Glad you could stop by. When you get the chance, pull up a chair and sit a spell.

unsweetened iced tea right next to me. I know, I'm an anomaly. I love iced tea, and never could drink it with sweetener in it. I brew it every day so that it is fresh, delicious and refreshing. Heck, I even ordered two tea plants from Burpee to put in the yard.

Camellia sinensis is the best plant in the universe.

My grandparents always had sassafras trees and made tea. I've tried transplanting sassafras saplings but never had any luck at all. I don't even know if you can buy sassafras tea in stores but I've never seen it.

I've never had sassafras tea before, but I would certainly try it if it came my way. I grew up in New Orleans, after all, and have a taste for chicory coffee, though I am much more of a tea fan .

Oddly, I came across this article:

Sassafras albidum

"Legislation

Safrole is now recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture as a potential carcinogen. Safrole, and sassafras not certified as safrole-free, have been banned in the United States as food additives or flavoring agents by the FDA since 1976 due to safrole's designation as a carcinogen.[13] According to the FDA's listing, sassafras leaves “must be safrole free” to be used as food additives.

Safrole is commonly used by clandestine laboratories to synthesize various drugs such as MDA, MDMA and MDEA. For this reason, the sale of safrole and sassafras oil is monitored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sassafras_albidum

Of course, I guess a lot depends on the quantity a person ingests. My grandparents always used the sassafras root rather than the leaves to make tea.

But no sassafras tea. I guess it's an acquired taste.

Sassafras soft drink was my grandfather's favorite. He also gave us slippery elm to chew on when we'd start a sore throat. We'd all pretend to have a sore throat just to get a little of it.

Welcome!