Ivan tea (fermentation of fireweed leaves) - master class

I increased the font, and removed some of the information under the spoiler to make it more convenient

I still cannot use the opportunities so masterly here. I am very glad that I was able to please you. Lyudmila, thank you for your help and for your patience with us new

[Emerald]

Emerald, Olya, nothing, you’ll learn ... You’ll have tea, and in winter we will study how to make our messages beautiful and convenient. In the meantime, I'll correct it if necessary.

I put the tea on the fry and fell asleep. Roasted for 2 hours. The smell is not much bitter is it burned out? from. The rest are not confused by watching. Assured the taste must be bitter? Not yet understood. The girl's smells are fabulous. But I got tired of typing a lot. Although the yield from the bag of leaves is small.

[Barquentine]

Barquentine, well, you will find out later when you compare it with unburned one.
And yes, it turns out a little.

Threw out 1 baking sheet. The taste of wives infused in the cup. You need to sleep less. Now there are 5 cups on the table. Brewed all the teas. I'm tasting. I will also throw out the early cherries. Bitter.

Leave the cherry, let it brew, after six months it may not taste bitter - teas change so much during dry fermentation!
And then, a few cherry granules for the smell can then be added to other teas.

[Barquentine]

I put the tea on the fry and fell asleep.

Barquentine, Nataliya, yes, unfortunately, charred tea is not cured by anything. At all. Neither fermentation nor adding to mixes - the smell of burnt paper will ruin everything. This tea is only in the trash.
If you feel that you do not have time to deal with the sheet, wither it well, wrap it tightly in a bag and put it in the freezer. And then with renewed vigor - you will do everything.

Hello dear friends! Just a week ago, I accidentally came across this topic and disappeared ... I have made 1 serving of fireweed so far, if I honestly did not understand how and what. I made half of the portion granulated, but apparently there was not enough fermentation, fermented for only 4.5 hours, because I went to work and was afraid that it would not turn sour. There was a smell, but I noticed only when I entered from the street, not very pronounced, but pleasant, dried it for half an hour at 130 grams, then at 100 grams for another half an hour and then turned off the oven, left it to dry in an open oven. I poured it into a glass jar, since there were no bags (today I will be sewing these). I made the second portion as a sheet, but I didn't seem to have it. I rubbed it in my hands until it darkened and left it on the fermentation for 8-9 hours, a 5-liter bottle of leaves bend a layer of leaves by 5 cm, blankets-blankets on top, the smell seemed to be but not very pronounced, dried like the first 130-100-50 , but dried less in time. And I got it somehow awkward: the color is dark, there is no smell, I tried to brew a 3-day one - the color of tea is between black and strongly brewed green, the smell of a steamed birch broom (my son said so). In short, I'm still at a loss. Hopefully the smell will still show up after dry fermentation.
Yesterday I took another packet of fireweed. I traveled 40 km from the city, there is a lot of it, whole glades and islets in meadows. But when I picked it up, I noticed that the leaves were wet (I myself got wet to the waist), it felt like there was local rain. I spread the leaves between 2 linen sheets and rolled them into a roll, today my roll warmed up, but half of the leaves did not pass the crunch test, put them on a dry sheet, there seems to be no moisture while stirring the leaves. Do you think it is possible to put such a source material for tea or is it better to throw it away right away? And then in the coming days they promise to rain, but I really really want to prepare my own tea. There is still a lot of fireweed, on the shady side it has not even bloomed yet, only singularly, but in the sun everything is in bloom. Thanks to everyone, everyone for the topic and detailed instructions !!!

Last summer it was rainy and I was picking a wet leaf. Tea turned out

Can I brag

Now I brewed granulated tea 3 days ago:



Impressions: The color is super! Taste with light fruity sourness, a little knitting! Some kind of floral aroma, but so far subtle!
The second brew is the same!
That's it, I went to twist the second batch, and then sew bags for drying.
Thanks to all!!!

[Victory me]

Victory meWhat a beautiful and rich color you have!

[Victory me]

Victory me, wonderful tea!
I also have wet fireweed - Rain, rain, rain! I fizzle for two days.

[Victory me]

Victory me, welcome to the Tea Club. The tea is rich, looks beautiful, and even in cups with my favorite colors.

