I Found The Original Root Beer Tree 

I,m 85 year old Ozark hillbilly and gtew up drinking sassadras tea in the spring to thin the blood after winter, at family reunions and clan camps the younger generation are still amazed that i can just return frok a walk and mae tea from roots for them. I also harvst some 50 different herbs and roots for my clans medical use.

I was born in 53 and I made sassafras tea and also chewed on the roots as a kid. I remember when people started saying it was bad for you. I also remember when they said cranberries would kill you. That put a damper on thanksgiving. Turns out they were only bad for you if you ate more than five pounds a day for twenty years. Guess I’ll harvest some sassafras this year thanks for posting

Yes .make that root beer video. Thank you.

In 1966 my grandma showed me and my brother how to gather sassafras roots, cat nip and ripe may apples. We made tea and drank some other tea’s from woods ! Those were heavenly times! Great job

When I was a child, sassafras root was our candy. We would just chew on it. We did not actually eat the root, just chew on it. It was yummy.

When you steep the roots, put the plate or lid on the pot while the root releases its flavor. My covering your pot, the oils won't evaporate.

I live in Arkansas, I remember my grandfather making this tea whenever he didn’t feel well. He lived well into his 90s. I’m going to start looking for this plant. Thanks for the video. You got yourself another sub.👍

I was working cutting up trees for firewood and I came across the sassafras tree and The Roots. I cut up some of them for firewood. When I burned them they gave off a wonderful root beer Aroma to the whole cabin. They smelled delicious and brought back memories in my childhood when you could buy a 4 oz bottle of root beer extract and make your own. The extract was made by hires or A&W

Sasafras! My grandmother kept a bag of roots in her kitchen cabinet for tea! And file't is ground leaves for seafood seasoning!

The price of sassafras root bark is high; I would love to find a tree that I could legally harvest. Your video is the first one I've watched that explains exactly how to harvest the root from both a mature and a young tree. It is nice to know that you can harvest root from a mature tree without killing that tree. I make root beer kefir using sarsaparilla bark plus other ingredients. It tastes and foams just like bought root beer, but it has the health benefits of kefir. Water kefir has two ferment periods; the 2nd period is to infuse it with flavor and increase its fizz. This is my recipe: for a 1/2 gallon glass jar (filled 3/4 full with 1st ferment), add 2 Tb sugar, *2 Tb molasses, 2 whole cloves, 1 tsp anise seed, 2-3 heaping Tb ginger root (peeled or not, and chopped), 1 Tb sarsaparilla root (I bought from Jovvily on Amazon - I am not associated with them), 2-3 drops wintergreen essential oil (the wintergreen is not optional - it greatly helps the flavor). Depending on the type of fermenting caps used, the jar may need to be burped several times a day. I have had it foam up and out of the jar while burping. Hence, I always had another empty jar ready for the overflow or opened it after first placing it in a pot. Lately, when I asked my husband to burp the kefir, he unscrewed the cover the slightest bit to allow the pressure to escape gradually - so no overflow. *Note: I typically add a @ 1/2 tsp of molasses to my 1st ferment for the sake of adding good minerals, so my 1st ferment already has a darker color. More molasses may be needed to make the 2nd ferment darker to make it look like "real" root beer, though I would rather adjust it only for the sake of flavor and not how it appears.

Sassafras. As a kid in Jacksonville, Florida, we would pull up the little ones and take our little hunting knives to the root and scrape off the bark and then chewed on 'em. And I'm still here. Oh yeh ... I'm 76.

Yaaaasssss on the root beer video please!! A lot of sassafras grows here in the Deep South.

I'm 73 and have been drinking sassafras tea for all my life. My dad had a grove of sassafras trees but you couldn't drink too much as it can be used just like aspirin. Cheers from eastern TN

My grandmother, who lived her whole life in Western Kentucky, made us grand kids sassafras tea at least once that I can remember. It seems like she boiled the roots but then had to remove the scum on top once or twice. I'm 67 now, so my memory might be fuzzy, but that's how I recall it -- I also remember that in the '60s we could get sassafras extract in a bottle at the store. Still, today, I'll pull off a leaf to chew on while hiking or camping.

