Kawakawa

Māori Pepper Tree - Piper excelsum

Kawakawa is mostly found around the North Island of New Zealand and the northern parts of the South Island. You’ll see it in parks, lowland forests and especially near the coast. Kawakawa grows to about 6 metres high and it is instantly recognisable for its beautiful, rich green heart shaped leaves. This plant produces fruit in the summer and both the fruit and seeds are edible. If you’re a keen kawakawa forager or lover of plants you may have noticed that more often than not the leaves of this plant are covered in holes. These are made by the hungry caterpillars of the kawakawa looper moth (Cleora scriptaria). But don’t be deterred, when it comes to choosing leaves, opt for the holey ones! Research has shown that the chewed leaves have more active compounds, triggered and released by the caterpillars munching! (https://wilddispensary.co.nz/)

Part used	Condition
Leaves; chewed	Toothache, swollen face, kidney and bowel stimulation
Leaves; boiled	Boils, diuretic, “blood purification”, paipai (skin diseaseresembling ringworm), gonorrhoea, syphilis, arthritis, bruises
Leaves; whole	Wounds, bandaging
Root; chewed	Dysentery
Leaves/branches;smoke, steam	Gonorrhoea, syphilis, paipai, chest congestion

Table adapted from Demystifying Rongoā Māori: Traditional Māori Healing BPJ | Issue 13 Photo Credit - easegill CC BY 2.0

How to make kawakawa tea

Makes 500 mls of tea and takes ~20 minutes assuming you’ve already harvested your kawakawa leaves.

• What you need

• 8-10 fresh kawakawa leaves
• 500 ml of water
• 1x pot

Process 1. Harvest 8 – 10 kawakawa leaves.2. Lightly rinse the kawakawa leaves in cold water (you can lightly tear them if you like).3. Pour 500 ml of water into a pot.4. Bring the water to a boil.5. Add the tea leaves to the boiling water (optional: 1 cm of finely cut/grated ginger).6. Immediately bring the water to a simmer.7. Simmer for 15 minutes.8. Strain the tea to serve (optional: add lemon or infuse with green tea).9. Drink up!

After straining, you’ll be left with a soft yellow coloured liquid (p.s. don’t pour hot water into a glass like this!)

How to Make Kawakawa Balm

What you need

• 1 sieve
• 1 thermometer
• 1 wooden or stainless steel mixing spoon
• 1 funnel
• Some empty jars anywhere between 60mls and 500mls

Ingredients

• 500 grams of freshly picked kawakawa leaves (or a good handful or two!)
• 70 grams of beeswax
• 500 grams of sweet almond oil, coconut oil or olive oil (any of them will work well!)
• Optional other essential oil e.g. mānuka (for scent or for therapeutic properties)

Process

• Harvest the kawakawa.
• In a stainless steel pot, steep the kawakawa leaves in the sweet oil you are using for 1 week. This is the cold extraction method.
• After two weeks, gently heat the sweet almond oil and kawakawa leaf combination for 1 hour at approximately 70 degrees (heat extraction). If you're running short of time you can skip the cold infusion process, but it won't be as content rich of kawakawa bioactives.
• Use the sieve and second stainless steel pot to strain/remove the kawakawa leaves and plant material.
• Return to heat and add beeswax and mix occasionally. Once the beeswax has turned liquid and mixed through, we are ready to jar. Note if you wish to add an essential oil for scent or for therapeutic benefit, add this now and mix thoroughly. (We use mānuka oil because of its anti-bacterial benefit.)
• Use the funnel to fill your empty jars and leave in the jars with lids on to set overnight.