How to Make "Sprite" With Pine Needles! (Uses White Pine)

NOTE: Do not mistake these for pine needles! ONLY use White Pine!

• Yew Plum Pine or fern pine (Podocarpus macrophylla)
• Norfolk Pine or Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla)
• Cypress (Cupressus) (More on issues of edibility here.)
• Yew (Taxus)

Article adapted from https://msshiandmrhe.com/pine-needle-soda/

• 2 cup pine needles
• 2½ cup water (use bottled or filtered water)
• 4 tbsp sugar

Collect pine needles from white pine trees. Remove woody ends from the pine needles. Put pine needles in a large bowl, immerse them with cold water, wash and drain for 3 times.

Spread washed pine needles on a wire rack, let dry on your countertop for about 1 hour.

Place pine needles and sugar into a flip top glass bottle.

Fill the bottle with filtered or bottled water.

Close the lid and give the bottle a good shake, so that the sugar is distributed evenly.

In cold weather, you can put the bottle by a window so that the water is under the sunlight. In hot weather, keep the bottle in a bright room but avoid direct sunlight.

3 days later, fill a cup with ice cubes and a few slices of lemon. Open the bottle and pour the pine needle soda over the ice cubes. Stir and enjoy.