Sassafras Tea America’s Original Tea
Beginnings
When European Explorers arrived in the Americas, they were greeted by the Native People with a beverage that existed no where else in the world – Sassafras Tea.
Hey Dey
Sassafras Tea was a big hit in Europe when the Explorers took it home, and soon sassafras root bark was one of the most traded commodities across the Atlantic!
Sassafras is Shutdown!
For 300 years in America, Sassafras Tea remained a popular and renown beverage: it is the original flavor of root beer!
Then in 1960, the U.S. FDA determined that safrole, an oil found in sassafras, is a carcinogen. There are small amounts of safrole in many plants that we consume, nutmeg, black pepper and cinnamon, for example. Sassafras was banned as a food ingredient.
Pappy Saves Sassafras Tea!
That’s where Pappy comes in!
Pappy (Hermie Kerner) thought people would still want and need Sassafras Tea and so he worked to create a safrole-free Sassafras Tea. He knew that if he could offer a safe Sassafras Tea in a convenient, easy to use concentrate form, people would love it!
Sassafras Today
Pappy’s Sassafras Tea is still made with the recipe that Pappy designed in 1962. The root bark is sustainably harvested in the Appalachian and Ozark Mountain regions where the sassafras tree grows. We hand craft each small batch.
Family owned, Eco friendly, Locally sourced, Artisanal tea.
Sassafras Tree Leaves
Our sassafras root bark is sustainably harvested in the Appalachian and Ozark Mountain regions.
