Which leaves are best to ferment? Fermenting herbal teas at home

Many people in the summer like to make tea from freshly picked leaves of currants, strawberries, cherries... And they stock up on them for the winter... But tea from dried leaves is not as tasty and aromatic as from fresh ones. Fermentation of the leaves allows not only to preserve the taste, aroma and color of tea, but also to make it richer than from fresh leaves.

Fermentation of leaves involves converting insoluble substances from leaf tissue into soluble and easily digestible substances.

In order for the fermentation process to begin, you must first destroy the leaf structure before releasing the juice (by rolling the leaves between your palms, twisting them in a meat grinder, or freezing them). As a result, the leaves oxidize and a fermentation process begins, similar to the fermentation of dough for our bread. Bacteria, found in abundance on the surface of the leaf and in the air, actively contribute to the fermentation process. After a certain time, the color and smell of the fermented mass changes. Having “caught” the strongest smell, we send the tea to dry.

I ferment leaves of cherry, apple, pear, garden strawberry, raspberry, black currant, chokeberry, maple, hazelnut, pine shoots, mint and lemon balm. These teas are very tasty, aromatic and beautiful. And also useful. I divided all the plants into

groups,

each of which contains plants that behave approximately the same during the process of making tea. 1. I combined the leaves of cherry, apple, pear, strawberry, chokeberry, maple, and hazelnut into one group because they are well processed in a meat grinder when preparing the leaves for fermentation.

The principle of collecting leaves for these plants (except strawberries) is as follows. With one hand we hold the tree branch at the base, and with the other we pull the leaves towards us. As a result, we end up with a bunch of leaves in our hand.

You can collect leaves for tea throughout the season. In spring they are very tender, easier to curl and ferment. The tea turns out delicate, with a subtle aroma. In autumn, the leaves are coarser, harder to curl and take longer to ferment. You can make the rolling process easier by pre-freezing the leaves. Tea made from autumn leaves is brighter in all respects - color, taste and aroma. But it is more difficult to collect high-quality leaves in the fall - they can be damaged by garden pests and diseases.

I wither the collected leaves before fermentation. To do this, I scatter them in the shade on cotton or linen fabric in a layer of 3 - 5 cm. I continue withering for 4 - 8 hours until the “crunch” of the main vein disappears in most of the leaves. The duration of withering depends on the weather. If it is dry and warm, then this process occurs faster, and vice versa, in damp weather it takes longer. To ensure even wilting, I periodically stir the leaves.

For further fermentation, I grind the leaves of all these plants in a meat grinder, as they granulate well. As a result, I get granulated tea.

I crush the resulting mass a little.

I cover the container with granules with a damp cotton or linen napkin so that the granules do not dry out and set it for fermentation at a temperature of 25 - 27 * C. I periodically check to see if the fabric is dry. If it's dry, I wet it again.

If the room is dry, then I cover the container not only with a cloth, but also with a lid, creating a small gap to allow air to access the granules.

I ferment the leaves on average 6-8 hours, depending on the temperature (maybe more or less). The smell of the mass does not change dramatically during fermentation (like fireweed), it simply intensifies and acquires interesting notes - each plant has its own. It is important to “catch” the strongest smell (with experience this will be easy). This moment will be a signal for the end of fermentation. With further fermentation, the aroma will weaken and the tea may end up with a less strong aroma.

I dry these teas in the oven at a temperature of 100*C for 1 – 1.5 hours, and then at 50–60* until ready. Stir occasionally with a wooden spatula. It is important not to miss the moment of drying, otherwise the finished tea will lose its aroma.

And now a little more about tea from each plant:

Cherry leaf tea It has a very strong aroma and a slightly tart, very pleasant taste. During fermentation, the leaf acquires a “drunk cherry” smell. I really love this tea. And my son says that he is a “fan” of him. But I rarely brew this tea alone (although it turns out very tasty). More often I mix it with other teas - it complements the taste of the main tea very well and gives it a deeper color and aroma.

A couple of times I prepared this tea using the freezing method. Having collected the cherry leaves, I put them in the freezer overnight without pre-withering. In the morning I took out the leaves, defrosted them and warmed them at room temperature. Then she placed it in an enamel pan 10 cm thick, pressed it down with pressure, and covered it with a damp cloth. Fermented for 5 hours at a temperature of 27*C. I dried it with constant stirring in the oven for 1 hour at 80*C, and then dried it until ready at 50*C. It turned out to be a wonderful tea with a whole leaf, very dark. And with a very rich taste. This occurs due to the uniform destruction of the leaf and, as a result, better fermentation. One drawback of this tea is that when prepared, it turns out to be very voluminous and takes up a lot of space. In general, a very simple way to prepare wonderful and beautiful tea. This way you can make tea from any leaves.

