Root beer gets its name from the oil extracted from the root of the sassafras tree. If you live in a region where this tree grows in the wild, you may be able to make your own drink from this same plant. Here is how to make sassafras tea.
- Sassafras roots, dried
1It has been estimated that one cup of strong sassafras tea could contain as much as 200 mg [milligrams] of safrole, more than four times the minimal amount believed hazardous to humans if consumed on a regular basis." Aromatic oil derived from the sassafras root bark was formerly much utilized in flavoring confections, soft drinks, and pharmaceutical products. Such use was banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1960 after safrole was found to be hepatocarcinogenic (liver-cancer-causing) in the rat. (Stich)Ad
2Find a sassafras tree. It is found in cool damp shady areas in the southern United States. It is a thin tree, usually with few limbs, and leaves that have three unequal lobes opposite the leaf stem. When the sap is down (the tree is dormant for winter), the bark and roots have a distinctive root beer odor when scraped.
3Get permission from the landowner before going onto private property to search for sassafras trees. Tress-passing and removing trees, or anything else from private property is a criminal offense.
4Dig or pull the tree up with its roots, remove them, and wash and cut them into 2 to 3 inch pieces.
5Allow them dry for a week or so. Keep them in a cool, dry place during the drying time to prevent them from rotting.
6Strip the bark (or skin) from the roots after they have dried, cutting it slightly into the woody part of the root. The bark is where the tree stores its sap during the dormant, winter months. Store these strips of root skin in airtight containers like zipper freezer bags until ready to use.
7Boil about 2 to 4 ounces of this bark in a quart of water for twenty minutes or so and then allow it to steep until it cools.
8Add the same amount of sugar you would for regular Iced Tea adjusting it to your personal tastes.
9Add more water to make it a gallon and enjoy.
10To make your tea stronger or sweeter add more or less roots / sugar.Ad
- Keep the pot used to boil the roots loosely covered to prevent the sap from evaporating out while boiling, and maintain only sufficient heat to simmer the root material.
- Sassafras trees commonly grow in the edges of fields and clearings, and are considered a nuisance by many farmers, so you may be able to simply ask for permission to harvest them from these areas.
- Small sassafras trees can usually be pulled by hand, so most of the roots can be harvested for use.
- Because sassafras trees are usually thin and fairly straight, the trunk of trees you remove are suitable for making walking sticks.
- Sassafras leaves are dried and ground up to use as file (pronounced fee-lay) in southern Louisiana for use in gumbos and other Cajun dishes.
- Alcoholic root beer can also be made using sassafras roots, but this is not in the scope of this article.
- Do not eat the small, white berries of the sassafras tree. Use any herbal ingredients with caution, as their toxicity may be unknown.
- Sassafras is a blood-thinner (AKA: A Detoxification Agent for the Body) Use in small amounts. Make your blood too thin and it will come through the skin. Ask an old farmer and he'll tell you how much.
- Sassafras contains agents that are known to cause liver damage and cancer according to FDA of the USA.
- Never remove any plant growing on state or national parks, or any other property without permission.
Things You'll Need
- Shovel for digging larger sassafras trees
- Sharp knife for skinning the roots
- Containers for various steps