Girls, I have been making tea from Fireweed for the third year with you, I strictly follow all the instructions, the tea is delicious, beautiful, but I have never felt a honey or floral aroma, but I want it too. And I changed the fermentation time and tried the method of Zakhariya, I don't feel it. Maybe my nose is like that, although I can very much hear the aroma from garden plants. I will do it unambiguously, but I want it to turn out fragrant, honey.

Girls, thank you all for the warm welcome! With a photo of something messed up, why is it inserted upside down ???

[natushka]

natushka, I also do not feel honey and flowers too. At first I smelled everything every half hour. The smell is pleasant, maybe I don't know such flowers? ... When dry, the smell is also delicious. I also like tea, especially Ivanushka with cherries. Therefore, now I do not smell, I ferment for 5-8 hours and dry.

[Victory me]

Victory meWelcome to tea themes! We are very glad that more and more tea makers are joining us!
Thank you for such a detailed report! I think you made the tea. Sew your bags, hang to dry, then seal tightly and put away in a dark place. If now the tea is as you describe, then in a couple of months it will become wonderful. Your tea looks great - rich color, dark ... Great tea!
And read about "bath brooms" in the comments, which are referenced in the Notes to the recipe. But I think that you will not have any "bath".

I have been making tea from Fireweed for the third year with you, I strictly follow all the instructions, the tea is delicious, beautiful, but I have never felt a honey or floral aroma, but I want it too. And I changed the fermentation time and tried the method of Zachariya, I don't feel it. Maybe my nose is like that, although I can very much hear the aroma from garden plants. I will do it unambiguously, but I want it to turn out fragrant, honey.

natushka, I remember your "suffering" for the honey aroma from last year. And I remember how much we discussed this issue. It is a pity that you never found the reason for the absence of this smell. Natasha, understand the next thing - each stage is very important for the result. one "jamb" or a small inaccuracy is enough, and that's it, we get not the result, but which we expect. The smell comes from fermentation. It will only run correctly if the leaves are dried correctly and then the correct fermentation conditions are created. Fermentation is a chain of transformations of one substance into another. Chlorophyll gives the smell of grass. And during fermentation, chlorophyll is gradually destroyed and various aromatic substances are formed. If the fermentation conditions are violated, then the fermentation is inhibited at some point and does not go further. Therefore, it is important to create conditions and catch the most delicious and strong smell. You did not write to us how you make tea, how you dry it, how and what you store it in. Therefore, we are unlikely to tell you something. Please write in detail based on the questionnaire in the link. Maybe we can finally find where the dog is buried ...
Tea problems.What should be done to find the error?

[Ludmila]

Ludmila, yes, I do not just read all the topics of teas. I collect it in the forest near the garden, immediately go home, I have never collected more than 1-1.5 kg, we have little of it there. I sprinkle it on a cotton sheet with a layer of no more than 5 cm, lies in the room (not in the sun, the balcony is open), I often stir. How the middle vein of the leaf ceases to break with a crunch and the lump does not disintegrate, I scroll it in a meat grinder, put it in a suitable container by volume (a layer of 7-10 cm no more, measured with a ruler), cover it with wet gauze, with a lid on top, wrap it up (I tried different fermentation times), the temperature in the room is 24-26 degrees. Then I dry it in the oven (130 degrees) for a short time, by sight I already determine, the layer is no more than 1 cm, (the paper shines through), I often stir it up. Then I transfer it to a dryer (70 degrees), I also stir it, then into a calico bag for a day or two, and then transfer it to metal tea cans, plastic containers with a screw lid or into glass containers (also with a lid) and in a dark place in the corridor in a large cardboard box (postal). Mostly so, but I also tried the method of Zachariah with sweating, there is no smell of honey and flowers. From the garden scent I hear throughout the room, but Ivan-tea is not. I really want to achieve it, but if it doesn't work out, I will still make it, the tea is tasty and healthy, my nephews love it very much, I put them on my ears to look for where it grows more

[natushka, Natasha]

natushka, Natasha, and throughout the entire work with the leaves, the smell is monitored?
Here is a little tip on the smell for Ivan tea, can it help you test yourself at different stages?

