sassafras tea
Sassafras tea is an old Appalachian and Southern drink made by boiling sassafras roots or bark. It was used as both a spring tonic and an everyday tea, known for its red color and strong, root beer-like taste.
Hillbilly Dude Says...
One of my brothers knew of a patch of sassafras up close to the whoop-dee-doos (where they'd jump their bikes), so we had sassafras tea ever now and again growin' up. We're crawling with it now, but I haven't had any in years. It's like root beer without the fuzz. Pronunciation
[SASS-uh-frass tee]
Meaning & Usage
- A drink made from sassafras root (noun)
Mae:
What’s in that kettle?
What’s in that kettle?
Earl:
Sassafras tea - smells like springtime.
Sassafras tea - smells like springtime.- A folk remedy tonic (noun, cultural sense)
Mae:
Why’d y’all drink that?
Why’d y’all drink that?
Earl:
Said it cleaned the blood come spring - just what folks done.
Said it cleaned the blood come spring - just what folks done.other spellings: spring tonic, sassafras root tea, root beer tea, and sass tea
★ The deep red color of sassafras tea made it stand out on the table. For mountain families, it wasn’t just a drink - it was tied to seasonal cycles and folk medicine. ★
Origin
Made from the root bark of the sassafras tree, native to North America. Indigenous peoples brewed it long before settlers, and it carried into Appalachian and Southern folk traditions as a spring tonic.
Notes
Once a staple in mountain homes, though less common today after health concerns over safrole (a compound in sassafras). Still remembered as a powerful symbol of Appalachian foodways and home remedies.
Say It Like a Southerner
Said plain: "sass-uh-frass tea." Stress on the first syllable.