Ephedra wine

[gird123]

Ephedra wine, Mormon tea, cowboy tea, indian tea.

I have been doing a lot of hiking around our area and there is an aboundacne of ephedra. It is an evergreen that has been used for a biter tea. I'm considering doing a gallon of tea wine using ephedra. Any ideas? It might be a waste of time.

http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/ephedra-viridis

http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_mormon_tea.htm

 

[Torch404]

I've made plenty of regular tea wines and the quality of the finished wine is directly related to the quality of the original tea. I've never had Mormon tea but I'd guess it doesn't taste "great" as it's described as astringent. If you're looking for a good taste I would add a shot of Brandy or Schnapps to a cup of tea.

The FDA banned ephedra products a while back due to the heath problems they can cause. Be extremely cautious with anything containing alcohol and ephedra.

 

[gird123]

quote from one of the links "Actually, five different groups of investigators have been unable to detect the presence of ephedrine, (+ )-norpseudoephedrine, or any other alkaloid in E. nevadensis, and we may safely conclude that the plant is alkaloid-free. This is in keeping with all other North American species of Ephedra which are singularly devoid of alkaloids. Mormon tea does contain large amounts of tannin, in addition to a resin and a volatile oil."

Most likely would not turn out good.