Ivan tea (fermentation of fireweed leaves) - master class

[Nadia, dear]

So the most delicious tea is obtained from such withers.

Nadia, dear! Let me kiss you! That's exactly the way it is with me!

because it is written that the longer the fermentation, the richer the taste, but the weaker the aroma, and the less - the strong aroma, but the weak taste

Tatyana, and after fermentation 26-30 hours I have the most fragrant and thickest tea. So in this matter you can only rely on personal experience.

Since last year, Fuzzy has stayed with me - it smells like dry fruit !!! When I brew the guests, they ask what the granules are with the apple skins, right? Nope, I say, one herb - Ivan-tea - his boxes. The people are soooo surprised. But he himself is in no hurry to go to the meadows.

Nadia, my dear! Let me kiss you! That's exactly the way it is with me!

But he himself is in no hurry to go to the meadows.

Now, everyone wants it ready for free ...

after fermentation 26-30 hours the most fragrant and thickest tea

That is thick in taste - I willingly believe, but with aroma - not for me. Next year, purely for the sake of interest, I will try again, I had the longest - 22 hours. I'll try longer.

I am for advice from experts.
I made tea through the meat grinder Ivan.
Then I thought about it and decided to do it in a way where the leaves are kneaded and not scrolled.
I collected it, my son kneaded ... and ...
So it started spinning that I forgot to ferment and, having dried it safely, I realized that something was wrong.
What tell the experts, what did it get at the fine ???

Dried willow tea.
Take it away and drink it like a medicinal tea.

[Kokoschka]

Kokoschka, LilyI think it will taste more herbal. Maybe while it was crumpled a little and fermented.
I would put it away for dry fermentation, and after a few months taste

elena kadiewa, Helen, how are you? What are you doing? I rarely meet you ...

Yes, the girls only have to do it, then I'll compare the taste.
Already hanging in a pillowcase ...

About the time and "put your soul".
There are two cans in the photo. There is only one technology (drying, drying ...).
Left jar fermentation - 30 hours, right (!) - 48 hours.
My hands are tired of spinning "rolls", they are filonil, they have thickened worse, soaked in juice less evenly, here is the result.
The leaf, however, is from different settlements, but the places of collection are similar.

on the left - 30 o'clock, on the right - 48, but it seems that the other way around. I haven't drank my left yet, I'm drooling. I drank the right one, a middle between black and green, with my method of brewing (bathhouse) the tea turns out to be black.

[Citizen]

And so far I liked the one where everything is together - leaves, flowers, boxes, here it is the richest in taste.

And I'm doing this now)) Thanks to Lenusa-Kadieva for the tip.
And I collected raw materials not on my own plot, where in May I cut off a stalk near Ivanushka (I was already late there, I started pushing it), but came across the Alevschina, in June, not far from us, a forest was burning, firemen were extinguishing it. And on the edge of the conflagration, the fire licked off all the grass, including fireweed, the roots did not suffer and gave a lot of new growth to me until September.

Citizen, Igor, but did you try to knead the sheet like dough? And the hands do not get so tired as when rolling sausages, and a meat grinder is not used, and the result is similar to how when rolling sausages, large leaf tea comes out.

[Natalo4-ka]

Natalo4-ka, Natasha, what a gorgeous Ivan tea! And the leaves are tender and there are a lot of buds! I envy white envy ...

[Natalo4-ka]

Natalo4-kaAll that remains is to look at the photo and lick your lips.

God grant memory, it cost 350 rubles, then it went up.

Muscovites bought and raised the price

All sorts of pro-Russian / Slavic sites began to come across ...

Aha, he drank that he reconstructed the Temple.

So, what else? .. Our Khvoinin residents began to produce a series of teas and Ivan-Tea and pine cone jam (new) ... I will find links, - I will drop them.

If it is possible in more detail, I am engaged in the distribution of healthy food, I was looking for such a jam for wholesale supplies, give me a contact?

Natalo4-ka, Natasha, I'll try it next year already.
Veleslog, I'll find it later, unsubscribe.

[Elena kadiewa, Lenchen]

Elena kadiewa, Lenchenwhy don't we sleep? I don’t call skype, it’s late. And the ladies don't sleep.

The tea is being dried.

[elena kadiewa]

elena kadiewa, understandably. And I thought again Lina won't sleep
Lina,

Yeah, she doesn’t give it ... she’s salting cucumbers with tanks!

Yeah, she doesn’t give it ... she’s salting cucumbers with tanks!

Hurrah! to Lina for cucumbers.