I used to love drinking sassafras tea when I could still get the bark. hard to find these days.

It’s logical that if human subjects were given doses,proportional to rats,that the saffrol or its metabolites would appear in urinalysis,also.In my 50’s Appalachia childhood,my Grandma used to make this strong Sassafras extract and tea.There are dozens of these saplings on my property.I think I’m going to experiment a little with it this spring.Thank you for the tutorial.

We'd love to see a video of you making carbonated rootbeer!

👍❤️ Yes , Let's see the root beer making

Yes I would love to see a natural soda made with this!

I remember the tea made by my grandma back in the 70's. Still have gobs of them on my property.

When I was a kid we always had a bottle of Zatarains Root Beer extract which was made of sassafras. We drank that instead of Kool-Aid. The stuff made now is nothing but chemicals...I still make my file'. As for the roots we always just peeled the bark off and brought it to a boil then simmered them.

You got yourself a new subscriber. I watched because I love root and have fond memories of Grandmom's homemade root beer from sasafras. It's on my list of things to find on my property.

When I was a kid we had sassafras all over the property. I’d go out with my Dad and dig up some around Easter and make tea. I miss that stuff.

Grew up drinking sassadras tea every late fall. We used it to ward off the winter flue. The leaves once dried and ground was used in soupes and gumbo as a thickener.

You are bringing back a lot of memories of mine as a kid .I lived in the 50's when kids were verboten to have gum in school but most boys had pocket knives. If you took a root of sassafras and used your pocket knife to cut a number of thin discs that would fit in the coin pocket of your wallet you could slip one under your tongue and have that root beer taste of the sassafras without chewing or giving yourself away.

I've made root beer, tea, and candy from sassafras roots. Chewing on the leaves is refreshing. I thought they were a little citrusy, but good coolant for hot summer days..

One of my favorite trees ever! Sassafras tea, file' powder...made all of it! Its a BEAUTIFUL tree even if you don't use it for food/medicinal purposes. We have huge ones and they have the most amazing canopies...just love everything about them! Thanks for doing this video! Definitely deserve a follow!!👍❤️🌳

Thanks for the solid information and reasonable explantion! More people need access to such information. Great job!

Root beer recipe - Yes please!

I just found this channel. Good job.

Love sassafras…dang…use to gather it in Ala. but can’t find it or grow it in central Texas…miss it dearly….😢

There are two types of sassafras roots. White root is or was normally used for tonics as well as medicine. The red root was more about removing toxins from body and make the best flavor and medicinal use.

Sassafras jelly is great on pork chops. Just thin the jelly with water and put on the chops when they are just about done. Over rice, it's so good! I have also used mayhaw jelly on chicken. Forager Dr. Mark Vorderbruggen ( Merriweather Foraging Texas) is a chemist by trade. I've taken classes from him. He doesn't have a problem with consuming sassafras. Also, the leaves will dry for file very quickly even without a dehydrator. BUT it takes a huge amount for a small amount of powdered file. I just blitz mine in a coffee grinder until it's the size as other dried spices instead of powdering it. I add it at the end of cooking gumbo.

Great and fair presentation on a wonderful plant. This is one of a small handful of plants used in various root beers presenting that distinct smell and taste.

I'm loving this. Thank you!

Our land here in virginia is thick with these trees. Walking through the woods, it smells so good

So so happy to have stumbled on your video! I'm an old hippie, as my daughter says, and dearly loved the advent of the home medicine, homemade foods resurgence of the 1960s and 70s when I was young. I'm even happier to find you young folk marrying real science and ecology/biology today. So much smarter. I have missed homemade root beer. Can't wait to see your recipe. Ooh, and bayberry candles and oil for Christmas, maybe. Thanks.

Thank you! Looking forward to finding these friends!

I would like to hear additional information about making root beer. Great video!

I drank a lot of sassafras tea when I was a kid in the 50's. No problems just a lot of enjoyment! Plus it grew in the St. Louis area where I lived--so, that far north.

Love the smell of fresh sassafras.

Thank you for teaching us about Sassafras. I appreciate it. My brother used to make tea in the early 1970's.

