

      Delete
    2. Loblolly is safe, and it makes a great cup of tea.

      Delete
    3. Phytoestrogens may be present in loblolly pine and in yellow pine species, in large amounts phytoestrogens could potentially cause miscarriage in pregnant women.

      Delete
  5. can you tell me if slash pine is safe

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm also trying to determine if slash pine (pinus elliottii) is safe to consume.
      Foraged today what I believe are slash pine needles, but I'd prefer to confirm they're safe before I poison myself in an effort to be healthy 😂

      Delete
    2. I'd like to know as well (if slash pine needles can be used for tea)

      Delete
    3. Yes, heard it phrased as very tasty by compare to most other's. Only three poison species two are yew and very obviously not standard pines, and the other only grows in North Western US.

      Delete
  6. The part of Florida I'm in is very built up. So i ordered some white pine needles to try this. They took almost aweek to arrive, so not as fresh as desired.
    I ground them in a cheap blade type coffee grinder to a course powder, and ran them through my espresso machine with the small filter. Wet the powder, wait 10 seconds, then finish extraction. I'm hearing differing opinions about the safety of the local varieties of Pine trees. Once I get that strightend out I will try some fresh local needles. The Pine espresso was very nice. Use a full size tea cup, not a small espresso type.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am also in Florida. I have many different types of pine in my surrounding area, unsure as to which tree to cut from.

      Delete
  7. One type of Pine we have here in So. FL is the Australian Pine. It might be invasive. It looks like a true pine to me. But IDK if it's useful for making tea? Any thoughts on this variety?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Do not use Australian pine needles for tea!

    ReplyDelete
  9. The American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says the Australian pine, Araucana heterophylla, contains an unknown toxic substance that causes vomiting and depression in dogs and cats. The Australian pine is also called the Norfolk pine, house pine, and Norfolk Island pine.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dr Mom, is shortleaf pine needles safe to use for tea?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good morning... I spent the summer in the north and had access to white pine but now I'm back in GA and need to know the various pines safe to use. I know White pine is good but which others are safe? I read above that the Australian is not good but now to find ones that ARE good. Your help would be appreciated. I love the pine needle tea but it wasn't hardly possible for me to bring the white pine with me. Have a Blessed Day. Can you please send to Isschade@aol.com .. not the google mail. Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  12. Australian Pine is actually Austrian Pine and is not a true pine. Austrian have segmented needles. And bark is not like pines. I grew up and lived South Florida years.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I am planning to make some tea tomorrow out of our lobLolly pine needles. I can't wait to try.. it is safe, correct??

    ReplyDelete
  14. I am fixing to try lollipine needle tea tomorrow. I cannot wait to try it.
    It is safe, correct??

    ReplyDelete
  15. Yes, unless pregnant or breastfeeding. Loblolly contain phytoestrogens which could cause miscarriage in large amounts

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi,

    I just purchased an ebook from Equinox Wilderness Adventures on Facebook, in which he uses your image of pine needle tea. He's currently selling his ebook for $40 each even though it's just 47 pages of posts he's shared on Facebook full of what appears to be copyright images. I just thought I would pass along the information in case you would like to claim intellectual property of your image.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I had an odd experience with pine needle tea. Foraged it along an old family homestead that I know has not had anything like roundup or other sprayed around. Tasted great - started drinnking it 2 times a day. On Day ten I was leaning over to pick up something on the floor and thought I'd gotten something in my eye. Didnt think about it, until I went to the bathroom about 10 mins later - had a HUGE red spot between my pupil and my nose. Called my eye doctor and ran over there in case it had been a bug bite. $35. later, no bug bite.

    4 days later (still drinking the tea 2x a day, its quite tasty!) got a "blowout" in the other eye. My eye Dr this time said come on over no charge. Asked me if I had gotten on blood thinner or taking curcumin & hadnt told him - I replied "Why no - oh, uh, wait... " Then told him what I've been drinking instead of green tea.

    He told me - and he's cool with alternative medicines - I did not have to drink that, as delicious as it was - it was thinning my perfectly fine blood too much. I had to quit. However, Im glad I took it while my friend was sick with the supposedly Delta and was on monolonal antibodies and such.

    Bottom Line - be careful. Too much of a good thing can be TOO MUCH. Not sure if I ever had to start back up that I'd drink it 2x a day - maybe 3x a week. Sure tasted better than green tea :D

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hello, I'm having trouble locating studies showing Vit. C levels of pine needles. Also Vitamin C is quite heat-sensitive, so simmering the needles isn't recommended. I would add them to boiling water and immediately turn off the heat and cover the pot.

    ReplyDelete