Christie C. Cedar tea is woodsy, earthy, and sweet. It is like tasting a forest. Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata), is a beautiful plant that grows in the Western United States. It is aromatic with sharp and scaly leaves. There were different traditional uses among the First Nations, but cedar played a crucial role in culinary, material, and spiritual life.
“Our ancestors understood how to live in balance with the natural world. Indigenous foods are the original foods of this continent. It’s important we recognize that and start celebrating those foods.” ―
Chef Sean Sherman
Why You’ll Love This Cedar Tea Recipe
- Easy to prepare and serve
- Healthy Indigenous American tea
- Can be made with fresh or dried leaves
- Earthy, forest flavor with pungent sweetness
- Double, triple, or quadruple the recipe for more than one serving.
Inspiration for Cedar Tea Recipe
We can credit Chef Sean Sherman for making this cedar tea more mainstream. I highly admire him for his work promoting indigenous foodways. I am slowly working my way through his book The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen. It consists of recipes using ingredients native to North America, and it has changed my opinion and perception of American food. This is not a “plug in and play” cookbook. You have to forage or carefully source ingredients. However, Sherman does encourage adjusting ingredients to what is available to you locally.
My interpretation of his tea uses dried red cedar as opposed to fresh red cedar since I live on the East Coast instead of the West coast, but I believe this is a great option for people who cannot forage for Western Red Cedar. If you are fortunate to live near this plant, the fresh leaves are most fragrant during the summer.
If you live on the East Coast…
Western Red Cedar is the correct plant to use for this tea. It is part of the cypress family and is known for its highly fragrant and beautiful wood. I live on the East Coast and found Eastern Red Cedar in my local woods, which is part of the juniper family. I can’t forage for this plant, so I found it dried at Mountain Rose Herbs.
Stay safe foraging and drinking Cedar Tea
Although drinking cedar tea is generally safe in low dosages, it’s recommended to consult with a healthcare professional before incorporating the tea into your diet. They can help ensure that drinking it is safe for you. If you are pregnant, have any pre-existing health conditions, or are taking medications, the tea can interact with your health or medication’s effectiveness. Moreover, if you are harvesting cedar leaves for tea, make sure you correctly identify the tree species and choose those that are safe for consumption.
Be sure that the red cedar comes from a quality source. The quality and cleanliness of the cedar leaves used to make the tea are crucial. If the cedar leaves are contaminated with pesticides, pollutants, or other harmful substances, these contaminants can leach into the tea and pose health risks.
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Special Tools and Equipment
- Small sauce pan
- Strainer
- Spoon
Cedar Tea
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (45g) dried cedar leaves
- 2 cups (800ml) water
- maple syrup or honey to taste
Instructions
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Place the cedar leaves and water into a sauce pot and simmer gently on medium heat for 15 minutes, or until the water reduces by half.
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Strain out the leaves and allow the tea to cool for 1 minute before adding the maple syrup or honey.
Resources
Chef Sean Sherman: https://seansherman.com/
Indigenous Foundations: https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/cedar/