I’m glad you informed me that the volatiles boil off for another reason too who’s is that I’d heard that hummingbirds don’t like mint, yet I had a bag of Ricola candy and wanted to have that melted in to my hummingbird feeder, for the flowery flavors and perhaps benefits. It was a hit with the hummingbirds!

Sassafras contains several compounds that have been studied for their potential heavy metal chelation properties. Some of the compounds in sassafras that are known for their chelating abilities include safrole, eugenol, and myristicin. These compounds have been shown to bind to heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, and mercury, helping to remove them from the body.

I would love to see you make root beer

I loved (well I guess I still love) the big sassafras in my yard. Then dozens of them started coming up on the other side of the yard. I remember sassafras sticks, sassafras tea, and root beer from my youth, and went online to find instructions and recipes. That is when I learned about the FDA ban.

I love the color in the fall.

Used it. Know where to find it in multiple places. Great tree!

Tastes just like root beer. Cows love to eat the leaves too. My granny taught me to harvest the young roots, peel them, & boil in water 15 mins for a spring tonic or a root beer drink. (Your way probably better) I never experienced any bitter taste, but I only used short, "new" root tips. We only drank it seasonally. I'm 75 & pretty healthy...didn't hurt me!

I'm so gad you did this video. I wasn't sure how to identify the tree. Great info. Thank you ❤

IM from as far south is Louisiana as you go, DuLarge -Louisiana -My grandmother was what’s called a “treatuer “ and used sassafras among other items to treat wounds, infections ,colds etc. We lived among the Houmas Indians and were very familiar with them. Had lots of good friends. She was a catechism teacher for the Catholic Church and prayer was a big part of the healing process. We always put file in our gumbo . To me its not gumbo if there isn’t any sassafras ground up leaves. I make my own and make sure to use the tiny leave stems too.

I miss digging up a root and enjoying a wonderful glass of sass tea!! I would still be drinking the wonderful tea but I moved out of the mountains and away from the source.

Id definitely like to see you make root beer. I have done it before with mixed results. Id love to see your process. Thanks for the content you provide.

We dug sassafras roots in the fall when the sap is low and the flavor is best. Love sassafras tea

Awesome video! Thank you for this content... sooo needed today!

Enjoying your videos. They are Very helpful!!

Very cool. Hope you do root beer vid.

Just found your page. So informative. I’ll definitely pass this on to friends and family 😊

Awesome video. Thank you!!

I'm definitely not a "foodie". I rarely go to much trouble to consume things just for the pleasure or flavor of things, but I really enjoyed this video! I love plants and animals and I love learning about them. You are extremely good at presenting and teaching! Pleasing style and no clickbait foolishness. Have you covered licorice root before? I have a lot of entertainer and musician friends who swear by it to sooth a sore throat and preserve their voice.

Thank you! what a great video. So well done 🌱👍

I would love to see a video on making soda! Thanks.

Good info and presentation. Thank you!

Extremely well done. I am impressed. Now I want to go find some sassafras 😏

Yes definitely a video on real root beer !!!!!!

I can’t add any type of blood thinner due to health concerns. When I was a kid, there was a 15’ or so tall sassafras tree next to my house. I loved that tree. The smell was amazing. And while I’d occasionally break a small twig and chew it, the leaves were by far my favorite part. Not only did they taste amazing, they kept my mouth moist, letting me play that much longer. My mom would get onto me about it, saying it was bad for me, but, she said the same about girls. Hahahaha.

Great video. Thank you.

Great video, Matthew, thank you! Oh, the FDA...smh

Great video!

What probly happened was that it had serious healing properties so they flawed the study to stop prople from getting it. Great video .ty.

Grew up with sassafras... amazing aroma!

I live on property that sassafras grows there I've been making root beer from this tree I am 70 years old no liver problems

I am a carver and have collected Johnny Appleseed wood across the Midwest where he roamed 😎

When I was a kid I lived near railroad tracks. Sassafras grew along side them. I confirm their leaves smell just like Fruit Loops. I made tea out of the roots. One time, I made it way too strong which put me off from it from then on.