Chokeberry tea I think it’s the most delicious (I don’t compare Ivan tea to anything else). This tea is simply magical! The color is very rich and dark. The taste is tart, bright, with a slight sourness. The aroma is incomparable, very similar to cherry, but more concentrated. I drink this tea as if it were a delicacy. And more often I add it to tea mixes. I’m being greedy to myself - I just don’t cook it very much, because in our village there is only one chokeberry bush, and that one is from the neighbor. If you don’t cut it all off, it will be lost. But when the leaves begin to fall in the fall, I don’t stand on ceremony - I tear everything off. The leaves are already red-yellow and rough. The meat grinder groans when I twist the leaves, but the tea still turns out delicious. I’ll quote my friend from St. Petersburg, to whom I present various teas. When I gave him the opportunity to have chokeberry tea, he said: “Listen, I thought there was no tastier tea than cherry tea. It turns out that there is such a tea - it’s chokeberry tea.”

Pear leaf tea also among my favorites. It is very soft and unobtrusive - both in taste and aroma. But somehow deep, thick! Drinking this tea is very pleasant - it leaves a sweetish aftertaste. Its usefulness for the pancreas really warms the soul. The color of tea made from pear leaves will save any light tea, because the pear gives such a dark color that it is interesting to look at. If you make a tea mixture, then pear tea does not interrupt the taste and aroma of the main tea. I take the leaves for this tea from a wild pear tree, but you can also use an ordinary garden one - it also works well.
Once I prepared pear tea, just like cherry tea, by freezing the leaves before fermentation. The result is wonderful!

Apple leaf tea - unusual! The granules are light brown. And tea has a very beautiful color and a soft, sweetish taste and aroma. I also love this tea.

Strawberry leaf tea It turns out to be very rich in color, sweetish taste and aroma. If you wait until autumn and the leaves turn red, the taste and aroma of the tea intensify. I love mixing this tea with pear and apple tree tea. It turns out delicious! I once tried to make tea from wild strawberry leaves. It is recommended to collect them in the fall, when they turn red. But by autumn all our strawberries were covered with half a meter of grass, so by the time I collected half a bag of leaves, winter had almost arrived. The tea, of course, turned out great. But I was no longer worthy of such feats.

Teas made from hazelnut and maple leaves I did it because I read rave reviews about them. I personally didn't like them. Tea made from walnut is bitter, but tea from maple turned out just bad! True, you need to make tea from narrow-leaved maple, but we don’t grow that kind. If you decide to make teas from these plants, the leaves should be collected in early spring, when they are still tender. I plan to add walnut tea to tea mixes for bitterness. I think he will do very well there. published

Ivan tea cannot be compared with any other plant in its importance in the healing treasury of the Russian people. Our ancestors drank a drink from it, knowing about the great healing power of grass, namely its leaves. There was a time when all of Europe could enjoy the exquisite taste of tea, which was in no way inferior to overseas varieties. Admirers eagerly awaited the arrival of merchants from the Russian land with truly golden, useful and fragrant goods.

Ivan-tea, also known as narrow-leaved fireweed, in English Fireweed, which in translation means “weed from fires.” The very first appears on lands devastated by fire to prepare the ground for colonization by other plants. The seeds of a giant flower, reaching up to one and a half meters, thanks to its volatility, can quickly populate vast areas experiencing problems due to disturbance of vegetation cover. Therefore, in wastelands and forest edges, in clearings and swampy places, we encounter the pink blaze of flowers of the miraculous fireweed angustifolia.

Not everyone knows how to properly ferment fireweed at home. To get a real natural product from leaves, you need to try very hard, prepare it correctly, or rather ferment it. It is possible to do this yourself with certain knowledge and experience. There is no point in simply drying and brewing the leaves. You will not get the taste, the result, or the desired effect. Watch the video and see the usefulness of this drink and the importance of preparing it correctly.

The secret of Ivan tea lies in fermentation. Only with proper processing of green raw materials can insoluble substances from plant tissue become soluble and easily absorbed by the body. And we will receive from this process the smell, taste and color of the desired drink, and most importantly, benefits.

Preparing a healing infusion is a process that involves several stages. You need to collect the leaves, wither them, roll them, carry out the fermentation process, dry them and store them properly. And then brew and drink, receiving true pleasure from the tea, a boost of energy and beneficial substances. Let's look at how proper fermentation of Ivan tea occurs at home and its methods.

How to collect and dry leaves

The collection of raw materials occurs during the flowering period of plants from June and throughout August. It is during this period that it gains its greatest strength. As soon as the fireweed blooms pink, people go for the leaves.

They are picked off until the flowers bloom. Then the plant’s strength dries up and begins to decline. They do not tear up foliage near roads and collect it only in dry weather. You need to choose shaded places, along the edges of forest clearings. The leaf there is green, juicy and tender. It rolls better and is easier to prepare, and the tea itself tastes a hundred times better.

You need to support the stem with your left hand at the peduncle, and with your right hand you need to guide it from top to bottom, tearing off the leaves. The lower ones don't take it, they're rude. And 3-4 tiers are left under the flowers, taking care of the plant. So, it will be able to continue to raise moisture from the roots, collect dew, bloom and delight, and plant seeds. And the plant also tries for humans. It grew tall so that it would be easier to tear leaves from it without bending.

It is better to collect in batches of up to one and a half kilograms. Process one, go for the next one. Dry the flowers separately; you can then add them to tea.