The smell of willow tea

Collection - the smell is fresh, sour, reminiscent of sorrel.
In a bag on the way home the smell is clearly sour, sometimes it already gives in perfumery.
Withering - smell all over the room! With sourness, not only sorrel, but sour apples and very delicate perfumery.
Kneading / meat grinder - bright chewy apple. If the pellets get warmer in the process, it starts to smell sweeter.
Fermentation - the fruity smell increases, the sourness in the smell decreases even more, the aroma becomes sweeter.
Drying - the smell goes away, is sealed. Smells faintly, usually like black tea.
Dry fermentation - if ventilated regularly and allowed to breathe, it begins to smell of good black tea + raisins, dried fruits, honey.

P. S. in glass jars my tea smelled worse than in tin ...

Found last year's Macho - it smells of good black tea, you can't tell by sight and taste at all until you brew it. A sweetish aroma appears during brewing.

Girls, let's check our sensations by the smell of ivanchi at different stages! (Maybe I only hear these smells ... and confuse people ...)
Who has what peculiarities of perception? It's interesting!

Collection - the smell is fresh, sour, reminiscent of sorrel.

-Yes

In the bag, on the way home - the smell is clearly sour, sometimes it already gives off to perfumery.

-not smelled, hands are busy, loaded like a camel

Kneading / meat grinder - bright apple-cheese. If the pellets get warmer in the process, it starts to smell sweeter.

- I don't feel apple and sweet, they get warmer when grinding, more often the smell of grassy seems to me

Fermentation - the fruity smell increases, the sourness in the smell decreases, the aroma becomes sweeter.

- the smell is not bad, but I can't describe either honey or flowers, it's just tea-like, like when brewing ordinary tea, most likely

Drying - the smell is gone, sealed. Smells faintly, usually like black tea.

-Yes

Dry fermentation - if ventilated regularly and allowed to breathe, it starts to smell like good black tea + raisins, dried fruits, honey.

- just black tea, no fruit and honey.

-Yes
-not smelled, hands are busy, loaded like a camel

- I don't feel apple and sweet, they get warmer when grinding, more often the smell of grassy seems to me
- the smell is not bad, but I can't describe either honey or flowers, it's just tea-like, like when brewing ordinary tea, most likely
-Yes
- just black tea, no fruit and honey.

This is how I feel Honey and flowers do not smell But I continue to make Tea turns out wonderful After a few months some kind of fruity aroma begins to appear

Providence gave a hint that there are Kaporsky tea lovers on the Bread Maker forum. Hooray! Wandering alone through numerous articles and videos on YouTube, at last I am with you.
I'll tell you about my history of searching for smells.
Our fireweed is only blooming, you can easily find young plants in the shade. They picked up three packages. It was based on the video by A. Vyazemsky with two-stage frementations. 1. I stuffed the fireweed in tightly, tightly in glass jars, he stood in them for a day. When I pulled the leaves out of the jars, they smelled nice, some of it was a cut apple, some of it was just nice, I don’t know the smell, I wouldn’t call it honey, my own smell. 2. Pouring fireweed in a bowl, crush and shake, so that everything is mixed at random and the leaves are all squeezed. I screwed it up a bit in a meat grinder. 3. I put them in bowls and pots, covered with a damp cloth, pressed down with plates and lids and waited for honey with fruit. No honey! got into the net, read. Some ferment for a day, some two ... Left it overnight ... In short, everything sour. The first one was missing, the grinder, it got moldy. The rest began to smell like sauerkraut. Sad of course ...
For three days I was upset.
And they brought it the day before yesterday. Hunting is worse than bondage.
Spread it out on a sheet to wither. She put the box next to it. who crawls out, what animal is in his box. I rake and choose the snails ... I put some of them in the freezer in the evening. The rest of the morning shoved again into the banks. I had to run to the dacha. Therefore, they took it out of the freezer for a sample, washed it in a basin. I folded it in a plump slide on a plate and covered it with a damp cloth. The leaves were still cold, tactilely oily, not damp. Apparently withering within 6 hours affected. I was rushing from the dacha after 4 hours, it suddenly turned sour, the heat at home. I open the fabric, it smells like a fresh apple. The leaves have become olive green, not moist, moist. Dried, the smell is good, the color of the tea turned out to be dark brown.
In the evening, they took out the leaves from the jars, stirred them in a basin and just as tightly as a slide on plates. The first batch lay under the cloth for 4 hours. The hill is almost dry, the leaves have become semi-moist, the smell is the same as it was pulled from the jars, i.e. the smell returned. She didn’t try her luck any more in search of honey, but started drying. Here a smell similar to honey appeared. When the first baking sheet was prepared, she took the semi-cooled one with her palms and smelled it, a charming smell, very pleasant. The tea turned out to be black. Drying until 5 am)))) 4.5 liters of dry tea turned out. I tried to brew it, while I don't see much of the aroma, it smells good in the teapot, the infusion itself has no particular taste with sourness, the color is breathtaking, saturated with an amber tint. Maybe I made a hasty conclusion, but when I pulled the leaves out of the cans, there was a pleasant smell, the smell returned after kneading, it must be dried. If I'm wrong, I'll be glad to have a hint. Can he eat honey then?
When kneading, it is important to constantly unfold the leaves so that there are no green ones, they then stick together and dry poorly. All the tea is ready, but these sticky lumps are damp, you still have to dry.

