08/20/2026
I would like to try this!
www.embletonhouse.com
🌲🫐 In late spring the new growth on Alaska's spruce trees comes in bright, soft and faintly lemony, and for the Dena'ina people of Cook Inlet those young tips have long been both food and medicine. Steeped gently and poured over crushed wild blueberries, they make one of the most refreshing cold drinks you can put in a glass.
This one tastes like a walk through cold woods. Citrus and pine up front, deep berry underneath, just sweet enough from a spoonful of birch syrup. It comes together in about half an hour at the stove, then it wants a couple of hours in the refrigerator to come properly cold. 🥤
Serves 6 | 30 minutes plus 2 hours chilling
INGREDIENTS
1 cup (about 40 g) fresh young spruce tips, or 1/3 cup dried
6 cups (1.4 L) cold water, divided
2 cups (280 g) wild blueberries, fresh or frozen
3 tbsp birch syrup, or honey
1 tbsp honey, or to taste
2 tbsp fresh mint leaves, plus more to serve
Pinch of salt
Ice, to serve
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Use only bright green new growth from a true spruce that you or an experienced forager can identify with certainty. Never use yew, which is toxic. Rub off the papery brown sheaths and rinse the tips in cold water.
2. Bring 5 cups of the water to a full boil, take it off the heat and let it settle for a minute to about 200F (93C). Add the spruce tips and mint, cover, and steep 15 minutes. Do not boil the tips, as that turns them resinous and bitter.
3. While it steeps, put the blueberries and the remaining 1 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer 8 minutes, until the berries burst and the liquid runs deep purple.
4. Mash the berries against the side of the pan, then strain through a fine sieve, pressing lightly. Strain the spruce infusion as well and discard the tips.
5. Combine both liquids while still warm and stir in the birch syrup, honey and salt until fully dissolved. Taste and adjust the sweetness.
6. Cool to room temperature within 2 hours, then refrigerate at least 2 hours. Serve over ice with a sprig of mint and a few whole berries. Keeps 4 days covered in the refrigerator.
On a hot afternoon, which do you reach for first, something sweet or something sharp and green?