It is necessary to wilt the raw materials, this later helps to curl the leaves. Check the collected leaves and remove any damaged ones. Inspect them carefully and remove snails and other insects.

The leaves are not washed so as not to remove beneficial microorganisms. They take an active part in fermentation.

Place linen or cotton towels in the shade, and a 3-5 cm layer of raw materials on them. If the weather is dry and sunny, dry for 4 hours, cool and rainy - 8 hours. Turn the leaves periodically so that they dry evenly. You can tell when the leaves are ready by the crunch of the central vein. Bend one in half, it crunches, which means increase the time. Soft and without crunch – ready for the next stage.

How to Roll and Ferment Leaves

In order to extract useful substances from the dried green mass as completely as possible, it is necessary to destroy the leaf structure before the formation of juice. To do this, choose one of three processing methods.

Roll by hand. Take a few leaves and roll them between your palms into a tube. They will darken and juice will come out. The formed rolls are usually 10 cm long and one and a half centimeters thick (give or take). Of course, this method requires a lot of time, unless in a large company. Then the process will go faster.
Grind in a meat grinder. Grind the raw materials in a meat grinder with a large grid. Fast and easy.
Freeze in the freezer. Place the leaves in a clean, dry plastic bag and place in the freezer. There they will collapse evenly and release juice well. And it’s easy to roll the leaves after defrosting.

The main stage is the fermentation of fireweed. The quality of the process will affect the aroma, taste and benefits of the drink. If everything is done correctly, the result at its best will be achieved.

Place the prepared leaves in a plastic container, preferably a glass bowl, in a layer of 10 cm, press down a little and cover with a damp natural cloth (cotton or linen).

Place in a warm place to ferment. The fabric should be moistened at all times. To do this, carefully remove it and wet it again.

It is impossible to say exactly how long the fermentation process will take. The higher the room temperature, the faster fermentation will occur. You need to know that too high a temperature or overexposure of raw materials threatens to deteriorate the smell and taste.

When the color of the mass turns brown or blackens, and the smell becomes rich, floral and fruity, it means that the fermentation was successful.

There are three types of fermentation.

Light – until the first signs of a pleasant aroma, approximately 6 hours;

green mass;
light tea;
the aroma is strong;
the taste is soft and delicate.

Medium – usually from 10 to 16 hours,

with a pronounced aroma,
tart taste with slight sourness,
The drink itself has a rich reddish-brown color.

Deep – from 20 to 36 hours:

tart;
there is no sourness;
the aroma is light;
black tea color.

Try different types of fermentation and choose according to your taste. You can prepare teas of varying degrees of fermentation and then mix them. The main thing is not to miss the moment of the end of fermentation and not to let the mass become moldy.

Drying fireweed and storing raw materials

Loose leaf tea after fermentation will be obtained if the leaves are rolled by freezing or between the palms. The finished rolls are cut into discs (0.5 cm) with a knife and dried. We have granulated tea after rolling the leaf mass through a meat grinder. Here's how to dry fireweed correctly:

After fermentation, carefully loosen the mixture so that it is free of lumps.
Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the prepared mixture 1 cm thick on it.
Dry for two hours at an oven temperature of at least 100 degrees. Open the door slightly. To completely remove the moisture, after a while, reduce the temperature to 50 degrees. Stir the future tea periodically and taste it by touch.
The end of drying will be indicated by tea leaves, which, when squeezed, will break, but will not crumble. The color is like regular tea.
Remove the pan from the oven and leave to cool. Pour the dry tea into a bag made of thin natural fabric, maybe into a pillowcase and hang it in the shade in the breeze.

There is also a way to dry it in an electric dryer. But there you need to lay out the mass with gaps and not tightly. This way the device will not overheat.

A thick-walled frying pan is suitable for drying, in which you need to simmer the mass and shake for half an hour. Then, over medium heat, bring to a dry state, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon.
Don't let a burning smell develop. But it is also dangerous not to dry it completely; during storage, the tea may become moldy.

Do not dry the flowers of the plant along with the fermented foliage. They dry out faster, and at 100-degree temperatures they will simply burn. The best option would be the oven (50–60 degrees) and dry them very quickly to avoid loss of aroma.

To keep tea well, you need to prepare containers. Rinse the glass jars, sterilize them, let them dry, and the plastic lids should be clean and preferably new. Birch bark boxes, metal boxes, and disposable plastic containers are suitable.

Make notes on paper indicating the degree of fermentation and dates of preparation.
Do not prepare dry tea right away, let it age. The longer it is stored, the more impressive it is. Wait a month and brew. Dry tea can be stored for no more than 3 years. If you decide to drink the magic drink daily, store it in a metal box.

How to brew fireweed tea

Rinse a clean kettle with boiling water. Add 2 teaspoons of tea leaves and pour a glass of hot water (not boiling water). Cover with a lid and a towel on top for ten minutes. Pour into cups and be amazed at the unique aroma. The drink is already ready and there is no need to dilute it with water.

Pour the tea leaves again and let it brew for 15 minutes. The infusion will become even richer, more aromatic and tastier. This is the optimal time, otherwise it will overheat and the charm of the product will disappear. Use dry tea twice. During this time, it will give up all its beneficial substances.