I've got a small piece of property in south carolina covered up in sassafras...a lot of time I see it growing on roadsides near forests😊 yea heard the FDA declared it a carcinogenic years ago

I've chewed a very small sassafras sprout's root after rubbing it off on my britches. Didn't swallow it, just the juice. Out in the woods dehydrated and cramping it seemed to help. It definitely tasted better than the dandelion root I chewed on the other day, lol. Woo! You gave some good advice in that people taking any pharmaceuticals must be even.more cautious. Anyway, thanks for the video. Very informative.

Gather the roots responsibly, please. With the deforestation of natural resources, Sassafras trees are not as abundant as they once were. They are limited in areas where they grow. Gathering too many roots can kill the trees. Also digging them up, and transplanting them is difficult. They do not transplant well, unless the new environment is very similar. Bottom line, if you find one, enjoy it responsibly; if you find one in your yard, you are blessed!!!😊

My very favorite!!!

We have sassafras growing all down our driveway. Please make a video about how to make real root beer!

Heck yeah I wanna see your methods for making root 🍺 🍺 THAT AWESOME!!!!

Thank you so much 😁 you seem like a wonderful human

I remember having sasafrass tea when i was sick as a kid.

Just had to have a Sassafras tree cut down, loved the smell !!

Great info

We dug sasafrass every spring for my grandmother. She made a tea for a spring tonic that tasted like root beer. We all drank it for the peace of mind it gave granny.

First off, I don't believe' the sassafras tree was lost ;) BUT this is easily forgivable, because in your last section, you correct the grievous wrong done to this plant by the FDA. Respect!

We always harvest sassafras root. sometime Spring sometimes early Autumn .We make little 3 or 4 inch length bundles (2 or 3 roots split in Half. Tie them together with butcher string. Steep them in a tall tea pot of water for about 20 minutes on the stove. When done steeping just let the bundle dry on the stove top over night ,or until next use. We usually have the root bundle make about 3 full tea pots before they are no longer useful. The trick to making it GOOD TASTE like root beer is to add 4 or 5 drops of vanilla extract!. Add a teaspoon (or less) of sugar to each hot cup of tea along with the few drops of vanilla extract. I make SUN TEA by the gallon in a jar in the summer. Once steeped all day in the sun... I take out my bundles of roots and let dry for another day...I add my sugar to the whole gallon and add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the whole gallon jar... I shake vigorously for about 3 minutes and stick it in the fridge where I will have cold homemade root beer for 5 or 6 days.

Sassafras has disappeared from the wild in my area of Northeast Georgia. Excellent content!

I always assumed it was illegal because you can use sassafras to synthesize MDMA! That was the reason you were going to use for the end of the video not the cancer study

In addition to the tea their favorite food was gumbo and used fillet which window is made from the leaves. Both my grandmother and grandfather lived in their 90s healthy died of natural causes I don't ever remember my grandfather going to a doctor

Yes, I would like to see you make Root Beer!

Sassafras! My dad use to make us sassafras tea when I was a kid back in the 70s and 80s. I hated it!

Many years ago I read and old research report in which it was made very clear that when tested on hogs this product did a number on hog livers. Of course that doesn't mean that drinking a little every once in a while is a problem. Drinking a lot of it is.

My Grandma made sassafras tea every spring. If you can find them after a good wet spell in the spring you can just pull them up.

Grandmother let boil for 10 min then let steap for 4 hours. Add sugar or cream and serve warm. After first brew, course chop and brew again. Then chop again and brew 2 times more. Saved tea in jars in refrigerator and could be stored up months. She had this tea once a day for 70 years without any issues and can remember only maybe 4 times being sick even with the flue.

Yes make the root beer video plz

When I was a kid the local store kept a jar full of the root sticks on the counter. You would just chew on them and get a mild taste of root beer.

Amazing information. Leave it to big corporations to destroy the image of a huge export. I wonder if there was a scheme to destroy the export business of sassafras. If there's money involved, there will be greed and corruption eventually.

Thanks for video, enjoyed it. Would like to see one on wild cherry bark. I have been drinking magnolia tea, waiting on tincture.

Grows all over Long Island NY. We used to chew the roots