Pine Needle Tea

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WJC01

Joined
Mar 3, 2006
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Saw the guys on TV brewing pine needle tea and had to try for myself.
I got out my trusty 30 year old Coleman backpack stove (next time I'll cook on a Dakota fire pit!), Firesteel for ignition, US Gov't metal canteen cup, fine Paulding County water(tap water) and some geniune Georgia pine needles professionally cut up by my neighber. It was'nt exactly Lipton but it was decent, had almost a citrus zing to it. Next brew I added a couple slices of an orange ( surgically cut with my trusty Bravo 1)and some sugar. Even my son and squealmish wife and thought it was good (they might have been just humoring me however). All in all a sucess.
 
I drink it quite a bit. Also mostly in winter. I made some just the other day. I really like the flavor and as primitiveman said, pretty good for you. I like to use young Douglas Fir needles.
 
I've been reading about it here on Bladeforums earlier this week and had it in my mind that I needed to try it. I actually brought my Ghille Kettle out to the back yard today to make some, but I couldn't reach any branches on the one pine tree closest to the house, so I used the tea bags that were stashed in my Zebra covered mug. :)

I'm planning on a long hike tommorow and I intend to brew up a mug or two.

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
One of my best memories was making a round of pine needle tee with my grandfather. I was 12 yrs old, and everyone else drank coffee. It was a fairly primitive canoe camping trip in Quetico. Thanks for taking me back.
 
Waht about Cedar needle tea? The red cedar we have here has little blue berries too. What are they good for?
 
I know this may sound monumentally stupid but can I get some simple instructions on how to make pine needle tea. I am NOT a tea fan - but I would love to try this.

TF
 
Fox Creek said:
Waht about Cedar needle tea? The red cedar we have here has little blue berries too. What are they good for?
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I'm pretty sure any of the evergreens will work. The area I normally hike in has mostly hemlock for evergreens. I've read about using hemlock needles for the tea.

Google "Pine needle tea" and see what you get. I spent some time doing it when I read about it here earlier this week. I read one person's story of trying and liking pine needle tea, and the photo they posted of the branch tips steeping in their mug were obviously some kind of spruce or fir, not pine!


Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
WJC01 said:
Saw the guys on TV brewing pine needle tea and had to try for myself.
I got out my trusty 30 year old Coleman backpack stove (next time I'll cook on a Dakota fire pit!), Firesteel for ignition, US Gov't metal canteen cup, fine Paulding County water(tap water) and some geniune Georgia pine needles professionally cut up by my neighber. It was'nt exactly Lipton but it was decent, had almost a citrus zing to it. Next brew I added a couple slices of an orange ( surgically cut with my trusty Bravo 1)and some sugar. Even my son and squealmish wife and thought it was good (they might have been just humoring me however). All in all a sucess.
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Oh yes. It is quite good ... especially with citrus and a bit of sweetner.

I indulge when I can.:)
 
Per the survival guys they say use new pine needles(whatever that means). We used pine needles from small pine trees, cut the needles up and boiled them in water for several minutes. Let it set for a few minutes and enjoy. The orange slices and sugar made it better. Do not expect Lipton.

Hopefully some more experienced makers will add more info......
 
Talfuchre said:
I am NOT a tea fan - but I would love to try this.
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Have you ever had a cup of really good loose leaf tea? Any complaints with the tea that you've had? I have around 30 different kinds of loose leaf tea, so if you ever feel inclined to try something better than what comes in a bag (usually the dust left over from producing quality tea--if you're lucky), lemme' know. :D

As far as preparing a pine needle tea, just pick some fresh needles, chop 'em up, and steep in boiling water. :)
 
If you can find them, young blue spruce tips are fantastic. Early spring you can get some really tasty needles and if you shave a small strip of spruce bark and chew it you will be hooked.
Talfuchre, "Lofty" Wiseman says, "collect only fresh green needles and boil."
 
Sure thing, pine needle tea is very nice! Personally, I choose to use the fresh new baby needles that form at the tips of the boughs in spring. These can easily be identified by their lighter color and soft texture. White spruce and Blue spruce tastes best, in my own opinion. I heave heard that pine oils can cause kidney problems and uninary tract irritations if ingested in larger than casual amounts. I have never experienced any pains or problems myself, but I suppose it is still wise to ingest needle tea in moderation. As some have mentioned, Cedar tea is excepetional. Juniper Berry tea is perhaps my favorite of all. Young unripe juniper berries make for a wonderful tea, I suggest folks try it out, it was a favorite of my Grandad, and the taste and aroma still brings back memories of 65 years gone by!
 
I used a tea kettle to make my pine needle tea, then ran it through a cone coffee filter into my cup. No bad, but it isn't replacing my Stash Earl Gray tea anytime soon:D Next time I plan to use an open pot to cook the needles in since removing all those needles from a tea pot is such a pain. The needles get stuck up in the rim of the kettle. Sort of like socks in a dryer.
 
Since it has so much (reported) Vitamin C in it, I am interested in brewing some up and placing a little Korean Moga-cha (Citron Syrup Tea) in it to sweeten it up a bit.
 
The newer growth makes the best tea - more citrus and less bitter. On the long needle varieties, the newer needles will be lighter coloured and thinner/shorter than the older growth ones. In the next couple of weeks many pines will go through a bit of a growth spurt with the warming temperatures and higher photoperiod. Perfect time to pick some new growth needles and enjoy your tea.

Instructions. Crushing the needles rather than simply cutting them works better. I find you have to boil the pine needles in tea for a couple minutes. Steeping like you would regular tea doesn't extract enough essence out of the needles.

For the fall I also enjoy sumac tea. Pick the fruit (red crowns that are pointed upwards) and crumble in hot water. For sumac avoid poison sumac which has white fruit pointed downwards.
 
Silly question: Does pine needle tea have any caffeine content? I'm definitely going to try this out (again - I had a few cups several years ago), but I'm curious as to whether it is just a warm and nourishing drink or if it has any additional 'pick me up' qualities.

All the best,

- Mike
 
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