Ivan tea (fermentation of fireweed leaves) - master class

[Nina]

Nina, oh, how many times, having bought unimportant tea in the store, we mask and improve its quality by adding jam, aromatic herbs, zest? And we don’t even think what was wrong with that tea during the making! Is not it?
And tea from badan, in general, is made from half-rotten leaves. And, practically, a medicine!
Don't worry, everything will be fine!

[kariba]

Have you tried drying and drinking a little sour tea? So sorry to dump it, really nothing good will come of it? While I drink it a little, while the normal one goes through dry fermentation. By the way, it turns out very strong and tart. The aroma, of course, is not alright ..

kariba, Nina, right. This tea cannot be weak. He went through deep fermentation, working up color and astringency and losing aroma. Don't throw anything away. Just sour tea. The benefit will only be from him. And don't think about harm. There will be no harm.

Thank you girls, now I certainly won't throw it away! Let's see what happens to him in a month.

Completed the construction of a loose tea plant. I was poking around for two days (I helped my son)




Now I will also have loose leaf tea)))

[Anyuta]

Anyuta, well, now I brought a photo to the correct address! Well done you and your sons! We are waiting for the tests!

[Anyuta]

Anyuta and son - what good fellows !. honor and praise to such a helper

[Anyuta]

AnyutaThe device looks very high quality. Can organize production by release, it will be snapped up.

[Allochka]

Can organize production by release, it will be snapped up.

Allochka, hardly ... It's hard to stir people up for tea.

[lappl1]

lappl1, I also came to you with a HUGE thank you
Sometimes I went into your topic to see how the girls here boast about teas. And I did not think that here, in an unfamiliar city and with my whole camp, I could also have such a holiday (to get to the thickets of Ivan-tea)
But then on Saturday, relatives called me into the forest for mushrooms. It was lucky that now a relative is staying with us - they left the children with her.
At the first stop I couldn't believe my eyes - thickets of untouched fireweed !!! Immediately she told her husband that I didn't really need these mushrooms, for which I got "Nat, we came here for mushrooms - the grass later ..." , then we didn't get there anymore, although we tried to return
Butter took 2.5 buckets (12 liters) There was a feeling that half of the city was pushed by priests there ... At other stops there was no more fireweed
We tried to return to the first parking lot ... we even found the right turn off the road, and then again a fork and we didn't guess ... In general, there was also fireweed, but with smaller plantations and more than once stripped.
Together they collected 1.34 kg of leaves. And then I tried to do it according to your instructions, but the first time there were many jambs. The first mistake - the leaves dry up when withering. It was difficult to squeeze juice out of them when manually twisting them. But at first I felt sorry for the meat grinder. A pleasant smell began to appear after curling almost immediately
When twisting with your hands was no longer just hard, but already painful, the meat grinder was no longer a pity, and 2/3 of all the leaves were ground.
For 10 hours of fermentation, the smell, in my opinion, has not changed. I was afraid to leave it for longer. Then I dried it - the smell in the apartment was stunning. I hung it up to dry. The smell of tea became so-so. We decided to brew and try.
The smell was amazing! The only association is HONEY! As I explained to my sister - remember, as at your grandmother's, you open a 40L pot of honey, and from there the smell of honey ... that's exactly the same.
Judging by the greenish color of the tea, it turned out to be weak fermentation. Probably because the leaves were overdried and little juice came out.
But the smell is simply gorgeous - as if I put three spoons of honey on a cup, maybe not sweet
THANK YOU

[Nata]

Nata, how beautifully I wrote about tea. Congratulations on your first child.

[Nata333]

Nata333, Nata, to your health! I join Alla - you wrote about tea so beautifully and with inspiration that I am sure that now you will make it. And you will find that lost plantation. The main thing is that the process started, I liked it and the result was impressive. And that means a lot.

For 10 hours of fermentation, the smell, in my opinion, has not changed. I was afraid to leave it for longer. Then I dried - the smell in the apartment was stunning.

Nata, how are you dried up tea after fermentation? Judging by the color of the tea, you have set a low drying temperature. What was it dried in? At what temperature. In principle, green tea is also acceptable. And if you want black, then you need to start drying at 100 * or higher.
But the fact that your tea smells like honey says a lot - the tea was not just a success, but the highest quality!
Nata, thank you for the wonderful report. Make tea with pleasure too. I recommend trying herbal tea and Rustic tea. It turns out great. The recipes can be viewed in my profile.