Drink the drink hot, warm or cold. If you decide to reheat, do not bring to a boil.
In the old days, the healing remedy from fireweed was drunk with honey, dried fruits and jams. No sugar was added at that time, and it was already very good. We enjoyed and thanked the plant for its help for good health.

Try different mixing options with dried flowers, mint, oregano, and lemon balm. Dried blueberries, wild strawberries and raspberries. Here you can experiment to achieve new aromas and tastes.

Recipe for “Gorodets tea” from Margarita Voronina

Prepare two kettles. Pour 1 teaspoon of dry fireweed tea into a small one and pour a glass of very hot water for 10 minutes. Let it brew, pour the drink into a large container, and pour the steamed tea leaves again. So, at least four times.

Beneficial ingredients are consistently extracted from fireweed. The drink acts as a preventative against cancer. Fireweed tea will not stain tooth enamel. Its taste is unique, so don’t look for familiar notes in it.

The secret of fireweed has been revealed. The plant itself contains everything for fermentation. Wet, crumpled leaves are rich in vitamins, nutrients and intracellular enzymes that change the biochemical composition. The process is similar to self-digestion. At the same time, the leaves begin to darken and a pleasant smell appears.

By the way, any medicinal plants are fermented. Just imagine how many new healthy drinks you can prepare. Let’s take Bolotov’s famous kvass as a side dish. Would you like to know more about it?

Official medicine says nothing about taking Ivan tea. You can only rely on information from grandmothers who drink this drink and prepare it in dry form for themselves and for sale.
First of all, pay attention to the contraindications.

Drink tea for no more than 14 days and take a break. Otherwise, it may cause diarrhea. Although for some, the drink has become a daily drink.

The optimal number of glasses of aromatic potion is no more than seven.

Follow the brewing recipe: add a teaspoon of dry product to a glass of hot water.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the famous researcher Badmaev became interested in studying the properties of the magical plant, fireweed angustifolia, and proved its restorative powers by his own example. He devoted a lot of work to the healing gift of Nature. Tea was the main drink for scientists and doctors. And it was to him that Pyotr Alexandrovich was grateful to the joy of fatherhood at the age of 100 and his longevity of 110 years. Here is proof of the uniqueness of the drink!

If you come across a plant somewhere in nature, be sure to pick its leaves and flowers. Prepare fireweed tea at home and drink for your health. This is a powerful force bestowed upon man, which must not be forgotten.

Julia Vern 125 898 18

Ivan tea - this plant has been known since time immemorial, and having reached the present day, it has not lost its popularity, quite the contrary. It is also called Koporye tea or fireweed, and it was with it that our ancestors treated almost many diseases at a time when medicines were available only in hospitals, and even then not always, many had not even been invented yet. Having a wide spectrum of action, it is able to have a general strengthening effect on the body and treat many ailments. You can often hear that fireweed is an excellent preventative against malignant and benign neoplasms.

If you drink fireweed regularly, you can help treat and prevent the following ailments:

prostatitis and other diseases of the genitourinary system;
gastritis;
diseases of the hematopoietic organs;
intoxication (including alcohol and food);
enterocolitis;
stomach and duodenal ulcers;
diarrhea;
migraine;
delirium tremens;
insomnia;
asthma;
anemia;
ARVI;
colitis;
hypertension and hypotension.

In addition, it is known that Koporye tea improves blood composition, prevents hair loss, strengthens the immune system and even slows down the aging process of the body. It can rightfully be called the king of herbal teas.

The doctor Pyotr Aleksandrovich Badmaev regularly drank this tea. He had some speculation that fireweed could lower body temperature, slow the pulse and lower blood pressure. This, in turn, helps to prolong the active life phase of the body. This is why we can talk about the possibility of slowing down the aging process. By the way, Pyotr Alexandrovich died at the age of 110, and at 100 he became a father. Another property of Koporye tea is the prevention of sexual impotence.

If the body is physically exhausted, fireweed will restore strength, because it contains so many nutrients that even seaweed does not. Possessing a unique chemical composition, it is also very tasty and aromatic, but only if it is prepared correctly.

You can notice the similarities between the beneficial properties of fireweed and soda. There is a logical explanation for this, because soda is an alkali, and fireweed grows in alkaline zones - on the ashes of forest and peat fires.

Importance of Fermentation

The first try of any vegetable or fruit can have unpleasant consequences if the fruits are not ripe. Also fireweed - for it “maturity” is of great importance. Manual work remains important when collecting the plant, its fermentation and drying. By the way, all major manufacturers carry out these processes by mechanization, and this significantly reduces its healing effect, and it no longer smells as it should.

If you collect fireweed and simply dry it, you will not get the desired result. Between harvesting and drying there is another very important stage - fermentation.

It consists of a kind of independent fermentation of the grass, which usually takes 1-2 days. Time, as well as the ambient temperature, directly affect the aroma, color and taste of the future drink. It may be yellow, green or black. The latter turns out to be something that can hardly be found in the whole world.

There are several ways to ferment fireweed, but there are three relatively simple methods that will not be a burden even to those people who are going to do it for the first time in their lives.