Veleslog, so far only such information. I will find out more, unsubscribe:
...//
about Ivan-Tea jam and pine cone jam. Moderators, but no other way.

Dear tea lovers! I also decided to join you.
In my country house, Ivan-tea grows - like one of the weeds in my weeds. I used to try to fight him, but now, after reading this topic, I decided to turn it from a weed into a cultivated plant.
In general, so. From my plot, just 1 kg has gathered. leaves. I withered them. The weather was warm, but damp, it lasted for about a day. She was stirring everything up, filming the snails, the smell was very good, not hay, but some kind of tea aroma.
Then I collected the leaves and froze them. Well, I had no other choice - there is no oven at the dacha, I would have nowhere to dry (I had not ripened before drying in a pan).
The leaves spent a couple of weeks in the freezer, when they moved from the dacha to the city, they probably thawed slightly, but not a fact.
Yesterday I decided to make this tea. I defrosted it since night and then the first disappointment - the smell became some strongly herbal, like that of raw spinach, for me - so rather unpleasant.
In general, I dried the leaf a little - it was wet, rolled it through a meat grinder and put it on fermentation. Immediately after the meat grinder, the mixture was quite hot - 35 degrees. I had to put the bowl in cold water and after a while the temperature dropped to 28-29 degrees. This was then until the end of fermentation.
Unfortunately, not after 3 or 6 hours, I did not develop a strong floral-fruity aroma, as described in the recipe. Yes, the grassiness has decreased, but it has not disappeared at all.
In general, I fermented for 16 hours, then dried. The smell may not be entirely silage, but still I somehow imagined it differently, based on how the drying leaf smelled.
Tell me, maybe I'm just wrong in my expectations? For example, I do not like green tea at all, for me it is a herb-herb. So I won't like Ivan-tea either? Or will dry fermentation change everything?
In general, somehow while I'm sad

[SvetaI]

SvetaI, Svetlana, with a start!
In the recipe itself Ludochka-lappl1 writes like this:

When you first taste it, do not try to immediately compare the taste with something you already know, do not try to understand what it looks like. Fireweed tea is unlike anything, it has its own taste, its own and unique. Enjoy this taste!

Nobody knows whether you like this tea or not now. But he needs to take it out, definitely. Well, the aroma and taste are always different, it seems that you do the same, but it is different. You will also have a strong aroma, if, of course, you make Ivan-tea and blast, do not give up, and as a result, you will develop your own personal algorithm, the result of which you will be satisfied

Thank you very much. Their price tag is not very modest. I am fighting for the maximum availability of Ivan tea for ordinary people. But we will look at the jam.

[Cosmos, Lidochka]

Today I became the owner of a very tasty, fragrant, flower-honey and sweet-tasting tea. Now there is something to compare purchased teas with.
Cosmos, Lidochka, thank you very much to you and my husband for such tea, made with love.
Dream: to gather everyone in the Gazebo with their teas, arrange a tasting and enjoy. ..

SvetaI, Svetlana. In vain, it seems to me that you artificially lowered the temperature, stopped, so to speak, the natural process. My heart always bleeds when, while carrying the collected leaves, my temperature rises incredibly in my bag ... and I have to slow down this process, pour out the bulk for the bulkhead. When I spit the thread and there will be a party with bugs and snails.

[Natalo4-ka]

In vain, it seems to me that you artificially lowered the temperature, stopped, so to speak, the natural process

Do you think in vain? It seems to be written there at the beginning,

Too high temperature and overexposure are dangerous - tea acquires the smell of low-grade tea. The optimum temperature for the fermentation process is between 22 and 26 ° C. Below 15 ° C the fermentation process stops, at a temperature of 15 - 20 ° C its beginning is noted, above 30 ° C part of the soluble fermentation products, which give strength and "body" to the infusion, goes into an insoluble state, at the same time the pleasant aroma of tea is lost

So I was afraid.

Added Monday 08 Aug 2016 4:07 PM

Well, the aroma and taste are always different, it seems that you do the same, but it is different.

Natalo4-ka, thanks for the kind words, I was just upset, there was such a pleasant smell when withering, and it was almost unpleasant after the freezer.
Maybe you can't freeze it?
After the freezer, my blackberry smells awesome of cherries. I have not fermented yet, put it in to freeze again.

[SvetaI]

SvetaI, Please do not be discouraged! I also have been making tea recently, only a month. And, too, everything was waiting for the smell. Apparently, I made the first teas with mistakes, and only now I realized what smells the girls were talking about. Today, during fermentation, my tea smelled stupefying! No, magical, delicious. It probably smells like that in paradise. Don't give up your tea endeavors, everything will definitely work out!

