Ivan tea (fermentation of fireweed leaves) - master class

Turner, horror with mosquitoes, and now a midge has added, in calm weather you can't go outside, but you have to.

how are you doing with mosquitoes?)) Something at this year is sooo much

oh, they've already been eating, and they appeared in mid-May.

mosquitoes.

We have these not mosquitoes, but monsters)))))) As well as midges and horseflies.))

Turner, horror with mosquitoes,

Siberian Siberian understands what is being said)))))

We have these not mosquitoes, but monsters)))))) As well as midges and horseflies.))

No, the most evil mosquito is in Karelia. But your midge is yesaaaaaa ...

The first batch of Ivan tea is dried in the oven. And the smell in the kitchen of a good, freshly steamed broom in the bath .. So it should be? After collecting, I dried it for a day, from 1.2 kg of a leaf it turned out 800g., Tightly packed in a bag, put it in the freezer for two days. He took it out, stirred it up on the table and, like a sheet, moved away, turned it in a meat grinder. I put it in a layer. container for fermentation, slightly crushed, a layer of 5 cm turned out. (yes, I know that it is not enough, I missed the container). The smell was strong grassy silage. I closed it with a lid (no damp cloth, there was no time to follow) and left for exactly one day. The room temperature is +25, it's hot here. I opened it - the mass darkened and the smell was not strong, pleasant, but not floral-fruity, I can't say for sure ..
Now the color of dried tea granules is almost black, matte with brown splashes. That is, there was fermentation, otherwise it would have remained green ..
Yes, and this is definitely a fireweed, a familiar plant from childhood

[Amasar]

the smell in the kitchen of a good, freshly steamed broom in the bath .. So it should be?

Amasar, Andrei, no, it shouldn't be that way. Bath smell, like from brooms, indicates overexposure at fermentation or too high a temperature. And the lack of air access could also affect. In addition to enzymatic processes, oxidative processes should also take place. The temperature is normal. The layer, in principle, is not very critical.
Dried in what layer? With the door open?
In general, let it dry properly in a bag. We have had many such cases. After a month, a delicious smell may appear.

tightly packed in a bag, put in the freezer for two days. He took it out, stirred it up on the table and, like a sheet, moved away, turned it in a meat grinder.

Fireweed is easily processed in a meat grinder without freezing. Try not to freeze the leaves next time. And ferment for 12 hours. Something tells me that freezing gave extra juice and the enzymatic processes were worse because of this.
Freezing fireweed is good for manual processing of leaves. You can't squeeze out excess juice. And in a meat grinder after freezing, a very wet mass can turn out.

[lappl1]

lappl1Thanks, I'll try fermentation under a damp cloth. There is another 1kg in the freezer. leaf, waiting for the heat to subside. When drying, the layer is thin, no more than a centimeter. I laid it out on two large sheets. The oven is good electric, it keeps the temperature exactly. Yes, and I turned on the fan in it, since there were two sheets. The door was slightly ajar, a gap like a match. Well, I opened it every 15 minutes, stirred it a little with a spatula.
Now it is cooling down, tomorrow morning I will put it in a pillowcase and hang it on the loggia in the shade.
By the way, yes - there was a lot of juice, it even splashed several times from the meat grinder. Okay, next. I'll try again right after withering.

[Andrei]

Andrei, try this 1 kg to make a large leaf tea (method number 2). It seems to me that granulated fireweed does not need freezing. You will see that the method is very simple, and the tea is wonderful.

I've been fermenting ivan tea with a layer of 6 cm for 5 hours, but at home it's very hot 31 degrees.Can it finish fermentation and dry?

[jkzrhjkz]

jkzrhjkz, You did not write how many hours fermentation has already been going on. Of course, at this temperature it will pass faster.
In general, be guided by the smell. if there is a strong fruity, then it's time to dry.

5:00)))

Thank you went to dry)))

[jkzrhjkz]

jkzrhjkz, Olga, good luck! Then tell us what you did!

And in a meat grinder after freezing, a very wet mass can turn out.

Yes, very wet mass!

I got to the normal Internet, otherwise I could only read, as Lina would say, on a pine tree. Luda, I understood why fireweed smelled so piercingly to me ... I added two handfuls of cherries there. Immediately I remembered how you admired this tea. Now (if possible) this is the only way I will do it. Just a delight !!

Ksyusha, sister ... Well, you see how great it is! I love this tea so much. Just a little cherry, and the result is awesome!

I twisted the fireweed and it smelled like sorrel to me. There was not much juice. Should it hit or not? I put it on fermentation. T 24. The smell is not superfluous, but everything is in the kitchen, and there is still strawberry jam, soup. I think it's hard to grasp.

[Maryana]

I twisted the fireweed and it smelled of sorrel to me.