[finished]

Just in case, let me remind you that a trace-honey smell can be in finished and brewed tea! Not during sheet processing.

regular tea

Here we would also agree on the smell
After all, all the black teas with which we compare ours are different! Some smell like a broom, but for others - ordinary tea. I compare my teas with the smell of my favorite Ceylon large-leaf Orange leaf Peko from Mabrok. Although, this is probably not so important ...

- I don't feel apple and sweet, they get warmer when grinding, more often smell herbaceous it seems to me

But this would alert me ... because when twisting I always I smell at least sorrel + sour apple. Well, the grass doesn't smell like that! Only the sorrel itself and its brethren.
Maybe somewhere something is not going according to plan for this stage?

And also the herbal smell is given by the stalks of ivancha. I mercilessly weed them out, tear them off and put them on the fiber. In tea they give exactly the herbal smell and brown color in granules and in infusion.

Although, if you like the finished tea itself, maybe you don't need to dig and search further?

Added Sunday, Jul 10, 2016 3:10 PM

Semblis, welcome to our topic!

According to your descriptions of the first tea time, it seems to me that you have not withered enough the fireweed leaf. That's why everything turned sour.
I also make tea almost by the method of A. Vyazemsky, but it's not about technology, but about the feeling of the leaf and the process.
Even if double fermentation is being carried out, you MUST first wilt the leaf, and then twist it in the sheets, etc.
Withering is almost the most important process. Don't neglect it!
Read the technology at the beginning of this topic - it has already been verified over the years, and the author of this topic has also studied the videos and articles of A. Vyazemsky, so the methods at key points almost coincide.

Thanks for mentioning the smell of the leaf while working with it. I am an ardent adherent of controlling the tea-making process by smell, and this method has never let me down.

Do not forget about dry fermentation - dry tea will take effect and pick up a smell not earlier than in three months! after proper storage.

Again about the sweetish-honey aroma (not honey! Honey tea has nowhere to come from, there will be only echoes, like in wine: someone even in expensive wine hears only a wine and yeast smell, and someone guesses the smell of toast, red berries, chocolate ) a raw leaf will never have it! It is useless to look for it! It will appear either during dry fermentation or in a cup of infusion.

[Tricia]

Tricia, Thank you! The first time I didn't dry it at all. In the second attempt I was sluggish. Somewhere I even saw a video when the sheet was kneaded, then squeezed, there is so much moisture in it, so withering is an important stage, and the insects on a light sheet are easy to collect))) I just gasped at what material you have accumulated in your subject! This is some kind of tea holiday!

[Semblis]

Semblis, be sure to dry! Whatever the technology, whatever the recipes, but without removing excess moisture and concentrating the necessary juices inside the leaf, there will be no correct fermentation.
Take a look at the Tea Gazebo, there is also a lot of information.
But I would advise you not to get hot, but to make tea according to some one recipe in order to fill your hand, to feel why, what and how is happening with the leaf and what algorithm as a result leads to delicious tea for you.
The main problem of our fellow tea-makers at the initial stage is a mess in their heads from the abundance of methods.
We have people on the forum from different regions and countries. Everyone adapts the tea-making process for themselves and their conditions. And the method that is suitable for tea-makers in the Crimea and the Kuban will not always give the same result as in St. Petersburg or the Ryazan region.
In any case, good luck with your tea business!

