Pine needles float in water. My glass smells of citrus with hints of mint. A few adjustments and the flavor is complete; I’ve captured the essence of spruce while standing at my kitchen counter.
![pine-tree-soda](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.gearjunkie.com/uploads/2015/05/pine-tree-soda.jpg)
Forget Coke and Sprite. What about homemade “pine tree soda”? My goal this month was to create palatable carbonated beverages with ingredients foraged from the woods.
Steeping natural ingredients is a time tested, if sometimes forgotten, tradition. Lemon grass, teas, shoot, even coffee, represent humanity’s ingenious ways to extract nutrition and flavor from nature’s bounty. But in the modern world few remember the pungent ingredients right outside the front door.
The flavor of pine needle soda syrup is bright and verdant, matching its color in my glass. I let the sip linger before taking another… because, Lord! This just tastes like fresh air, like springtime itself.
Olfactory Confluence
We all have favorite methods to bring our outdoor memories home. We haul cameras into the backcountry or write poems, maybe doodling little sketches in the margins. Years later, we can share and re-live those moments.
![bottles](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.gearjunkie.com/uploads/2015/05/bottles.jpg)
![harvesting](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.gearjunkie.com/uploads/2015/05/harvesting.jpg)