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Sassafras Tea

The tea is brewed from the bark of the sassafras tree obtained in the spring after the sap has started. It is mildly astringent and is reputed to have medicinal qualities. It was commonly used by the pioneers to clear up the blood after the winter gorging on heavy foods. Every year the bark is found in the markets, ready for steeping. Like other tea, it is used with cream and sugar or not, as preferred. Many years ago a rural Hoosier poet, James B. Elmore, the Bard of Alamo, who was often quoted editorially by the old New York Sun, was moved to write an "Ode to Sassafras." The closing couplet of the verses runs: "And in the Spring, I love to sing Oh, Sassafras of Thee."