Collecting leaves

You should also pay attention to this point, because otherwise all the efforts made may be in vain. And here are some tips:

It is necessary to collect the upper flowers and leaves (seeds are not needed);
do this no earlier than ten o’clock in the morning, because there will still be dew on the grass;
It is not recommended to collect in hot weather, as everything will wither;
When putting leaves in a basket or bag, it is important to pay attention to ensure that there are no insects on them.

Method 1 - the fastest and easiest

This is fermentation in its own juice under pressure. First, you need to divide all the raw materials into two parts. The first is sent to the juicer to obtain juice, the second is placed in a pan, preferably made of metal ceramics. After the grass is laid, the juice from the first handful is poured on top, then some kind of lid is placed, smaller than the diameter of the pan. Something very heavy is placed on it. It can be stones or bricks, weights, etc., but it must be pre-wrapped in a bag or film. In this state, the future tea is left for three days - this is how long the fermentation will last. As a result, you will get slices of fireweed, which then need to be dried at a temperature of +90 degrees.

Method 2 - labor-intensive, but guaranteeing excellent results

Fermentation

You need to take a canvas or linen tablecloth and wet it. Squeeze so that it is not wet, but moist. If there is little fireweed, it is better to take a smaller piece of cloth and moisten it with water from a spray bottle. Humidity is necessary so that the matter does not take away the sap of the plant.
Fireweed leaves are placed on top, but the layer should be no more than three centimeters.
When everything is ready, you need to roll the fabric like a roll, the main thing is that it turns out very tightly.
The roll needs to be rewound with something, for example, a tourniquet or a simple rope. After this, the most difficult process begins - for half an hour you need to crush the leaves with your hands, twisting the twist in different directions. During this manipulation, the cellular structure of the leaves is destroyed.
The leaves are left for 2-3 hours, during which primary fermentation occurs. During this period, it is necessary to regularly check the temperature of the “roll”. If it is above 37 degrees, fermentation is completed.
Having unrolled the fabric, you will feel an unusual but pleasant aroma - like a pear compote that has fermented. The leaves are wrinkled, and if you press on them, you will hear a cracking sound. Fermentation continues:
Take plastic buckets or glass jars, place fireweed in them as tightly as possible and close with a lid. The next stage of fermentation begins.
On average, the second stage of fermentation lasts from 36 to 40 hours. However, if you want to get tea with a more subtle taste, this time can be increased, but you will need to move it to a cool place.
Ivan tea collected in the second half of summer is already considered late, so it requires an additional fermentation step. The raw materials are taken out of the container and thoroughly kneaded with your hands until the juice comes out.
Kneading with your hands is quite difficult, and you don’t always have the strength, desire and time to do it. The manual process in this case can be replaced by mechanical action. In other words, pass it through a special electric grinder or a meat grinder screw, after removing the knife. But, as already mentioned, mechanical action will make the tea not as tasty and healthy as if you do this manipulation with your hands.
The container with crumpled fireweed must be covered with a damp cloth and left in room conditions for 6-8 hours.

Drying

When fermentation is complete, you need to immediately begin drying. The oven is heated to a temperature of 100 degrees, and while it is heating up, you need to take a baking sheet and spread the fireweed on it. It will take one and a half to two hours to dry. If desired, you can increase the temperature at the end of this process.

It is important to stir the leaves regularly and not close the oven door all the way. Also, if possible, place ceramic facing tiles or a couple of red clay bricks under the baking sheet, at the bottom of the oven, to stabilize the temperature.

In general, the most ideal option for drying is a real Russian oven, which has a positive effect on the healing properties of tea. In particular, if you put a brick in the oven, then conditions will be formed in it somewhat similar to those in the oven.

The dryer can also be made from a special heating film for the sauna. To do this you need the following:

Place a container, it can be a rectangular wooden box;
Spread a film on it with a working temperature of 80 degrees;
Lay calico on top.

Under such conditions, Koporye tea is dried for 12-16 hours. When it is ready, you need to wrap it in paper, put it in a container, cover it with a lid and place it in a dark place. If the tea is tiled, it will last for decades; crumbly ones will last about three years. It is noteworthy that with age, fireweed only becomes better, tastier, more aromatic and healthier. Therefore, you should not worry about its properties, which, as it seems, may be lost, since dry fermentation will occur all this time.

Method 3 - simple and most common

After collection, the raw materials are poured into the shade and wait until the leaves and flowers wither a little. After this, the leaves are thoroughly crushed, rolled between the palms, and placed tightly in large glass jars. They are closed not with a lid, but with a damp cloth, and left in room conditions for 36 hours.

The fermented mass is taken out of the containers and dried at a temperature of 95-100 degrees in the oven. At the same time, you can give it a shape: round, like Puer, or rectangular, in the form of a large tile, reminiscent of chipboard, as they once did in Rus'. It is difficult to make a very large one, but even a beginner in this matter can create a medium-sized or small one.

How to do it? For fermentation, the raw materials are placed not in jars, but in plastic square (or other shaped) containers and form a bend, as already described in the first method. But in this case, it is necessary to dry it in an electric oven, where there is both upper and lower heating.

