Sassafras Tea. Mmmmmmmm.....

So yesterday my buddy from over at Saturday Sports Blog and I were hiking through some of his family's land when we came across a stand of Sassafras trees. I am absolutely addicted to fresh Sassafras tea so we pulled, dug, and cut some Sassafras root to take home. This morning I washed the roots and sat them out to dry. Once they were dry I put a few in a pot of water to boil and made some Sassafras Tea. If you've never had, or even heard of, Sassafras Tea you are really missing out. It is a very light, flavorful tea that is great either iced or hot. Sassafras trees can be found in most areas of the lower 48 but is most prominent in the southern states.

Sassafras was banned from commercial sale in 1960 because researchers found that extreme doses of an ingredient found in Sassafras, called safrole, caused liver cancer in rats. These findings were very controversial for several reasons. The main reason being that it would take MASSIVE amounts of Sassafras being consumed to cause any negative effects. However, if you're concerned, please do the research before you try to make yourself any Sassafras tea.

If you'd like try some, here is the process from harvest to the glass:

1. Find a Sassafras tree.

2. Dig up some roots. Take them home and wash them really well then throw three to five roots about 4" long in a pot of boiling water. I normally do about a gallon of water for this amount of root.

3. Let the roots come to a rolling boil and sustain that boil for 30 minutes. Then remove the pot from the heat, cover it, and let it sit for 3 to 4 hours. The water will have turned a medium pink to a darker red color. Carefully pull the roots from the tea and strain the tea to get any small particles out.

4. Enjoy! If you like your tea strong you can drink it straight. Or you can dilute it with water like you would normal iced tea. I prefer mine diluted, with a bit of sugar, on ice. Just experiment with the variation that works best for you. You can also adjust the recipe to find the strength that you like. Just add more root to make it stronger or leave some out to make it weaker.

Or, you could just buy some commercial Sassafras Tea. The commercial teas use a safrole-free Sassafras flavoring to skirt by the safrole ban, so it won't be as tasty as the real thing, but it is better than nothing!