Pine (conifer) Needle Tea

[Matt Johnson]

Hi all.... flu season is here... But mother nature has compelled me to share this recipe with you because she loves you so much!!!!

I thought I would post my personal recipe for pine needle tea which is full of vitamin c and antioxidants and is abundant and free. Our Buddhist ancestors would absolutely have known about this and some of them may have consumed a little bit too much and turned themselves into mummies (But that's a whole other story)...

The needles of pretty much all pine trees (pinus) and spruce (Picea) are edible (keep in mind I'm in Canada so you may need to do your research if you're in Asia or somewhere really exotic). This recipe is the bare bones and is not meant to taste really good. it actually kind of tastes terrible but it is sooo good for you.

1. get some pine needles. I have white pine and spruce in the picture
2. I also harvest chaga occasionally (So that's a whole separate post on how to do that sustainably) and I grind this up in a coffee grinder. and put a tablespoon or so in the pot. But sometimes I put more in and I get a few extra boils out of it.
3. then I fill it just till the needles are covered and I simmer it on my wood stove
4. at this point you could strain the mixture or put it into a French press...m
5. Enjoy (many would enjoy some honey or maple syrup or some sugar of some sort to make it more palatable) But I just think about it as medicine and now I kind of enjoy the taste....

To your health!

_/\_
sat/ah
matt

[Benjamin Gieseke]

Fun fact, Pine Needle Tea is so high in Vitamin C it can actually cure scurvy!

Gassho,
Benjamin
SatLah

[Jundo]

Actually, they come in easy to carry tea bags ...


13.jpg



Gassho, J
stlah

[Matt Johnson]

_/\_
sat/ah
matt

[ZenJay]

Hi all.... flu season is here... But mother nature has compelled me to share this recipe with you because she loves you so much!!!!

I thought I would post my personal recipe for pine needle tea which is full of vitamin c and antioxidants and is abundant and free. Our Buddhist ancestors would absolutely have known about this and some of them may have consumed a little bit too much and turned themselves into mummies (But that's a whole other story)...

The needles of pretty much all pine trees (pinus) and spruce (Picea) are edible (keep in mind I'm in Canada so you may need to do your research if you're in Asia or somewhere really exotic). This recipe is the bare bones and is not meant to taste really good. it actually kind of tastes terrible but it is sooo good for you.

1. get some pine needles. I have white pine and spruce in the picture
2. I also harvest chaga occasionally (So that's a whole separate post on how to do that sustainably) and I grind this up in a coffee grinder. and put a tablespoon or so in the pot. But sometimes I put more in and I get a few extra boils out of it.
3. then I fill it just till the needles are covered and I simmer it on my wood stove
4. at this point you could strain the mixture or put it into a French press...m
5. Enjoy (many would enjoy some honey or maple syrup or some sugar of some sort to make it more palatable) But I just think about it as medicine and now I kind of enjoy the taste....

To your health!

_/\_
sat/ah
matt

Wow that is a massive piece of Chaga! I’ve always wanted to find some myself and harvest it! Any tips? If
I’m not mistaken, I need to look for dead Beech trees right?

Thank you my friend!

Gassho,
Jay

Sat/lah today

[Matt Johnson]

Wow that is a massive piece of Chaga! I’ve always wanted to find some myself and harvest it! Any tips? If
I’m not mistaken, I need to look for dead Beech trees right?

Thank you my friend!

Gassho,
Jay

Sat/lah today

Realized I didn't respond to this Jay... Not Beech trees, birch trees (any species)...They are often damaged and a little sick looking... They also are often found near water. Chaga, particularly the outside is very hard and dark brown and woody.... the inside is lighter brown and a bit spongier. When harvesting leave at least 20-30% behind.

chaga will grow in other types of trees such as beech, but it's not as medicinal. also, because of concerns with harvesting chaga in the fact that it grows very slowly (Sometimes 100 years or more) I have been curious to try Birch polypore which contains many of the same medicinal benefits and is much more widely available (they're the little white puffs that grow out of dead birch trees all the time).

_/\_
sat/ah
matt