[Ludmila]

Ludmila, guilty, not put it that way. Dried - this is 1.5 hours at the exposed 90C, which after a while on a mercury thermometer showed 120C (oven - zver), and then in the drying mode 50C until dry. But in my opinion, it is very dry - the leaves crumble when compressed ...
Now I'm thinking about how to store large loose leaf tea ... or squeeze it a couple of times
And the black color of the brewed tea is not important to me, for some reason I decided that the color depends on the degree of fermentation ... The aroma is GORGEOUS, which makes me incredibly happy
I'll tell you home with a relative - let dad and sister rejoice there
So thanks again for such a master class

Hello everyone
and what do you do to prevent the leaves from falling into the bag during collection during a hot day?
I’ve, for example, collected 6 kg, they warmed up there until they got to the house (about an hour and a half, assembly + bring home)

[Wozik]

Wozik,

and what do you do so that the leaves during a hot day do not squeeze into the bag during collection

I collect it in a bag made from an old, worn out, denim skirt. I put the bag in the shade, and tear the leaves (I have garden-forest ones) into a small bag, which I hang on my hand. Filled it - took it to the bag. And I don't ram hard, of course.

and how cool is the center bag?

[Wozik]

Wozik, MishaHow can it be cool in a bag if the temperature in the shade is 39 ??? But, not 49, as in the sun.
And I don't collect for a long time. There is no opportunity. The three of us go, quickly and quickly collect the bag in the cellar until evening. And in the evening quickly to the city. In the evening, because there is no air conditioning in the car. Sometimes they sweat and start to smell. But, on the other hand, they fade quickly. It happens that in a couple of hours.

OK, thanks

[Nata333]

But in my opinion, it is very dry - the leaves crumble when compressed ...

Nata333, so you have loose leaf tea? yes, dried leaves will crumble when compressed. So don't worry about that.

Now I'm thinking about how to store large loose leaf tea ... or squeeze it a couple of times

It is convenient to store loose leaf tea in 3-liter glass or plastic jars. You can press down with a potato crush (metal with a heel).

For some reason I decided that the color depends on the degree of fermentation ...

No, the color of loose tea depends on the drying temperature. I have not even fermented very black when brewing.

So thanks again for such a master class

To your health, Nata!

[Wozik]

and what do you do to prevent the leaves from being squeezed into the bag during collection on a hot day?

Wozik, Misha, I collect not far from home - a maximum of 200 meters. But I still collect it not in bags, but in a 40-liter box of pine chips.It is very convenient - both hands are free and the leaves lie freely and do not lie. Here he is:

Luda, a beautiful and comfortable box.

[Alla]

Alla, Thank you ! Yes, it's so convenient to go with him for leaves. This was given to me by my husband's aunts from Belarus especially for tea. Weaved ourselves.

[Ludmila]

Ludmila, you have good aunts, craftsmen.

[Alla]

Alla, yes, they have such golden hands! And what kind of carpets they weave at home. No store can compare with their carpets.

they have such golden hands! And what kind of carpets they weave at home

ha, so is your husband, Lud, yours is not ... you know yourself ... what a craftswoman he grabbed for himself !. family respect and respect!

[AlenKa]

AlenKa, Thank you ! I will definitely remind him that he made the right choice.

And my husband and I "got sick" with the topic of Ivan tea last summer, after the neighbors gave us a treat at the dacha. We read everything on the Internet and did it for ourselves. We drank all year, handed out to relatives and friends - everyone liked our tea. This year we decided to get serious about it, maybe even earn a little on it. While my husband started a group in his classmates, where he described in detail how we made our tea: 🔗
And so through the search engine you will find by the words "Ivan-tea Alekseevsky".
And the factory in Novgorod is great, only it is more interesting to make your own product - with your own hands.

