Rene Caisse Tea Ireland

Wild Lemonade 

Staghorn Sumac

When you think of sumac you may think of it as a fragrant spice with a lemony flavour best used with fish, grilled meat and even salad dressings, traditionally used in Middle Eastern cooking. Sumac is one of about 35 species of flowering plants in the genus Rhys family. It grows best in subtropical regions around the world such as East Asia, North America and Africa but can be found in other regions or in your neighbour's garden. Sumac can live for 50 – 100 years and can grow to be 10 to 20 feet tall. It’s an invasive species that spreads by rhizomes, which form a complex underground root system. The female grows bright red clusters of berries that are called “bobs” they shoot up from the tips of its stems. There is poison sumac but it’s very easy to recognise poison sumac and that is by the berries. Poison sumacs barriers are white not red and it’s a solitary tree that loves wetlands while staghorn or smooth sumac prefers dry soil. This is the part that we harvest and use in the kitchen. Some people would call a sumac a weed-tree, but we know beauty is in the eye of the beholder to me most weeds are edible and far more nutrient rich them most of the food we eat every day.

 I was first introduced to sumac when I was in my wild herbalism class in London Ontario Canada by my teacher but not as a spice but as a tea. Sumac otherwise known as wild lemonade, you take the flowers from the sumac tree put it in a large glad jar full of water and set it in the sun for the day. You're brewing it with solar power “sun light” naturally sweet high in antioxidants and Vitamin C. There have been some studies that suggest that sumac can lower blood sugar.

Brewing your sumac tea

Best-brewed cold overnight making wild lemonade is very simple. First if you're harvesting your own sumac you will harvest about a dozen berry clusters in mid to late summer/ early-fall. Crunch the berries into a jug of ice-cold water and let sit overnight. This allows all of the antioxidants and vitamin C to leach out making beautiful pink lemonade. You can also brew it like any other hot tea but you won't get the entire nutrient volume as you would in a long cold brew. For on extra antioxidant and vitamin C boost, sumac goes great with elderflower tea as a hot brew