Maryana, has it faded normally? Clutching a handful of leaves? Didn't the lump crumble? If you did everything that way, then it's okay. The smell does not appear at the moment of twisting, but after fermentation.

Well, it seems normal. I hope everything works out. When there is still no experience, then you don’t know what to focus on.
But low bow to you for your help and tips.

[Omela]

Omela, what cherry, leaves?

Ir, yes, leaves. I have young shoots from cherries all over the garden. Here she pulled them out and added young leaves.

[Maryana]

When there is still no experience, then you don’t know what to focus on.

Maryana, be guided by the smell. A strong floral-fruity aroma will appear, sushi. Ferment for about 12 hours the first time. Although the smell will appear earlier. Then you will choose the time for yourself.

After 8 hours of fermentation, I took a handful of tea and dried it on a frying pan, smelled and smelled, it smells weak. something pleasant, brewed. The tea itself smells good.
I put one baking sheet in the oven, sorrel and that's it ((

Finally tried the fireweed from May 15th. I don’t understand yet which one I like more - young or mature. But the fact that the teas are different is unambiguous. May's color is excellent, dark brown, but the bouquet is more intense. The young one made a little more than a kilogram. Resume - has the right to life.

It smells all over the apartment, the smell changes. Something so pleasant already than I can not understand. I think in the end everything will be fine.))))

Veronica, the mature one has a different, brighter smell during fermentation, but Galya liked the young one more. And I still endure, I do not try, even if I could endure it for another week!

Lenusik, the patient could not stand it, it broke ... It is more multi-component brewed, or something. And in terms of strength - not, probably, more mature, more tart.

And here I am, finally, a normal Internet! In general, not only is I a maniac myself, I also involve others in this matter. In short, 1/4 of the village is definitely grazing on the Ivanchain fields, I am infectious (I just gave them a sniff and brewed it .... That's it, the drugs are resting, I planted them). In terms of aroma, I prefer tea with fermentation from 4 to 10 hours, and to taste - from 8 to 18. Considering the area of ​​overlap of these sets, I have allocated for myself the optimal fermentation interval - 8-10 hours.

And I haven't drunk May yet. And the summer just started doing it today. The smell of dried leaves is awesome.
my favorite is the 12 hour fireweed tea. From garden sauces - 6 hours.

[lappl1]

lappl1, Lyudmila, tell me what to do. Ivan tea has been fermenting for 31 hours in two buckets of 900 and 600 grams each. The color changed to dark green, marsh. The smell is not pronounced. Did everything clearly. Room temperature 24-26. What to do next?

I go further into the oven and dry ....When dried, the smell increases.

[lappl1]

The girls today, after a trip to their relatives, decided to dry up on gifts, everyone praises him so much !!!!!!lappl1, Lyudmila told about you, all relatives, thanks again for the recipe!
The question arose, when I pick flowers does it harm Ivan Chai?

Girls!!! Boys !!! Help is needed! Urgently!
The package has just arrived. They sent me ivan-tea roots and tops from these roots separately cut off.
So ... two questions.
The first is what to do with the roots? Dig it in until Monday (I won't go to the village before) or hold it in the cellar? The roots are strewn with damp tyrsa. Excellent condition.
Second - what to do with the tops? The leaves have withered, some have turned a little brown. But, they did not dry out. The flowers are even normal.

It's a miracle, of course, but from a remote village in the Chernihiv region to Kharkov, the parcel reached by regular mail in 3 days!

[Tata]

Lyudmila, tell me what to do. Ivan tea has been fermenting for 31 hours in two buckets of 900 and 600 grams each. The color changed to dark green, marsh. The smell is not pronounced. Did everything clearly. Room temperature 24-26. What to do next?

Tata, sorry, some messages from this thread did not come. But they already answered that it is necessary to dry. I don't ferment that much. I like 12 hours the most.

[Kokoschka]

thanks again for the recipe!

Kokoschka, to your health! Make tea with pleasure!

When I pick flowers does it harm Ivan Chai?

Lily, does not harm. It mainly reproduces by roots.

[Radushka]

Girls!!! Boys !!! Help is needed! Urgently!

Radushka, answered in garden scent.

[lappl1]

lappl1, thanks for the answer. but I don't quite understand. You wrote that during fermentation, the color changes to brown or black with a pronounced aroma. But my color changed a little to marsh and the aroma is not strong, therefore it kept for a long time. As written here it smells of sorrel, not fruity floral.
Do you like 12 o'clock and it gets dark by this time?

