Pine Needle Tea Benefits & Recipe
Pine needles tea is easy to prepare and has a light, citrusy flavor. It can be enjoyed plain or mixed with other fruits and spices.
Servings: 2 cups
Calories: 5kcal
Ingredients
- ½ cup spruce or Douglas Fir needles (chopped)
- 2 cups water
- 2 orange or lemon slices
- honey, or sweetener of choice (optional)
Optional Ingredients
- 3 cardamom pods
- 3 whole cloves
- ¼ inch cinnamon stick
- 3 juniper berries
- 1 slice ginger
Instructions
- Wash and then chop spruce branches (or other edible pine needles) to measure ½ cup. Add the needles and a few orange slices to a teapot. Pour two cups of boiling water into the teapot.
- Simmer the tea over low heat for 15 minutes to extract the flavor and beneficial properties of the pine branches.
- Strain the tea into a teacup and sweeten it with honey, brown sugar, or the sweetener of your choice. Enjoy!
Optional Step
- Try adding mulling spices or your favorite spices to the teapot for an even more delicious cup of pine tea!
Notes
- Don't include twigs or thicker branches. Instead, strip or cut the needles off of the branch using kitchen shears.
- You can also infuse the pine needles in a mug with a built-in infuser or use these fillable, disposable tea bags. I love them!
- When foraging needles, use the fresh needles on the ends of the branches instead of the older ones closer to the center of the tree. The older ones can be a little bitter but will give you a stronger tea.
- I've always preferred black tea to green or clear tea. If this is you, try adding brown sugar. It's a great way to sweeten the tea and give it a darker color!
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup | Calories: 5kcal | Carbohydrates: 0g | Protein: 0g | Fat: 0g | Saturated Fat: -26g | Sodium: 0mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 0g