Sumac Sun Tea - Wild Lemonade

I know it seems like I get excited about most herbal adventures, but I’m really looking forward to this one! I haven’t made Sumac sun tea since a The Spirit of Herbs workshop I did many years ago. So when I discovered this beautiful Sumac so close to my house I just had to harvest some for tea. I remember the taste of it vividly and it was almost identical to lemonade. It is quite delicious!

For an added treat try adding some lemon balm leaves to the sumac berries if you have some growing around your property.

A Note About Identifying Sumac

The most important part of this herbal adventure is properly identifying sumac. Staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) is the most common variety I have found in the wild. In southern Ontario, in addition to staghorn sumac you may find smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) and fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica). There is one variety of Sumac which is unsafe for consumption – Toxicodendron vernix. It is quite easy to tell the difference and here are some tips to look for.

The poisonous variety only grows in wetlands
The berries are white and they droop in large clusters
The leaves are smooth and have 7-9 leaves per stem
The stems are not hairy (whereas Staghorn Sumac’s stems are very hairy)

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Making Sumac Sun Tea

Making sun tea is so easy and satisfying you will ask yourself why you’ve never done it before today. All you need to make the tea is:

2-3 clusters of sumac berries
water
clear glass bowl
cheesecloth

Instructions

Harvest your sumac berries ethically and with care. Do not harvest more than 10% of the plant in any given area and if you take that much do not return to that are for several years.
- This should not be a problem as I recommend only harvesting 2-3 berry clusters for a batch of sumac tea.
Remove the fruits from the stem and place then in a large glass bowl.
Fill the bowl with filtered water. Start with about 3-4 cups of water that way if the you find the tea too astringent or strong you can easily water it down.
- I like the ratio of 1 cup of berries to 4 cups/ 1 quart of water
Place the bowl in a sunny spot for 2-4 hours. You will know it’s ready when it’s the colour of pink lemonade.
Strain your tea through cheesecloth. I recommend cheesecloth because the berries of sumac have fine hairs and you might not get them all out with a regular mesh strainer.
Place in the fridge to cool.
Serve as is with ice or sweeten to your personal preference.