Sassafras, the barks boiled just like hickory. I can't tell you my granddads secrets or I'd have to kill you. But I will tell you this it's takes 6 or 7 hours of boiling and simmering the bark to make it.
My grandady grew up in the mountains of western VA. Untill he move here to WV in 1940 he was 40 at the time.
He said they did'nt have any money for coffee so he grew up on white oak acorn coffee. He said they add a peice of sassafras bark to each pot of coffee. He still made white oak coffee when I was a kid in the 70's. He died in 99 he still collected acorns in the fall to make a few pots.
He's also add sassafras bark to real coffee. Not to much bark sassafras his strong amd over powering. I lived his whole life beside him and drank a cup of coffee just about every morning. I liked the sassafras added to the coffee.
I never equired a taste for just plain acorn coffee.
He said as a kid they'd geather wtie oak acorns by the 100 # feed sack full in the fall. He aid his mom would send him and his brother with 100 $ sack on each side of the mule. They'd walk the 8 miles to the store and trade it for salt,flour or what they needed.
His dad and him also made shine those 40 years. He said theyed add sassafras to there corn mash a few times also. I drinked my share of shine ( I LOVE CORN SHINE) but never sassafras shine. After his 3 time being caught they were told either leave VA. or go to jail. They moved here to WV.
HERE'S A UNREAL STORY
The second time he was caught,he was running shine into WV from VA. in 1931 and was sent to MOUNDSVILLE prison for 2 year. His lawyer came to him and said WILL can you come up with $100.00. He told him to see my grandmother. The lawyer took 25, the judge got 25 the warden 50 and he walked home. He only spent 9 days in prison.