During the drying process, you need to stir the loose tea and turn the tiles over. Thanks to this, you can determine the color of the future tea. Readiness is determined by appearance - for crumbly, and by weighing - for tiled. In the latter case, the ratio of dry tea to wet mass should be 1:5.

Ivan tea should be stored in a dark place, in a glass or plastic container with a tight-fitting lid. A prerequisite is that it should not be exposed to sunlight. Fireweed prepared in this way will be stored for approximately three years.

There are many ways to prepare, but there is only one way to brew.

Suppose a person drinks five mugs of Koporye tea per day. This means that for one day he will need 5 grams of Ivan tea for brewing, and for a year two kilograms will be enough (this takes into account the friends and relatives who regularly come for tea). By the way, it is better to change the brew each time, because the second one will not be as tasty and aromatic as the first one.

An equally important parameter is the water intended for brewing. It is worth noting that even filtered water can slightly degrade the taste of tea. The ideal option would be, for example, melt water from the mountains, but where can you get it in an urban environment?!

The brew: when ready, it should exude an aroma that can be compared to compote made from dried apples and pears. If you smell rotten hay, you can say with 100% certainty that the fireweed tea did not work out.

The teapot for brewing can be anything: porcelain, glass, metal-ceramic, or you can also take a brass samovar. Dry raw materials are poured with boiling water. It is very important to maintain the brewing time. It can range from 40 minutes to 6 hours - depending on what kind of tea you want to get.

You can drink the drink either cold or hot. However, it is important to remember that when heating it should not boil, as the taste will immediately deteriorate. It is also not recommended to dilute it with hot water.

Ivan tea is a very healthy drink with sometimes strange healing properties, the effectiveness of which is hard to believe. But many years, even centuries-old consumption of tea convinces us of the opposite - that it is effective and capable of working miracles.

This “cure for all diseases” can be drunk by almost everyone, except those who have an individual intolerance. It is not recommended to drink the drink too often and for a very long time, as diarrhea may begin.

Otherwise, fireweed is the most delicious, healthy, aromatic and medicinal drink. Having tried it once, it will be difficult to deny yourself such a delicacy in the future. It is only important to follow the correct technology when preparing it.

Fermentation of leaves involves converting insoluble substances from leaf tissue into soluble and easily digestible substances.

I ferment leaves of cherry, apple, pear, garden strawberry, raspberry, black currant, chokeberry, maple, hazelnut, pine shoots, mint and lemon balm.

These teas are very tasty, aromatic and beautiful. And also useful.

I divided all the plants into groups, each of which contains plants that behave approximately the same in the process of making tea.

I combined the leaves of cherry, apple, pear, strawberry, chokeberry, maple, and hazelnut into one group because they are well processed in a meat grinder when preparing the leaves for fermentation.

I make tea from strawberry leaves after harvesting, when I cultivate the beds. I remove the cuttings from all cut leaves, as they are very rough. And I leave cuttings on the leaves of other plants - they don’t really interfere.

You can collect leaves for tea throughout the season. In spring they are very tender, easier to curl and ferment. The tea turns out tender, with a subtle aroma. In autumn, the leaves are coarser, harder to curl and take longer to ferment. You can make the rolling process easier by pre-freezing the leaves. Tea made from autumn leaves is brighter in all respects - color, taste and aroma. But it is more difficult to collect high-quality leaves in the fall - they can be damaged by garden pests and diseases.

I wither the collected leaves before fermentation. To do this, I scatter them in the shade on cotton or linen fabric in a layer of 3 - 5 cm. I continue withering for 4 - 8 hours until the “crunch” of the main vein disappears in most of the leaves. The duration of withering depends on the weather. If it is dry and warm, then this process occurs faster, and vice versa, in damp weather it takes longer. To ensure even wilting, I periodically stir the leaves.

For further fermentation, I grind the leaves of all these plants in a meat grinder, as they granulate well. As a result, I get granulated tea.

I crush the resulting mass a little.

If the room is dry, then I cover the container not only with a cloth, but also with a lid, creating a small gap to allow air to access the granules.

I ferment the leaves for an average of 6-8 hours, depending on the temperature (maybe more or less). The smell of the mass does not change dramatically during fermentation (like fireweed), it simply intensifies and acquires interesting notes - each plant has its own. It is important to “catch” the strongest smell (with experience this will be easy). This moment will be a signal for the end of fermentation. With further fermentation, the aroma will weaken and the tea may end up with a less strong aroma.

I dry these teas in the oven at a temperature of 100 * C for 1 - 1.5 hours, and then at 50 - 60 * until ready. Stir occasionally with a wooden spatula. It is important not to miss the moment of drying, otherwise the finished tea will lose its aroma.

And now a little more about tea from each plant:

Cherry leaf tea It has a very strong aroma and a slightly tart, very pleasant taste. During fermentation, the leaf acquires a “drunk cherry” smell. I really love this tea. And my son says that he is a “fan” of him. But I rarely brew this tea alone (although it turns out very tasty). More often I mix it with other teas - it complements the taste of the main tea very well and gives it a deeper color and aroma.

