Tea is undoubtedly one of the most popular drinks in the world, including our country. There are a number of tea varieties and tea brewing methods. However, hardly anything is known yet as well as what tastes so good as pine needle tea.
It has been proven that such tea is literally stuffed with antioxidants and vitamins A and C (allegedly as much as 4 times more vitamins than the popular orange juice). They say that such tea can strengthen the immunity of the body and clean it from various harmful substances. It has been used for hundreds of years, whether for normal drinking or for medical purposes. For example, the French researcher Jacques Cartier (if he were still alive) could tell a lot about it, as drinking pine tea saved him from scurvy. At the end of his life, Cartier even declared the pine tree the 'tree of life'.
When making needle tea, it is good to choose needles depending on what you feel like drinking at that moment. Older needles have a higher concentration of vitamin C, but their taste is bitter. Young needless will make the tea a little sweeter, so the tea will be tastier, and it will be considerably better to drink. In fact, it is easy to recognise the age of needles, but it is enough to note the colour and position of the needles on a branch. Logically, you can find young needles on the tips. Older needles are darker and can be found at the "base" of the branch.
Now something about brewing: First, tear a fresher branch and thoroughly clean it from bugs and dirt, such as earth or sand. Then tear off the needles and process them further. If the needles are long, do not be afraid to cut them before placing them in your container.
Then boil three cups of water. Remove the water from your heat source (this is important!) and add plus or minus one and a half cups of pine needles. Do not boil the tea anymore, this would significantly reduce the amount of vitamin C and the tea could become more bitter. If you require extra strong tea, then add more needles instead of brewing.
Infuse the tea for approximately twenty minutes. You will know that the tea is ready when the needles stop floating on the surface of the liquid. If you are going to drink the tea immediately, the needles may remain in the cup. But if you are going to drink it later, pass it through a sieve.
The result should be a slightly bitter and “citrus-like” taste. If the result is still not 'your cup of tea', you can add some lemon and honey.
Bon Appetit!
