Comptonia peregrina is the most tea-like native American plant around, lining our region’s lush forest trails and bordering our sun-drenched meadows. It is also amongst the most delicious.
Volatile oils lend sweet fern this resinous quality as well as its unique spicy-sweet flavor, best likened in its complexity to a good chai.
 
Instructions to steep
1 tsp of herb to a cup of water.
Traditionally, sweet fern is prepared as a cold water infusion, just a few leaves to a cup, allowing the leaves to infuse for several hours. This preparation really lets its sweetness shine, drawing out fewer tannins than a hot water infusion.
A hot water infusion produces a beverage that is closer in flavor to a black tea and still quite pleasant.