The Top 3 Wild Medicinal Teas We Use In Our Household
The key to a healthy Immune system is treating your body to the best local medicines…
I firmly believe there is a special exchange that takes place between humans and their surrounding environment. The longer we live in a place, the more we become a part of it. We are constantly breathing in the air that surrounds us, and when we dig through the dirt or grow our own food, those tiny microscopic pieces of soil find their way into our systems, inoculating us with our local flora. All year you can venture outdoors in Northern Michigan and find potent medicines around you.
Many people would consider a medicine something to be purchased at the pharmacy. It’s to be taken a specified amount per day and it it served in small pills, that are easy to swallow. My family tends to take a more holistic route when it comes to medicines, often taking preventative action and living a healthy lifestyle to avoid illness. We often spend our winters harvesting Chaga mushroom (it’s so much easier to find when the leaves have disappeared), and throughout the summers we spend our time collecting wild herbs for tea, and other mushrooms to dry along with berries (such as aronia and elderberries). Of course, in my opinion, all the wild foods we forage can serve as medicine to us. Wild foods are often more potent in many regards as these plants still contain a heavy dose of phytochemicals that they use to survive in the wild versus many domesticated farmed plants that need the assistance of pesticides to grow. They give us the minerals and vitamins we need to truly thrive.
Once the leaves begin to turn and the air becomes crisp, pine needle tea becomes a familiar smell in our home.
One of the most potent plant medicines we use in our household is pine tea, whether that be pine needle or pine bark. Of course, as the season changes and the summer sun begins to retreat, a singing kettle is often heard in our home. I tend to create my own concoction of teas depending on the time of day, time of month, and what effects I’m looking to get, but a beverage of solely pine tea is a perfect way to warm up and keep your immune system running in high gear. Thanks to the high amount of vitamin C, and other compounds, it is our go to preventative medicine. My mate Clay Bowers of NO.MI Forager has an amazing and often visited blog about our love for this plant and the benefits of drinking this tea during the cool months.
Cherry bark tea takes some planning, but it is worth it to witness the overnight effects from this medicine.
Although I have not used cherry bark personally, I have seen the profound difference it has made with our second child Willow. The sensitive immune system of this little girl is something I never wish another parent would have to tend to. We joke that her older brother used up all the good immunity. From food and pet allergies to being generally sensitive around this time of year, we have had to make an effort to reinforce her body with the best plant medicines we can find. Willow has a daily routine of supplements that are purchased, that help her immune system to regulate. We are typically making batches of homemade bone broth with immune supporting ingredients like wild bergamot, thyme, birch polypore, and reishi. However, we often find that in the thick of winter, when our little girl inevitably comes down with a cold, or begins having trouble with her breathing, we turn to cherry bark tea. During the hot summer months, Clay takes the time to harvest from wild black cherry trees, stripping small portions of the inner bark and bringing it home to dry. We then either break it up into smaller pieces or grind it down so it extracts into tea in much more potent batches. When needed, we just simmer it in water for 10-15 minutes until the water turns a deep red, and serve it with local Champion Hill raw honey.
We take advantage of wintertime to get outside and harvest wild chaga to add to our regiment.
Another medicine that I tend to favor is Chaga. When there is nothing else to harvest in the winter months, and everything is covered with snow, we strap on our snowshoes and head out to harvest Chaga. This mushroom, which grows on birch trees can be harvested any time of the year, but we wait until the busy summer season has ended and we need an excuse to get outside and clear our lungs! I find it is easier that time of year as well because the green leaves are gone, and the black mushroom stands out against the white snow. I have extracted this medicine in a number of ways, and I personally love consuming it as tea! The natural flavor of the tea has notes of chocolate and vanilla, and pairs well with the flavor of coffee. It is something you can drink a few times a week and its so versatile that you will never get sick of it. Click here to see our Hot “Chaga”late tea we make with locally foraged Chaga powder and fair trade cocoa.
As you can see, we use a wide variety of other plants all throughout the year to help our immune systems stay top notch, but in my experience teas are such an incredible way to deliver quick medicines to our bodies, while also hydrating and keeping up a warm body temperature.