Teaberry or Checkerberry or Aromatic Wintergreen

“Let food be your medicine.” Hippocrates

In Bethlehem, PA we have an eighty years old popular historic and classic ice cream shop called “The Cup”. I tried their teaberry ice cream recently. It was the first time that I heard about this plant. It tasted like strong alcoholic spicy mint or germolene. The local Indians in Eastern North America have been using it for many years for its medicinal effects. Teaberry or ground berry leaves and fruits are very flavourful. You can make tea with the young leaves all year around. The fruits are mainly ripened in winter and they also make a good tea. Teaberry fruits are used for making jam, pies, and ice cream. They also are used for flavoring candies, chewing gum, and toothpaste.

Teaberry or maountain tea soothes muscle pain, headaches, flatulence & colic, and any pain and inflammation in general. However for medicinal effect they leave the tea leaves and fruit in the tea to be fermented and potent for a day or two. They extract oil from winterberry that is inflamable oil and posionous. It should never be ingested. Also the effective component in this plant is similar to Aspirin, so those with allergies to salycilates must avoid it.

“Let’s always eat and drink healthful food and beverages and do it in moderation.” Dr. Sii