Pine Needle Tea

솔잎차 (sollip-cha)

Pine needle tea or pine leaf tea is a herbal tea made from pine needles, or the leaves of pine trees (trees of the genus Pinus).

In Korea, the tea made from the leaves of Korean red pine (P. densiflora) or Manchurian red pine (P. tabuliformis) is known as sollip-cha (솔잎차).

In North America, pine needle tea may be made from the leaves of Eastern white pine (P. strobus).

끓여서 식힌 미지근한 물에 쪄 낸 솔잎을 우려낸 차. 비타민제로 쓰인다.

Sollipcha is a herbal tea made mostly from the leaves and needles of Korean red pine or Manchurian red pine.Pine needles are usually harvested around December; preferably before midday; from 10 to 20 year-old trees located mid-mountain and facing southeast, that have grown in sunny places.

Two types of sollip-cha can be made:

The first method uses fresh or dried pine needles. The harvested leaves are soaked in water for a day and then cleaned, rinsed, trimmed of the sharp tips, and halved or cut into three pieces. They can be used right away or dried in a shaded area before being used. For 60 milliliters (2 fl oz) of water, 10–15 grams (0.35–0.53 oz) of dried pine needles or 20–30 grams (0.71–1.06 oz) of fresh pine needles are infused over low heat. As the tea can be astringent, honey or sugar is added to improve taste.

The second method consists of using fermented pine needles. The harvested leaves are trimmed of their sharp tips and washed, then placed in a sugar solution made with 600 milliliters (20 fl oz) water and 100 grams (3.5 oz) of sugar, which is then fermented in a sunny place for a week (in summer) or more (in other seasons).b Well-fermented sollip-cha is filtered with cloth and consumed as cold tea.

In 2021, pine-needle tea became famous in the Western world as a possible antidote to the effects of shedding from COVID-vaccinated individuals.