Pine needle soda is usually prepared with the needles from Eastern white pines; however, if you're in a place where they don't grow, you can still make this fizzy, citrusy drink with spruce tips instead! Make sure to save some spruce tips to make spruce tips pesto!
A few years back, there was a viral video going around that showed someone making pine needle soda. This yummy soda is prepared by adding pine needles, sugar, and water to a bottle and allowing them to ferment naturally for a few days until the wild yeast makes the drink fizzy and bubbly.
The drink is then strained, added to a flip-top bottle, and stored in the fridge to halt fermentation. I tried making pine needle soda with ponderosa pine needles because we don't have white pines where I live.
There are some cautions regarding using ponderosa pines, especially for pregnant and nursing mothers. However, since I don't fit in either category, I decided to give it a try. I was amazed to find that it really did taste like Sprite! It was quite tasty.
This year, I'm back at it, but this time I'm using spruce tips! Spruce tips are milder in taste and safer than older needles from ponderosa pines or fir. The results were fantastic, so I hope you try this recipe, if for no other reason, to use it as a science experiment with your kids! It's so fun to make!
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Spruce vs White Pine
While this recipe uses spruce tips — the tender, citrusy new growth of spruce trees — it's often referred to as a type of pine needle soda. Spruce and pine are different genera (spruce = Picea, pine = Pinus), though both are conifers and have needle-like leaves.
In foraging and wildcrafting circles, "pine needle soda" has become a catch-all term for sodas made from conifer needles. So even though spruce tips aren’t pine needles, they offer a similar fresh, evergreen flavor and fit right into this wild, forest-inspired beverage category.
Why Use Spruce Tips?
Spruce tip soda is one of the tastiest and safest wild sodas you can make—it’s citrusy, herbal, and refreshing. Here are even more reasons:
- Tender, bright green spruce tips (early spring growth) are rich in:
- Vitamin C
- Natural sugars
- Terpenes (piney, citrusy flavors)
- They are milder and safer than older needles from pine or fir
- They ferment beautifully using wild or commercial yeast
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Spruce Tips: Pick 1-2 cups of fresh spruce tips (new growth at the end of spruce tip branches).
- Sugar: I am using 3 tablespoon of cardamom syrup; however, you can substitute it with granulated sugar, cane sugar, honey, or plain syrup.
- Optional Ingredients: You can add other ingredients to both help with boosting the fermentation process and to add a unique flavor profile. Citrus (orange slices, lemon slices, or lime slices) or fresh ginger are great options!
*See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Pine Needle Tea with Spruce Tips
- Add spruce tips to a bowl of cold water and swirl around to clean. Remove the brown sheaths that cover the tips and strain.
- Add spruce tips, lime slice, a slice of candied or fresh ginger, syrup, and 2 cups of water to a sterilized quart-sized mason jar.
Pro Tip: You can technically start the fermentation in a flip-top bottle; however, spruce tips are harder to fit into the opening of the bottle. For this reason, I recommend starting the fermentation in a mason jar, then transferring to a flip-top bottle before refrigerating to halt fermentation.
- Use a cocktail muddler or similar object to smash the ingredients to release their oils and extracts. Cover with a coffee filter and keep in place with a rubber band, or use a fermenting lid and airlock.
- Place in a sunny window and stir daily until the mixture becomes fizzy and bubbly (about 4 days).
- Once the fermentation is active, strain and discard the solids. Pour soda into flip-top bottles using a strainer and funnel. Leave at least a one-inch headspace at the top.
- Ferment another day or two at room temperature, then refrigerate to halt fermentation. Enjoy chilled.
Pro Tip: If you find your fermentation is stuck (not progressing), especially when fermenting during cooler weather, try adding a pinch of either baker's yeast or champagne yeast for more reliable fermentation.
More Flavor Ideas
Try adding:
- Citrus zest
- Wildflower honey
- Cardamom, because it makes everything taste better!
- A pinch of sea salt to round out the flavor
- Hear me out... tamarind, because everyone knows (or should know) that the best flavor of Jarritos is Tamarindo!