My son is 8 years old. first time gave flowers. Ivan brought a bouquet of tea from the trip. He's not big, I think it's okay if I processed all the boxes and tops and leaves together.

[Nataliya]

Nataliya, So touching! It is imperative to make tea and name the First Bouquet!

Victory me, Welcome to tea themes!

Lyudmila, thank you very much! Thanks to your labors, the number of tea-makers keeps increasing and multiplying. Low bow to you for this!

I made 2 more batches of tea: one with a 10 hour fermentation, one with a 20 hour fermentation. In my opinion, somewhere pierced. In any case, when I took out the mass, I did not feel that it was warm, normal, at room temperature. When I was drying, the strong aroma of something very tasty was felt only in the far rooms, and near the oven there was a smell of something similar to the smell of freshly cut grass. And this is in both cases.
I sewed wonderful bags, it turned out 4 pieces, now I'm finishing drying.

About today: what is unlucky and how to deal with it.
For half a day I thought to go - not to go for the next batch of fireweed. The sky was frowning, then the sun peeped out. The weather is the most - 20 gr. warm but not hot.All the same, I could not stand it - I went, just got to the cherished meadow - it started raining. I still picked up a bag and another small packet of tops (on the shady side near the forest, fireweed is much better), it is just picking up color, almost all the stems are "lonely", not bushy, easy to collect, little affected foliage. Here is dry land, I can't even imagine how long it will take to dry, I hope not all bacteria were washed away by the rain. Such is the sadness, melancholy, I hope the leaf will dry up and wither until tomorrow, otherwise I will go to work tomorrow, there will be no one to stir.
I barely left the forest - the road was washed out, it was saved by the fact that I was on an SUV.
But there is a couple of good news: together with my mother we typed a whole basket of butter-buttons and there will still be fireweed for now. Even quite young.
Good luck to everyone and aromatic tea !!!

And it seems to me that the smell is a completely subjective thing. To me, fireweed smells like flower honey, even in the leaves. They are constantly lying dry and smell very strong. I don't understand how this smell can be overlooked. But according to my feelings, there is no oxalic acid in it. In short, perhaps there is no smell, but you yourself perceive it somehow differently. I have now filled 10 pallets of isidri with fireweed flowers, and the leaves are just withering. I don’t pick flowers. It's a lot of work, it's just creepy. I cut off the inflorescences with scissors, and then at home I cut an armful of inflorescences across into fragments of 2 cm each and stand in the dryer.

I cut off the inflorescences with scissors, and then at home I cut an armful of inflorescences across into fragments of 2 cm each and stand in the dryer.

Nata, I do about the same, only I just cut off the inflorescences and completely into the dryer. And already dry, I just crumple with my hands and they easily break into smaller fragments, so as not to cut by 2 cm. Optimization of the process!

[Scarecrow]

Scarecrow, Nata,

And it seems to me that the smell is a completely subjective thing.

[Nata]

Nata, I completely agree about subjectivity !!! You honey, me a sour apple, wild sorrel, my husband - pineapples - to each his own.

My main thesis is that fireweed has this smell always!
And if the tea-maker does not feel it at any stage before drying, then it is worth sounding the alarm - something went wrong. Either they were overheated, or quail in a bag, or re-fermented, etc. And if the tea-food smells of grass ... then generally sadness ...

It is clear that we all have different olfactory characteristics. Someone smokes or there are smokers in the family, then the sensations shift to one steppe, someone else has some other factors that affect the perception of smell.

But properly processed fireweed does not smell of grass or silage at any stage of processing.

This is what I want to convey to my fellow tea-makers, so that in the early stages it is possible to identify mistakes and save raw materials and labor.

I can't figure out the smells yet. At the drying stage I smell like an apple, and at the fermentation stage - I don't know how to explain it - when I was at haymaking as a child, the meadow was mowed, there was sweet, and sour, and mint, just a little bit. But this is a very pleasant smell. This is my first time doing everything, I probably need experience, but this is definitely not silage!