Girls, SOS ...
Tell me - is it Fireweed or not?

no

[rusalka76]

rusalka76, thanks for sharing your experience and for the link to your tea! I have seen. really liked it. Your oven is great. you need to look for one. very interested in pu-erh from ivan tea. But there is no description of the process. I would love to know how you do it. In principle, I am familiar with the theory of making pu-erh, but I have not yet done it myself.
Your husband writes about different ways of making tea, but he settled on a meat grinder. I suggest you familiarize yourself with the device for grinding leaves, which I found on the treasure hunters forum. It is so convenient for them to roll sausages. Tea is made easily and quickly. Great loose leaf tea! If interested, you can see how to make such a device. HERE
And also this year we started making tea from seed pods. Gorgeous tea turns out! If you are interested, you can familiarize yourself with the recipe for tea from boxes by following the link.

Ivan-tea "Fluffy" (from immature seed bolls) (lappl1)

Girls, SOS ... Tell me - is it Fireweed or not?

Anyuta, no, not him. The leaves and flowers are not fireweed.

Anyuta, no, not him. The leaves and flowers are not fireweed.

Yeah ... I already found my other photo and compared it with it ...

[lappl1]

lappl1In turn, I would like to thank you for the link to seed box tea. I read it to the end - now I know exactly what we will do in the next week. And then they thought that the collection season came to an end.
As for drying, my husband did it himself (on long winter evenings). The basis is two infrared heaters.

Pu-erh, of course, our tea only resembles its shape. Ivan-tea to taste. We made several for the sake of experiment. Everything was completely manually crushed, twisted into balls, then wrapped on top with a cloth and left to ferment in such a compressed form. Then dry as usual.
But with this tea an overlay came out - due to the fact that it is heavily compressed, we did not manage to dry it to a completely dry state. Then I read on the Internet that in China, during the production of pu-erh, it is dried for almost a month ... Therefore, these samples have remained test samples for now. And the aroma from them is very pleasant and stronger than from fermented tea from a meat grinder.
The device for grinding leaves is interesting. But we chose the meat grinder for a reason. Last summer (and this one already) we tried several different varieties of willow tea, including the whole leaf tea made by hand. And we liked the tea that we made with the meat grinder more.
That's it, stop writing, it's time to collect the seed pods))
Thanks again for the link.

[lappl1]

lappl1, Lyudmila, thank you very much for such a useful and necessary work in making homemade teas.
Unfortunately, the topic was found late
I got carried away very much. This year I managed to make Ivan-tea. She did sheet and granular. I have never tried this tea, there is nothing to compare with. But I liked mine, delicious and "calm" like that. I don't like tart teas. Lately I've been drinking oolongs, shengpuers. So this tea resembles good Sheng Puer, with a fruity-nectar aroma, with a slightly noticeable sourness in the aftertaste. No bitterness and astringency. A month has not yet passed after production, but it is already good. I removed it until the fall, so as not to be tempted and to keep the tea aging.
Today I make tea from blackberry + black currant. After withering and freezing, the smell from the bag is amazing. While spinning rolls I enjoyed it. I will try to ferment for 24 hours, then dry.
Thanks again for the teas topics

Hey everyone!!! Finally I tested my unit. Fermented at room temperature (very warm at home) for 6 hours. I dried it with a fry. Dried very quickly (I didn't even have time to chop a bucket of onions)

Here's what happened



In the evening I brewed it. The color is slightly lighter than that of granular (although this is very noticeable on the photon)



Taste and aroma ... more delicate ... I am delighted

[rusalka76]

The device for grinding leaves is interesting. But we chose the meat grinder for a reason. Last summer (and this one already) we tried several different varieties of willow tea, including the whole leaf tea made by hand.

rusalka76, Allochka, You know, I also only made granular. Until recently, until this device was made. Leaf tea with this device is so quick and easy to make, and the result is much better than twisting the leaves by hand. So now I'm wondering if I should go to sheet at all.

Lyudmila, thank you very much for such a useful and necessary work in making homemade teas. Unfortunately, the topic was found late

GTI Tatiana, to your health! Tanya, you still have time to make Ivan tea. Although the leaves have become coarser, there are still many of them. AND

So this tea resembles good Sheng Puer, with a fruity-nectar aroma, with a slightly noticeable sourness in the aftertaste. No bitterness and astringency. A month has not yet passed after production, but it is already good. I removed it until the fall, so as not to be tempted and to keep the tea aging.

How wonderful you described your tea! So, everything turned out great for you. And you can brew. Delicious tea anyway. But it will be much better in winter.

Today I make tea from blackberry + black currant. After withering and freezing, the smell from the bag is amazing. While spinning rolls I enjoyed it. I will try to ferment for 24 hours, then dry.

