Why is my sassafrass root bark tea always so bitter?
I've been on a quest for a while now to make my own root beer. I've tried all sorts of recipes using all sorts of ingredients, and I now have this huge collection of spices and roots and leaves... but no root beer to show for it. It always comes out bitter and kind of gross.
I tried to get down to basics. From what I've read, sassafrass is the key ingredient, so I thought I'd make a tea out of just that and see how that goes. (Yes, I know there are claims that sassafrass has a cancer causing agent, and that it's not used anymore, and people use wintergreen or sarsaparilla instead. But, health concerns aside, everything I've read seems to have a consensus that sassafrass is the original flavour for root beer.)
When I open my bag of sassafrass root bark, it has a smell lightly evocative of root beer, but also kind of earthy (I'm bad at describing smells). Most recipes I've seen call for steeping the sassafrass for about 20 to 25 minutes, with a ratio of about one tablespoon of sassafrass for each cup of water.
Starting with that basis, I've tried various combinations of adjusting times and ratios, and also two different brands of sassafrass, but the fundamental problem remains. It's always bitter. Too bitter to cover up with any amount sweetener or other ingredients. Sweetener and other ingredients (cinnamon, vanilla, star anise, allspice...) don't cover bitterness, they just exist alongside it.
When I look on Amazon at reviews by people who have bought the same sassafrass root bark that I did, there are all these statements saying "we made root beer and it was great!" or "brought back childhood memories of home made root beer!" and that sort of thing, accompanied by five stars. But all I have is a brown liquid that is on one level a pale imitation of root beer, and on another level has a bitterness that won't go away.
Where am I going wrong?
Best Answer
Sassafras tea will naturally taste a little bitter. When I was younger, a friend of mine used to bring us some sassafras root in order for us to make this tea. He always recommended never to make it too strong because of the affects of the bitterness on the stomach. Try using smaller doses of sassafras in your tea. It should be more on the pale shade of color rather than too dark. Here is how to make sassafras tea.
It is true that the original root beer was derived from the sassafras root, however the modern root beer does not contain any sassafras in it confection.
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Quick Answer about "Why is my sassafrass root bark tea always so bitter?"
Sassafras tea will naturally taste a little bitter. When I was younger, a friend of mine used to bring us some sassafras root in order for us to make this tea. He always recommended never to make it too strong because of the affects of the bitterness on the stomach. Try using smaller doses of sassafras in your tea.How do you take the bitterness out of black tea?
To fix bitter tea:What does sassafras root bark taste like?
What is this? They taste similar, and sassafras is even considered a forefather of root beer. Besides the citrus-like flavor, sassafras taste can also be described as a bit like vanilla or licorice.Why is my lemon tea bitter?
The bitter taste comes from tannins. There are two ways for tea to become unpleasantly bitter: steeping at too high a temperature, or steeping for too long.Harvesting Edible Sassafras Root For Making Tea
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Answer 2
In my experience, homemade root beer can not be made with sassafras alone. You need a blend of flavors. Cut back on the amount of sassafras and add some wintergreen oil or sweet birch. Also throw in some licorice root, vanilla, or sarsaparilla. For sweeteners, use some sorghum or molasses. Find a blend of spices and flavors that you like, which contains sassafras as a component. Sassafras will always be bitter.
Answer 3
a small pinch of salt really helps
Answer 4
Some salt can help as was suggested. This is because salt, specifically sodium, blocks the taste buds from sensing the bitterness to a degree.
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