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1
Using a heavy knife, chop up the sassafras roots or pound them with the handle until you can smell their spicy scent.
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2
Place the roots in a saucepan with the cinnamon and 6 cups of water and bring to a boil.
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3
Decrease the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes.
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4
Add the ginger and simmer for 2 minutes more.
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5
Line a fine-mesh strainer with a coffee filter and set over a bowl.
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6
Pour the tea through.
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7
Sweeten with maple syrup or honey to taste.
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8
Drink hot, or serve cold over ice and topped off with sparkling water.
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9
Root beers flavor originally came from the roots and bark of the sassafras tree, which grows along the Eastern Seaboard.
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Today, however, most commercial root beer is produced with artificial flavorings, because safrole, a compound in sassafras, was deemed carcinogenic by the FDA.
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11
Nevertheless, homemade root beer and sassafras tea are still favorites in many rural kitchens and at state fairs.
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Above is a recipe for making the tea.
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13
Dont worry about overconsumption of safrole, though, because digging up the roots requires too much hard work to drink it in large quantities!
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14
On hikes in spring and summer, look for the distinctive mitten-shaped, three-fingered leaves of foot-high sassafras saplings.
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Dig down with a pocketknife and pull up the sapling by the root, where theres the most flavor.
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16
Dont feel bad about killing a tree; sassafras is often considered invasive because of its rapid proliferation.