I would advise not to ferment blackberry with currants for so long. It takes them less time.

[Anyuta]

Hey everyone!!! Finally I tested my unit. Fermented at room temperature (very warm at home) for 6 hours. I dried it with a fry. Dried very quickly (I didn't even have time to chop a bucket of onions)

Here's what happened



In the evening I brewed it. The color is slightly lighter than that of granular (although this is very noticeable on the photon)



Taste and aroma ... more delicate ... I love it

Anyuta, well done! Beautiful tea - either dry or brewed! So, you did your unit correctly. How easy was it to grind the leaves?

[Ludmila]

Ludmila, of course, you need to adjust a little. The degree of pressure, the number of movements, and the rest is just a fairy tale

I would advise not to ferment blackberry with currants for so long. It takes them less time.

Lyudmil, I put it on fermentation at 10 am. The smell is divine now. Nine hours passed.
And how long is enough for a blackberry?

[Tatyana]

Tatyana, everyone has their own preferences. Some ferment for 24 hours.For me, and this is just my subjective opinion (not everyone may agree with him), this is not less than 3 and not more than 6 hours. Fermented and more, but from 3 to 6 like more than everyone else.

[GTI Tatiana]

Lyudmil, I put it on fermentation at 10 am. The smell is divine now. Nine hours passed. And how long is enough for a blackberry?

GTI Tatiana, Tatyana, sorry I did not answer right away. I just went to the computer. but Anyuta has already answered you. I also like tea for no more than 6 - 8 hours of fermentation. But more can be fermented. There will be no mistake. It's just that everyone needs to find their own option. So try it.

[Anyuta]

of course you need to adjust a little. The degree of pressure, the number of movements, and the rest is just a fairy tale

Anyuta, it's not for nothing that you did it for two days! Now your pens will be easy.

But my, long-suffering, Ivanushka! Yesterday I asked the "photographer" to take a closer look so that everyone could see. He is so small and delicate, but in a hurry to bloom. I hope it will be like this only this year, because I planted the rhizomes in the summer. Here he is. Admire!

[Radushka]

Radushka, I admire and congratulate ... You then show us its blossoming.

[lappl1]

lappl1, Lyudochka, be sure! If I drag the photographer to the village. And in the city some creature ate ivanushka. Not everything, but gnawed thoroughly! It is not going to bloom, but it grows little by little. Already 10 centimeters have grown!
Of course, I can't wait for your two-meter handsome men. It's usually hot here. But, at least 30 cm, but on 10 acres ... (dreaming)! I'll make some tea!

And in the city some creature ate ivanushka.

That city creature's lip is not stupid ... Do you know how sweet Vanya is?

Of course, I can't wait for your two-meter handsome men. It's usually hot here. But, at least 30 cm, but on 10 acres ... (dreaming)! I'll make some tea!

It should be higher. 30 cm is very low. Well, let it grow. He looks very cheerful. and you can't say that he is hot - the leaves are juicy.

Ivan-tea "White-pink" (from the tops) (lappl1)

[Radushka]

Radushka, it is better to cut off the flowers so that the rhizome gains strength. I always do this with first-year rastums. At first it was a pity. But when one rose did not winter, I had to make it a rule.

[Nataliya]

Nataliya, sorry! I will wait a little! Others will not bloom, I think. I divided the rhizome into 15cm pieces.
I planted 10 sections in the city. Ascended 3. In the village in the garden planted pieces 5. Ascended 2. At the tinsel planted the strongest. There are more than 2 dozen. Half ascended. Various. Loosen the one in the photo, mostly. But, we still have two months, or even three months before frost. Will get stronger.

[Anyuta73]

Anyuta73, yes, the leaf dries much faster.
Lyudmila, I think this can be attached at the beginning of the topic as a reminder. I myself, out of forgetfulness, consulted the recipe at each stage and the first tea (and this year I make almost all leaf tea) was very dry. Then I figured it out and put it in pillowcases, already slightly underdried, let it dry like this.
I will compare dry and normal taste not earlier than autumn, but having tried it now, it seemed that tea with a not very pronounced taste.

Radushka, congratulations on the leaves! I'm glad that your Ivanushka has taken root. Many shoots for him for the next season, and you have a lot of delicious tea!

[Mary Poppins]

Mary Poppins,