[natushka]

I cover it with damp gauze, cover it with a lid on top, wrap it up (I tried different fermentation times), the temperature in the room is 24-26 degrees.

natushka, here I am now making wine. And wine-making sites recommend a fermentation temperature of 18 - 20 * When I lived in Russia, I had exactly this temperature there. And here in the house 25 - 26 *, and on the street - for 30 *. Winemakers warn that low-grade wine can be produced at such high temperatures. What is there to do? You can't put it in the basement - there are 15 *. And I followed the advice given by winemakers - to wrap the container with a bottle with a damp cloth. So interesting - literally in a couple of hours the temperature of the bottle dropped to 22 * ​​(I measure it with a contactless pyrometer).
So, I draw an analogy with our tea. Perhaps my hot weather blanket theory is wrong. After all, the mass is heated and at a temperature above 30 * the fermentation process is impossible. This is not what I say, but professional tea makers.
I remember my first years of tea-making were cool, rainy weather. At that time I did not wrap tea in blankets ... So, I noticed that the most delicious tea with a divine flower-honey aroma was obtained in those years when it was cold and I did not wrap the container with tea in anything during fermentation ... years of life in Russia were hot. And the tea did not have the same aroma as the first years, in cool weather.
Just don’t throw slippers at me and don’t ask why you told us then - to wrap up in blankets in the heat ... Guys, well, first of all, I’m not seven inches in the forehead. And no one taught me how to make tea - it was brewed in its own juice. And having come to HP with recipes, I tried with all my might to help everyone who asked questions. I advised Lucilia to wrap tea in blankets during fermentation when she said that she was not successful in tea. I spoke theoretically. And now, in practice, I checked all the erroneousness of my recommendations. So, forgive me if you can .. I take my words back! No need to wrap your tea in hot weather!
Let me remind you that the most fragrant tea I got in cool weather.
Natasha, you have 24 - 26 * in your house. This is more than necessary. And you wrapped it up. The temperature has clearly risen above 30 *. That's it, we ourselves kill our tea. Natasha, at least don't wrap it up now, at this temperature. Or maybe, like those winemakers, wrap it up with a wet cloth to cool the container. check, won't it be better? By the way, now I thought something ... My container with tea is always covered with a large cloth. It is damp ... Maybe that's why my tea doesn't overheat, that a wet cloth lowers the temperature?
Dear tea makers! I appeal to everyone with a request. Let's check this point, especially those who are hot right now. Unfortunately, I can't make Ivan tea now - it doesn't grow with me. So we will have a study.
Nastenka, you and I always have unity of thoughts ... But not this time:

ready-made and brewed tea can have a slightly honeyed smell! Not during sheet processing.

I always had such a smell during fermentation and drying ... Therefore, I wrote this in the recipe - the smell during fermentation is such that it is beyond words how good it is. And it is floral - honey! Not fruity. I recently wrote that I think that if Ivan-tea smells like prunes, I think that the tea did not work out for me ... Yes, it is delicious, but it does not have the honey-floral aroma that Ivan can and should have. tea at ALL STAGES, except for drying.
Now I'm pretty sure it depends on the temperature. Girls, try to keep your tea at a low temperature - no higher than the recommended temperature in the recipe. You will see that you will feel the honey aroma that many only dream of ... Well, I had it ... Until it got hot ... And today, preoccupied with my wine, I found a hint from the winemakers ... They say that you don't get good wine at high temperatures. Maybe it's the same with our tea?
Let's check?

[Victory me]

Victory me, don't be alarmed! I probably got everyone with this smell. But when I started and poked like a blind kitten in the sea of ​​information about when fermentation ends and when to start drying, it was the tips from experienced tea makers about the smell that helped me a lot.
What if my posts will help someone too?

Yesterday and today, my husband and I sniffed the deposits / leftovers of their tea.
It is a pity that I noticed late last year that the stems in the peduncles and young shoots give a brown color to the infusion and a herbaceous smell of tea. And she made little tea from leaves alone ...

Now I have before my eyes a jar with the most delicious last year's tea, which has lasted until this day, the tag says: 06/13/14/2015, drying - 12 hours, large leaf, meat grinder, fermentation - 24 hours, shock drying - 150 g C.
Dry tea smells like good black tea and remotely dry apples. It looks like black granules. Its infusion is brown-amber, like a regular black one. Taste without sourness and astringency, drinkable, pleasant. I brew with one small inflorescence of peppermint - indescribable deliciousness!

