Starwest Botanicals Organic Elderberries - Dried Elderberries for Syrup, Tea, Gummies, & Jam, Natural Immune Support, Certified Kosher, Non-GMO - Bulk 1 lb Bag

Highly recommended

Elderberries are popular for their unusual taste in pies, jellies, wine, and jams. Elderberry juice was used to treat a flu epidemic in Panama in 1995. We use these dried berries to make homemade elderberry syrup due to its immune boosting properties and save LOTS of money over purchasing ready made syrups. We can the syrup via water bath method to make it more shelf stable. Open containers of the syrup should be safe for consumption for 90 days when stored properly in a refrigerator. We take anywhere from 1/2 TB to 1 TB dose daily. When ill, we take 1 T every 3 hours, up to 6 times per day.Our recipe is as follows:Homemade Elderberry SyrupIngredients:4 cup black elderberries (1 lb dried)12 cups of water4-6 cinnamon sticks cinnamon powder1/2 - 1 Tb whole cloves48 oz local organic honeyHow to Make Elderberry Syrup:Pour water into medium saucepan and add elderberries, cinnamon and cloves (do not add honey yet!)Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce to a simmer for about an hour until the liquid has reduced by almost half. At that point, remove from heat and let cool enough to be handled. Pour through a strainer into a large mixing bowl. Press the berries to extract as much liquid as possible from them.Discard the elderberries, cloves, and cinnamon sticks by composting them!Add honey to the liquid. When honey is well mixed into the elderberry mixture, proceed to can it in 8 or 16 oz canning jars via water bath method.Store open containers in the fridge (for up to 90 days) and take daily for its immune boosting properties. (Some sources recommend taking only during the week and not on the weekends to boost immunity)Standard dose is 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp for kids and 1/2 Tbsp to 1 Tbsp for adults. If the flu or a cold does strike, take the normal dose every 2-3 hours instead of once a day until symptoms disappear.*Recipe has been Modified from Wellness MamaCost comparison for 1 TB Serving size: Homemade is $.166/ounce & Store Bought $2.625/ounce.-STORE VERSION: $21 for 16 servings (1 TB servings) $2.625 per ounce or $1.3125 per serving.-ORGANIC HOMEMADE: 93 oz, $31 for 186 servings (1 TB servings) $.33 per ounce or $.166 per servingCost of Ingredients: Honey $11, $19 Elderberries $1.00 for spice to make 93 ounces. Each ounce is 2 servings.

I love the brand of Organic Dried Elder Berries for teas. If you have a cold and want to build your immune system, this is a must have. The is worth the money. It only takes a tablespoon to make a good cup of tea - teaspoon for children - 8 oz.As soon as I feel a cold is coming on or my throat is feeling funny, I make me a cup of Elder Berries tea. The taste is excellent. You can add honey and lemon to your tea and enjoy.Picture showing what the berries and the tea look like.

Makes great tasting relaxing tea. Better tasting when mixed with honey. Has vitamins, helps relaxing, healthy for you, worth the cost, color looks good

There's a date on the bag which would help avoid some critical issues I've read about in other reviews surrounding freshness.The bags are dated 07/2021 and my purchase was made on 9/2018. Based on that and the assumption that the Feb 2018 price hike was associated with dwindling supplies, I'm guessing that these berries were packaged 3 months before this purchase and given a 3 year shelf life.I just opened 3 bags and the product looks and smells very good. There are not too many stems or irregular berries.I've potentially received, softer, stickier berries on occasion but I've also seen quality fluctuate back and forth between brands, maybe seasonally. One brand seems to be better and then next thing, the other brand seems to be better again. So who knows?Ultimately, I have definitely received inferior berries in the past and these are not them. At least, this particular batch or harvest is not inferior. But as far as I'm concerned, the quality is going to fluctuate somewhat and there's nothing I can do to prevent that. If I receive inferior berries I'll try another brand and send the inferior ones back. But for now, I'm paying a little bit less over here and not getting an inferior product.

High quality, organic elderberries are a must for effective immune boosting. There are the best.

Fresh and great quality.

I haven't yet tried them as I'm waiting for a cold or the chance of getting the flu, as I don't believe in flu vaccinations, which may be genetically modified with another species, just as is most processed foods in U.S. supermarkets. "In 2009, up to 85 percent of U.S. corn is genetically engineered as are 91 percent of soybeans and 88 percent of cotton (cottonseed oil is often used in food products). It has been estimated that upwards of 70 percent of processed foods on supermarket shelves-from soda to soup, crackers to condiments-contain genetically engineered ingredients." See: [...]The biotechnology-pesticide companies are now changing the building blocks of life (DNA) of fruit, vegetables, some herbal supplements. While another branch, the biotechnology-pharmaceutical industry is changing the DNA of vaccines and medications with the rubber stamped approval of the revolving doors within the FDA.[...]I'd rather take my chances, and use healthier, certified organic or organic food I've grown myself as well as sanitary procedures. Amazon also sells certified organic seeds, of which I've purchased numerous packets.The Elderberries was highly recommended to me and will be safely stored away for that eventful day if it comes. I have had neither a flu shot nor the flu or a cold in 5 years.