First pine needle brew

[garethw]

Well I was out & about at my fishing lakes today... temps well below zero, so work was cold and not very productive...
To cheer myself up I lit a nice little fire and put a pan on to make a brew... you know as you do. Well instead of the Tetley tea folk bags I had in my pouch I broke off a few pine needles and put them in to stew... in for a penny..!!!!
After the pan boiled, I let it infuse for a few minutes before pouring the potion into my quart cup...
Well actually it was really nice.... now I've seen Ray Mears saying its great.. and others on here saying it tasted like washing up liquid.. but I found it very refreshing.
cheers
Gareth

 

[JonathanD]

I've found that like nettle tea, the more you drink it, the more you appreciate it.

 

[MSkiba]

Why not experiment.

Maybe try throwing in a normal tea bag into the pot right at the very end, maybe add some sugar, or honey

Lovely stuff

 

[Shewie]

I like it too, I once drunk a few gallons of it whilst waiting for a lift that was three hours late

 

[PaulSanderson]

i love the stuff!! nothing better than when youve forgotten to replen your brew kit with tea bags or coffee...infact, nothing better even when you have remembered!! I think the key is in letting it infuse. It is relatively bland if you dont...

 

[Husky]

When I'm feeling fed up with the world I get a piece of the pine branch I keep on my porch for this very reason, brew some pineneedle tea and watch an episode of Ray Mears or Les Straud on youtube.
Try it, it really gets you in a better mood!

 

[WeThePeoplexfbm]

i cant seem to find any pine tree around my town -_- so i has daintree tea queensland purest Tea ^^ very nice stuff ^^

 

[Landy_Dom]

tearing the bundle of needles helps release the flavour enormously - otherwise they can be a bit bland. We did it on scout camp and the kids loved it.

 

[stekker]

i cant seem to find any pine tree around my town -_- so i has daintree tea queensland purest Tea ^^ very nice stuff ^^

I've been in your beautiful country twice,and enjoyed this lovely tea!

Theo

 

[RonW]

As I have never tried it befor I have to ask...... Does it matter what kind of pine you use???

 

[JonathanD]

Just make sure you don't mistakenly pick Yew. The different pines and spruces have different tastes.

 

[gowersponger]

can all pines in the uk be used for this and do you strain the needles out ?

 

[JonathanD]

I've had allsorts without any ill effect. I usually leave the needles in as I chop them up to make them infuse better. When you tip the cup up, they stay away from your mouth and most sink to the bottom anyway.

 

[Daegurth]

just don't mistakenly use hemlock if you're anywhere that it grows! looks the same but the branches and needles are arranged differently, i believe. i did that once... no ill effects because i made barely any (what would fit in the torn-off bottom half of a discarded - :twak: - 12oz drinks can), but i was lucky, i reckon.

does anyone know which pine/spruce/fir/etc in the UK has a distinct citrusy taste to it? i was just chewing the younger needles, not making tea out of it, but they were REALLY good. would like to find it again and make a brew or six.

 

[BobvanVelzen]

I love it when a bit or resin gets in, it smells like vapo rub, works like it to. taste funny though.

 

[Husky]

About different species, one feature of the lodgepole pine (Pinus Contorta) is that the needles smell like orange.
I must try this!