Leaf of the same collection smells different! Sweeter ...and it really puzzles me ...

Another observation: the taste of tea depends on the place where the fireweed grows. On a sunny meadow, without a shade, the leaf is coarser, the plant is smaller, brighter in color - sometimes redder, but tea made from it is more fragrant and tastier than from leaves of plants from shady gullies and meadows! There is no evidence left - all the sunny fireweed, which turned into tea with a raisin sweet aroma, and in dry and brewed form, we have already blown out.

Lyudochka! But Vyazemsky A. considers tea with the smell of prunes / fruits to be a successful tea! Eh, I should have changed your prune for my honey !!! And everyone would be happy!
Otherwise I am this honey
Here Macho is just the second year it turns out with a honey aroma, maybe it's young leaves that smell like that?

About the smell: yes, the smell is a subjective perception, but it is important for me to convey to the beginners that it must be there !!! And very nice! You - honey, me apples, someone blueberries at different stages.
And then I read that when twisting my colleagues it smells of grass ... and I faint ...

About the fermentation temperature: yes, in the heat I cool the tea in fermentation tanks. As already mentioned, in a basin or in a bath with cold water. Damp rags did not help me - they quickly heated up. I keep the temperature of tea during fermentation in the heat no higher than 26-28 grams, but it seems to me that this is a lot, and it is necessary to lower it, as you say, in order to prolong the fermentation. There will be an opportunity - I will try a long cool fermentation.

Dear girls, I still need your help, and urgently. I picked up the tops, which are still without peduncles. There the leaves are very soft and the "crunch" of the midrib is impossible to check, and I did not weigh the initial raw material. How to determine the drying time? Also the "lump method"? And can these leaves be wrapped tightly in cloth until tomorrow? And then it's too late, there is no strength to do anything. And tomorrow try to knead. I want to make loose leaf tea, the first one did not work out, but the leaves were much rougher there.

A thought has come to my mind now, maybe I just don't know how real meadow honey smells? They often bring linden and buckwheat to me, they have a completely different smell and taste too.

I collected in different places this year ... (in the past it did not work) ...
Where I fell off the bike, I typed there - there were leaves in the shade and in the sun)))
I think it will turn out sooo tasty (at least, from garden leaves last year I won everyone over)))

[Victory me]

Victory me, yes, the lump method works on all types of leaves.
If your young leaves are withered, roll them up in a sheet and put them in a cool place until morning. Roll out in the morning, look at the state of the sheet and either leave it to wither or take it for kneading.
If you have tops with stems, I advise you to carefully separate the panicles of leaves from the stems tomorrow, since the stems have a lot of moisture and they will give grassiness and brown color in the tea. Check out my recipe for

Italian macho hair (fermented willow leaf tea) (Tricia)

I posted there a photo of how I process young shoots.

If your leaf is not withered, roll it up in a sheet and put it away in the cool anyway, and tomorrow morning roll it out and wither first, and then knead and all the other joys.

[Tricia]

But Vyazemsky A. considers tea with the smell of prunes / fruits to be a successful tea!

Tricia, Nastenka, I'm afraid to say a seditious thought, but I have a discrepancy with Vyazemsky in this matter. I am more inclined to trust Odintsov and Grachev. They are for floral honey. And, of course, I trust myself more. I don’t like prune tea ... But - flower-honey - I fly away from it ...

Here Macho is just the second year it turns out with a honey aroma, maybe it's young leaves that smell like that?

I smelled like that - young, summer, and old ...

I keep the temperature of tea during fermentation in the heat no higher than 26-28 grams, but it seems to me that this is a lot, and it is necessary to lower it, as you say, in order to prolong the fermentation.

26 - 28 * - that's a lot unambiguous! But I am not saying that you need to prolong the fermentation.I say one thing - we focus not on time, but on the most delicious smell.
Victory meof course, wrap it up and make tea tomorrow. And check in the same way as other material - leaves compressed into a handful do not crumble.

there were leaves in the shade and in the sun)))

I just don't know what to think anymore! Logically, in the sun and fruits are all tastier, sweeter and more aromatic. So, maybe with a leaf the same way - more fragrant.

The tea will be excellent, and I have no doubt!