[Tata]

Tata, the perception of color is different for everyone. Brown and marsh - I think the same thing. Ivan tea begins to change color, crawling out of the meat grinder, so that after 3 hours it is already marsh-brown. Try covering the container with raw materials more tightly when fermenting. Cover the raw material itself, then the container with the raw material on top with a lid. I put a bowl of raw materials in a large saucepan, cover it directly over the raw materials with a plate, and a large saucepan with a lid. There is enough air in the pan for reactions. Maybe then you will smell it. And sorrel ... No, how much I did, it never happened. Something is wrong...

Yes, I have never felt the smell of sorrel, but the aroma of Ivan tea is simply intoxicating, and the longer it stands, the richer the smell becomes. Also the other day I was making another portion of tea, so I didn't want to leave the kitchen, there was such a wonderful smell.

[paramed1]

paramed1, thanks for the answer. But maybe not sorrel. Just sour. And at the expense of the color from the meat grinder, I have a dark green, like in the photo from Lyudmila. Next time I'll try to cover it more tightly. I stood in a plastic bucket covered with a damp cotton napkin.

[Tata]

but I don't quite understand. You wrote that during fermentation, the color changes to brown or black with a pronounced aroma.

Tata, if you look at the recipe now, you will see that the word "black" is not there. I removed it a long time ago. I don't like the word brown either, because after all it is from dark green to, as Veronica said, green-brown (depends on the fermentation time),. Sorry to mislead you. I will correct this moment in the recipe now.
But everything is correct with the smell - fruity-honey-floral. There was never a smell of sorrel after fermentation. Maybe you haven't withered the leaves enough? And in general, you fermented for too long. At this time, the tea is very strong, but the aroma is lost.

Do you like 12 o'clock and it gets dark by this time?

I will again refer to Veronica - it darkens immediately after twisting due to oxidation with oxygen in the air (like an apple that was cut). And after 3 hours, the mass becomes even darker.

[lappl1]

lappl1, Lyudmila put it to dry at 12 o'clock, if I wrap it in a sheet and leave it until morning, will it affect the quality of the finished product for the worse?

Well, every leaf, even the smallest, even brown and almost dry, was torn off and twisted! Raw materials, of course, were scarce. Therefore, on top, I covered the meat grinder mass of fireweed with twisted raspberries (after freezing, they turned out to be quite decent granules. They look like grapes. Let's see what they will be after drying), because after the noble fireweed, my old meat grinder refused to twist the cherry leaves. She refused at all. I resigned myself to raspberries. Since I slept very little today, I will have to go to bed now, and I will dry the tea in the morning. Fermentation will take 10 hours. I hope not very much (taking into account that ivanushka was dug up on Monday). In any case, I have no choice. There will be tea. It cannot but be
Girls boys, keep your fists for me! I hope my Ivanushka will take root and grow. I won't wait until autumn. I'll drop him off on Sunday. If anything, they promised to send me a parcel in the fall. Well, if they don't forget, of course.

[Kokoschka]

Kokoschka, Lily, have the leaves already withered? Keep in mind that the sheet can also take moisture from the leaves, so do not wrap it tightly. The quality should not deteriorate. I didn't leave that much, but the girls did. You can put it in the refrigerator (in a bag).

[Radushka]

Radushkahow I wrote a poem! Everything will be great, don't worry! 10 hours is normal for fireweed. You can ferment longer.
Dearie, I'm worried you're hot right now. At this time, how will it take root? You plant it where it is not hot, and there is a shade, especially at noon. you read it, I gave you a link to the site where they write how to plant fireweed (link in garden scent, look)?

Girls boys, keep your fists for me! I hope my Ivanushka will take root and grow.

I'm already holding it! See?

[lappl1]

lappl1, Thanks for the clarification. I had it and was dark green at first, and at the end it was marsh. I did it for 5 hours. But I didn't check it for twisting, only for the fragility of the central vein. Well, all this is already in the past. Now I'm finishing the last portion. Of course, everyone's perception of color and smell is different. It seems to me that the dried tea is not entirely black, but the aroma is also very pleasant. I hope it will be tasty and, most importantly, useful. I also made from cherries and garden strawberries. Everything turned out ok. Leaves scrolled in a meat grinder perfectly.

[Tata]

Tata, and what smell when drying?

[lappl1]

lappl1, pleasant. there is sourness, but I find it difficult to describe. I do not know with what to compare. The husband says he smells like flower tea.

[Tata]

Tata, in general, when drying willow tea, there is a very strong smell. Very, very ... And not sour at all. After all, you fermented it for a long time. So he got weak. But the tea will still be good. We must wait a couple of months. And try to ferment the next batch for 12 - 14 hours, no more. You will immediately feel the difference.
Yes, and let it dry until a handful of leaves decay. Something tells me that you didn't finish - 5 hours is not enough. In general, you need to focus on a handful of leaves. Leaves that are not withered enough give less tea than normally dried leaves.