I dried it with constant stirring in the oven for 1 hour at 80*C, and then dried it until ready at 50*C. It turned out to be a wonderful tea with a whole leaf, very dark. And with a very rich taste. This occurs due to the uniform destruction of the leaf and, as a result, better fermentation. One drawback of this tea is that when prepared, it turns out to be very voluminous and takes up a lot of space. In general, a very simple way to prepare wonderful and beautiful tea. This way you can make tea from any leaves.

Chokeberry tea I think it’s the most delicious (I don’t compare Ivan tea to anything else). This tea is simply magical! The color is very rich and dark. The taste is tart, bright, with a slight sourness. The aroma is incomparable, very similar to cherry, but more concentrated. I drink this tea as if it were a delicacy. And more often I add it to tea mixes. I’m being greedy to myself - I just don’t cook it very much, because in our village there is only one chokeberry bush, and that one is from the neighbor. If you don’t cut it all off, it will be lost. But when the leaves begin to fall in the fall, I don’t stand on ceremony - I tear everything off. The leaves are already red-yellow and rough. The meat grinder groans when I twist the leaves, but the tea still turns out delicious. I’ll quote my friend from St. Petersburg, to whom I present various teas. When I gave him the opportunity to have chokeberry tea, he said: “Listen, I thought there was no tastier tea than cherry tea. It turns out that there is such a tea - it’s chokeberry tea.”

Pear leaf tea also among my favorites. It is very soft and unobtrusive - both in taste and aroma. But somehow deep, thick! Drinking this tea is very pleasant - it leaves a sweetish aftertaste. Its usefulness for the pancreas really warms the soul. The color of tea made from pear leaves will save any light tea, because the pear gives such a dark color that it is interesting to look at. If you make a tea mixture, then pear tea does not interrupt the taste and aroma of the main tea. I take the leaves for this tea from a wild pear tree, but you can also use an ordinary garden one - it also works well.

Once I prepared pear tea, like cherry tea, by freezing the leaves before fermentation. The result is wonderful!

Apple leaf tea- unusual! The granules are light brown. And the tea has a very beautiful color and a soft, sweetish taste and aroma. I also love this tea.

Strawberry leaf tea It turns out to be very rich in color, sweetish taste and aroma. If you wait until autumn and the leaves turn red, the taste and aroma of the tea intensify. I love mixing this tea with pear and apple tree tea. It turns out delicious! I once tried to make tea from wild strawberry leaves. It is recommended to collect them in the fall, when they turn red. But by autumn all our strawberries were covered with half a meter of grass, so by the time I collected half a bag of leaves, winter had almost arrived. The tea, of course, turned out to be excellent. But I was no longer worthy of such feats.

Teas made from hazelnut and maple leaves I did it because I read rave reviews about them. I personally didn't like them. Tea made from walnut is bitter, but tea from maple turned out just bad! True, you need to make tea from narrow-leaved maple, but we don’t grow that kind. If you decide to make teas from these plants, the leaves should be collected in early spring, when they are still tender. I plan to add walnut tea to tea mixes for bitterness. I think he will do very well there.

Fireweed, or more scientifically, fireweed, has been known since ancient times as the “weed from fires.” It got its nickname due to the fact that after fires it is the first to grow on the burnt soil in order to prepare it for colonization by new crops. The seeds of this plant, due to their volatility, can be effectively spread by the wind and sow large fields. But it is far from being a weed, as many people think it is. This is a valuable plant that has been used since ancient times as a tasty and healing drink.

Not everyone knows how to properly ferment Ivan tea at home. To create a high-quality natural product yourself, you should try hard. It’s pointless to simply dry and drink the leaves. In this case, you will not get either the taste or the healing properties that fermented fireweed has.

Ivan tea contains insoluble beneficial substances in its structure. Only proper processing helps turn these substances into soluble substances and allow the body to absorb them.

Fermentation involves several stages:

Collection of leaves.
Their drying.
Twisting.
The fermentation itself.
Drying.
Storage.

Only after this can you brew and drink tea. And let's look at the most popular ways to ferment this amazing herb.

Collecting leaves

This point is fundamental, since if the leaves are collected incorrectly, all further efforts will simply be in vain. Here are some simple tips:

You only need to collect the top leaves and flowers (no seeds needed).
Fireweed is collected after 10 a.m. The fact is that until 10 o’clock, most often, there will be dew on the leaves.
Experts do not advise collecting leaves in the heat, as all the raw materials will wither and lose all their properties.
After collecting fireweed leaves, you need to pay attention to ensure that there are no living creatures on them.

The simplest (standard) way

The upper flowers and leaves without seeds are collected. As already mentioned above, it is necessary to ensure that no living creatures, in this case bedbugs, are caught during collection. Even a small bug can spoil the smell of future tea. It’s not for nothing that in ancient Rus' our ancestors used to say: “A small bug, but a stinking one!”