Nastya, thank you very much !!!! I have already separated the leaves from the stems, there are leaves from 1 cm to 8-10 cm. And for the link - I'll go read!

But - flower-honey - I fly away from him ...

Eh, I wish I knew it early ... all the honey Macho would give you! Yes, I read the topic inattentively, razzing.
Just don't hit with your slippers, but this honey doesn't suit me at all, neither this year, nor this ...

So it turns out that we newbies now need to ask what flavor in the finished tea is preferable for them.
And we will have different tea technologies!

In general, we are now trying to help Natasha Natasha, so this conversation arose. Otherwise, maybe I would not have understood what's what ... And if not for my wine. Now it's 20 * on the street and I took my bottles there. let it cool, and tomorrow, as the temperature starts to rise, I will bring it back into the house and wrap it up with a wet cloth.

[lappl1]

lappl1, Lyudochka, is it possible to put the fermenting mass in the refrigerator for cooling for a short time. In the south, from Tuesday, it is predicted above +35, who does not have an air conditioner, then the temperature in the room is the same.

[Vinokurova]

Where I fell off my bike, there I got

Vinokurova, AlenKaAnd I didn’t know that you, too, joined the tea maniacs with us, and I don’t know ...

In-in! Thats exactly what I mean! Enta Alenka as that shot, ripe everywhere! But it's good that we are!
Nasten, did I tell you that you are smart? And I'll tell you more! So you paint meticulously and clearly, you want to read and read like a good investigative detective.
The further into the forest, the more ... no, not firewood, but questions and opinions. When withering, I always have the smell of flowers and honey, during fermentation it may or may not be, but in general, the aroma is always present. The temperature was also an ambush, the day before yesterday's tea stood under the pillows, but in the morning it was cold, went to the greenhouse, then moved into the house again, but aromaaat! But there is Ivanushka with cherries, there are no options!

Enta Alenka as that shot, ripe everywhere! But it's good that we are!

Aha! And I mean the same

Nasten, did I tell you that you are smart?

And I, did I say? Exactly, clever girl! I read and every time I am amazed, you have to keep track of everything so to the smallest detail and communicate it to everyone

[francevna]

Lyudochka, is it possible to put the fermenting mass in the refrigerator for cooling for a short time.

francevna, Allochka, are you talking about tea? Allochka, well, I don’t know ... Something called me Chef the tea guru, but, apparently, you need to deprive me of this title. Lenusik is right, the further into the forest, the more ... Well, how should I know how to deal with tea? I've been breaking my head for as many years as I've been doing tea. In the first years I didn't bother too much - I did it as it was done. The tea turned out to be stunning. Or did all the conditions match? And now I feel responsible for people ... And I invent bicycles, which have long been known to the tea industry. But they have developed technology and proper conditions for centuries, and we have kitchen technology ... And, most importantly, now I cannot test my theory in practice - I do not have Vanechka, and I do not expect Vanechka, and with garden roastuchs it is a little easier - there are smells do not change dramatically. This Vanechka is unique here - she develops her own special aromas and tastes during fermentation.
So, I don't know ... I can reason purely theoretically. And refrigerators ... Purely theoretically, I am against - we will not control the temperature every minute - we will leave it for the night and fall asleep. And why does our tea need such low temperatures and surges? At temperatures below 15 *, fermentation ends. And it is not known how the process will go afterwards ... And tea is not wine. It doesn't take long. You can put it in a bowl of cool water if you don't like a wet cloth or refrigerator. Or postpone tea until the weather is better. But you can't put off wine - it takes months to cook. Moreover, from seasonal berries. The berry cannot wait. So you have to be sophisticated ...
But the daily use of wet cloth on a bottle of wine is very good for now. I took one bottle outside at night, and left the second one with a wet cloth at home - both there and there 19 *, although the house was 23 * and fermentation is in progress - in fact, the temperature should increase.
PS By the way, in China and India in pre-industrial times, workshops in which tea is fermented were made on the north side so that not a single ray of sunlight would enter the workshop and heat it up and, accordingly, tea. And the workshops were made without windows, but simply with a canopy, so that there was a constant movement of air.

Lyudochka, but how interesting it is to live! Learn, experiment, get something different and enjoy it!
That's how I thought, how many geniuses gathered here, in tea themes! Well, let not geniuses, but talents, definitely!