Foraging Disclaimer
Always make sure you positively identify any wild plant before using it. While spruce tips are generally safe and edible, some conifers — like yew or certain cypress species — are toxic. If you're unsure, consult a local field guide, experienced forager, or botanist. Avoid collecting near roadsides, sprayed areas, or polluted sites. Forage responsibly: take only what you need, and never strip a tree of all its new growth.
How Fermentation Works in Pine Needle Soda
Fermentation is the natural process that gives this soda its fizz. When you mix sugar with water and plant material like spruce tips, wild yeasts from the air (and sometimes from the plants themselves) begin to consume the sugar. As they eat, they produce carbon dioxide (bubbles!) and tiny amounts of alcohol, though not enough to make it alcoholic in the short ferment we're doing here.
This is called a wild fermentation, meaning we’re relying on naturally occurring microbes rather than adding commercial yeast. It’s simple, low-effort, and gives the soda a gentle sparkle and a slightly tangy, fermented flavor.
If you've ever made ginger bug soda, mead, or kombucha, it's a similar concept, just with foraged spruce tips bringing the flavor and the wild yeasts doing the work.
Equipment
All you need to make spruce tip soda is a quart-sized mason jar, a fine cocktail strainer, a funnel to strain the soda, and flip-top bottles to store in the fridge.
Storage
Once fermented, store soda in the fridge to discourage further fermentation.
Pro Tips
- One way to identify a spruce tree is by its papery cones. The cones always point down when mature.
- If you have access to a blue spruce, use it; the tips have an even better flavor!
Use young tips only—bright green and tender, usually harvested in early spring. - Avoid brown, old, or resin-heavy needles (bitter and tough).
- Keep in a sterilized container to avoid bacteria buildup or mold.
FAQ
Amazingly, yes, pine needle soda closely resembles the taste of Sprite soda.
To clean pine needles (or spruce tips) for making soda, just rinse or soak them in cold water for a few minutes before using them in your recipe.
Pine needle soda is usually prepared in the spring, when pine trees have fresh, tender pine needle growth. The new growth is milder in taste and less resinous.
No, not all pine needles are safe to use in drinks like pine needle tea or pine needle soda. For example, ponderosa pines are not recommended for consumption, especially for nursing or pregnant mothers.
More Foraging Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Recipe
Spruce Up Your Pine Needle Soda with These Wild Tips
Equipment
- 1 funnel
Ingredients
- 1 cup spruce tips
- 3 tablespoon syrup (or sugar)
- 1 slice lime or lemon (optional)
- 1 slice candied ginger (or fresh, optional)
Instructions
- Add spruce tips to a bowl of cold water and swirl around to clean. Remove the brown sheaths that cover the tips and strain.
- Add spruce tips, lime slice, a slice of candied or fresh ginger, syrup, and 2 cups of water to a sterilized quart-sized mason jar.
- Use a cocktail muddler or similar object to smash the ingredients to release their oils and extracts. Cover with a coffee filter and keep in place with a rubber band, or use a fermenting lid and airlock.
- Place in a sunny window and stir daily until the mixture becomes fizzy and bubbly (about 4 days).
- Once the fermentation is active, strain and discard the solids. Pour soda into flip-top bottles using a strainer and funnel. Leave at least a one-inch headspace at the top.
- Ferment another day or two at room temperature, then refrigerate to halt fermentation. Enjoy chilled.
Notes
- One way to identify a spruce tree is by its papery cones. The cones always point down when mature.
- If you have access to a blue spruce, use it; the tips have an even better flavor!
- You can technically start the fermentation in a flip-top bottle; however, spruce tips are harder to fit into the opening of the bottle. For this reason, I recommend starting the fermentation in a mason jar, then transferring to a flip-top bottle before refrigerating to halt fermentation.
- If you find your fermentation is stuck (not progressing), especially when fermenting during cooler weather, try adding a pinch of either baker's yeast or champagne yeast for more reliable fermentation.
- Use young tips only—bright green and tender, usually harvested in early spring.
- Avoid brown, old, or resin-heavy needles (bitter and tough).
- Keep a sterilized container to avoid bacteria buildup or mold.
Hilda Sterner says
Give this spruce tips soda a try and let me know what you think!
Kim says
The spruce tip soda was very tasty and refreshing. I really enjoyed this drink.
Hilda Sterner says
Thanks, Kim. Really appreciate the review!