The leaves are slightly withered in the shade and intensively kneaded in the hands. Next, the leaves and flowers are placed in a jar, compacted very, very tightly. It is covered with a damp cloth (this measure is necessary so that the cloth does not absorb the juices of fireweed). After this, the container is placed in a dark place for 1.5 days, that is, for 36 hours. Next, the material is taken out of the jar, loosened and dried at a temperature of 95-105 C. Usually dried in the oven. If you wish, you can make tea of any shape from the starting material (round, plates, oblong, etc.).

When drying, it is important to constantly monitor the condition of the fireweed. It needs to be stirred all the time (if it is a tile, turn it over). During drying, you will notice how the leaves begin to acquire a beautiful shade: from light brown to darker. The drying time of loose fireweed depends on you, that is, you rely on your eye. If tea is dried in the form of a tile or rolled, then drying is determined by weight. The ratio of raw to dried leaves should be 5:1. That is, if you put 100 grams of raw leaves, they will be ready when only 20 grams remain.

Store the finished tea under a lid, in an opaque container and always in a place protected from the sun. Shelf life is no more than 3 years.

The old way

The fermentation of fireweed did not begin in our time. Our ancestors also enjoyed this drink. But then there were no ovens to dry the fragrant leaves, so a slightly different method was used.

Lay fireweed leaves on a dampened tablecloth in a layer no higher than 3 centimeters. Afterwards, the canvas is rolled into a tube more tightly. Outwardly, it should resemble a large cigar.

As with the jar, the tablecloth is moistened so that it does not absorb the fireweed juices.

The tube is tightened with a rope and intensively kneaded with your hands, bending it in different directions. They knead it for about half an hour. This method allows you to destroy the cellular structure of fireweed leaves. Afterwards, the twist is left for the duration of fermentation. The initial fermentation lasts up to 3 hours. Sometimes you should check the temperature of the tube. If it has increased significantly (more than 37 C), then the preliminary fermentation is over.

The result should be dried grass with a distinct smell of fermented fruit.

Afterwards, this grass must be put into jars, compacted well and closed with a lid. Now fermentation of Ivan tea is carried out in full. The final fermentation takes 36-40 hours. Its duration, of course, can be extended if you place the container with the product in a cool place. In this case, the finished tea will have a more pronounced taste and aroma. If fireweed is harvested in the late period (July-August), another stage of “fermentation” is carried out.

To do this, we take the material out of our jar and begin to crush it until the leaves begin to yield juice.

Advice: If you are too lazy to mash fireweed by hand, then you can put it through a meat grinder. Before doing this, you should take out the auger so that it does not cut the leaves. However, please note that this method of preparation is considered undesirable, since the taste and quality of the tea will not be the same.

After we have kneaded our raw materials, we place them in a pile and cover them with a damp cloth for 8 hours at room temperature. After 6 hours, we begin to check our pile for elasticity. If the raw material has acquired a rubber structure, then we dry it immediately.

To do this, put the raw materials on a baking sheet and put them in the oven. Set the temperature to 100 C. During drying, periodically stir or turn the fireweed over. Also, the door must be slightly open. Ideal if you have clay bricks. They will help regulate the temperature and thanks to them, the Ivan tea will not burn to the bottom of the pan. In 1.5 hours the tea will be ready.

In general, people who have no experience working with this material can easily dry up to 500 grams of the finished product in 1 day.

Fermentation in own juice

This is also a fairly popular method, which allows you to obtain fragrant leaves from fireweed. To do this, we divide the collected raw materials into two parts. The first part will be used for juice, the second will be the raw material for fermentation.

The first part must be passed through either a meat grinder or a juicer. The second one is preferable. Consider the fact that there will be very little juice, even when using the coolest juicer. Therefore, if you strained a little, don’t worry – it’s normal.

Now take the second pile and put it in the pan. Fill this pile with juice. We take a lid, it should be smaller in diameter than the pan and place this lid on our material. We place a heavy load of at least 20 kg on top. Fermentation in its own juice takes three days. After fermentation, the raw materials must be thoroughly dried. Dry it in the oven at 90 degrees.

Why ferment fireweed?

Fermentation is fermentation. That is, during fermentation, chemical reactions occur that change the structure of the raw material. In this case, it only improves its characteristics. In addition, the taste of the tea itself, which is not inferior in quality to Indian or Ceylon, is no less important. We are used to drinking ordinary green or black teas, which do not bring any benefits. Why not treat yourself to a more delicious drink, with the following arsenal of positive properties:

Tea has antioxidant properties.
Boosts the body's immune system, effectively resists viral diseases, and relieves inflammation.
Studies have shown that fireweed is considered the most useful plant in the Russian flora.
Normalizes blood pressure.
Constant consumption of fermented fireweed can help you get rid of insomnia.
Drinking tea can cure stomach ulcers and restore normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
Effectively fights the herpes virus.
Constant consumption of this drink can improve a person’s psychological state. His irritability decreases, headaches go away, depression disappears.
Effectively fights arrhythmia.
Improves skin condition, fights acne and wrinkles.
Has a slight analgesic effect.
Has no side effects.
Not addictive.

Fermented fireweed is a very healthy drink. Moreover, this is not a banal, tasteless medicine; on the contrary, tea has an amazing aroma and taste.

If our article was not enough for you, then we invite you to watch the video.