pine needle tea

**Kortoso** · 12-11-2012, 06:23 PM

Myth busting:
http://www.eattheweeds.com/bet-your-...-myth-busting/
"If you are a cow and you eat many pounds of Ponderosa pine needles you have a 5 to 8% chance out of 100 of having an abortion. If you boil a huge amount of pine needs in water for hours down to a small amount of of gross liquid and you drink it, then maybe it would cause an abortion. A couple of needles soaked in hot water is no threat to anyone except for possible allergies."

**kubota tim** · 12-11-2012, 06:45 PM

Originally Posted by CimarronJr

I would just avoid Ponderosa Pine. It has abortive effects on cattle. USDA warns against consuming it.
http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=9977

I think "Yews" are also dangerous to cattle as well.

west ky tim

**rdec** · 12-11-2012, 08:26 PM

Yew berries are quite toxic. Juniper berries are used to flavor gin and are excellent with any type of meat, wild game especially.

**Drewboy64** · 12-12-2012, 03:36 AM

Originally Posted by rdec

Yew berries are quite toxic. Juniper berries are used to flavor gin and are excellent with any type of meat, wild game especially.

You can actually eat yew berries, so long as you don't eat the pit. Yew is toxic for tea, of course, but I've eaten some berries and they taste sort of sweet, almost like artificial cherry flavoring.

**justin_baker** · 12-12-2012, 04:50 AM

Originally Posted by Roamer

I read recently that you can use any variety. Even redwood 'needles' work. At least, Native Americans apparently used all kinds and some had different medicinal properties. I reckon it's a matter of finding out what you like.

I never thought of redwood needles! I will research that and try it out.

**NevadaDesertRat** · 12-12-2012, 01:04 PM

Thanks for all the tips. We have bristlecone pine out here and the pinion pine. I think I will try both when I head to the mountains this weekend.

**LANE4** · 12-12-2012, 01:09 PM

I know you guys say not to boil them, but what about running boiling water through them in a perculator?

**Crco** · 12-12-2012, 01:42 PM

Boiling water in contact with conifer resin will pretty much eliminate all of its inherent Vitamin C content and possibly it's other mineral and health benefits.

Hot, hot water is fine .... ixnay on the boiling water.

**Roamer** · 12-12-2012, 02:33 PM

Thanks for adding some clarification on this. I would feel better if that website cited its sources (kinda ironic given the author's rant about unreliable internet myths). But even so, the abortion danger thing didn't ring quite true to me, either.

Originally Posted by Kortoso

Myth busting:
http://www.eattheweeds.com/bet-your-...-myth-busting/
"If you are a cow and you eat many pounds of Ponderosa pine needles you have a 5 to 8% chance out of 100 of having an abortion. If you boil a huge amount of pine needs in water for hours down to a small amount of of gross liquid and you drink it, then maybe it would cause an abortion. A couple of needles soaked in hot water is no threat to anyone except for possible allergies."

**snapper** · 12-12-2012, 03:24 PM

Hemlock needles and white spruce can be used to make a nice tea as well. Both are pretty common here in parts of NYS. All I've ever done is pour hot water over the needles and let them steep. If you don't want to sort through needles to drink the tea you could wrap them in a clean cotton bandana first and then pour the boiling water of your homemade tea bag. The end result can be a nice herbal tasting tea.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...Be well.

snapper