Today, during fermentation, my tea smelled stupefying! No, magical, delicious. It probably smells like that in paradise.

In, and I so want !!! And what is irreparable with this?
And most importantly - what is the mistake? This year I will no longer have the opportunity to repeat it, I still don’t understand anything ...

[SvetaI]

And what is irreparable with this?

SvetaI, Svetlana, dont be upset! To dry it up !, and then to dry fermentation. Everything will be fine with him ... in 2-4 months. Must wait

although I, in secret, made my first tea by pulling out a pinch from the dryer, when it was not yet dry

And so far I liked the one where everything is together - leaves, flowers, boxes, here it is the richest in taste.

So I did it that year and decided this. But since I still taste better Ivanushka's mixes with garden and spicy scents, then I published reports in the FC.

[mince after fermentation]

Good day! Garden plants (apple, pear, raspberry cherry, etc., when twisted through a meat grinder, give excellent taste when brewed both in mono teas and in various mixes. But in meat grinder fireweed, like many here on the forum, I cannot catch in the finished tea this flower-honey-fruitiness.Although it was during fermentation, but when it was dried it was no longer.And so I decided to do it in a new way: I froze a well-dried leaf (I collected it in August, a little rough) I took it out of the freezer and broke it still completely frozen right in this bag, then it warmed up to room temperature and I kneaded it well (like dough). Then under oppression and fermentation for 8-9 hours at 27 degrees (hot at home). When dried it smelled of dried fruit. Now on dry fermentation in a glass jar under a nylon lid. Until I try, I'll wait a month. I also want to try mince after fermentation ... But it still has to be kneaded for fermentation, so the process is still laborious. But it is more convenient to store a meat grinder (it takes up little space) Who does not like the taste and smell after a meat grinder, try manual and experiment with freezing.All pleasant and successful tea and tea drinking.

[SvetaI]

SvetaI, Svetlana, I also had my first tea, as I think, did not work out. Just a month has passed somewhere and today I was brewing it. I have tried it before, like all my teas. At first, as I did, and after a couple of weeks. And just as at first I didn't like it, I don't like it now. You can drink, but not that ...
But other teas I have turned out much better. And immediately, without dry fermentation, they were very tasty. And this is not only my opinion, my mother and I tried it together.
Maybe it really wasn't worth freezing?

Added Monday 08 Aug 2016 7:34 PM

And, well, I did not make a meat grinder, but a sheet
Granular not so much.

[SvetaI]

SvetaI, Svetlana, welcome to our tea company! Yes, your first experience with Ivan-tea is not very successful. But don't worry - you didn't get just one tea, and even that is not a fact. The girls have already written to you that let them lie down for at least a couple of months. And from myself I will add the following.
Firstly, it is better not to freeze not old willow-tea leaves. They then give a lot of juice after the meat grinder. Excess juice prevents proper fermentation. They may even suspend it altogether. I wrote about this in the recipe. This is what the Chinese say and I was convinced of this myself. Consider a lot of juice - no fermentation. And there is acidification and other unpleasant processes. You can only freeze old leaves of willow-herb, but after thoroughly withering in a cloth.
Secondly, you were carrying tea in the car. During thawing, fermentation began, since during freezing the cell membranes burst, the juice came out and the process started. Though weak, but nevertheless the emotion took place. You brought the leaves and began to ferment them again. But the excess juice prevented the process from going as it should. Ferment as much as you like - the process has stopped. All! It was necessary to dry after 3 - 4 hours, maximum, after 6 - 7. My favorite tea is generally 3-hour fermentation. During dry fermentation, it becomes simply magical, from year to year it gets better and better.
Thirdly, indeed, there was no need to reduce the temperature artificially. I wrote in the recipe that due to oxidative processes, the mass is self-heating and this heat is enough for the fermentation to take place. There is no need to be afraid of a warm mass at the very beginning. The heat will subside very soon. I wrote in the comments that cooling the mass at normal room temperature is a sign of the end of fermentation. As a rule, the mass begins to cool down after 3 hours. At the same time, a strong honey-floral aroma begins to appear. I often read that tea makers do not have this aroma. It's strange for me to read. Because IF EVERYTHING IS DONE CORRECT, then after three hours this aroma appears and does not disappear anywhere - neither during drying, nor during dry fermentation. It only intensifies from year to year. Now I am drinking tea in 2013. The smell is stunning! I can't breathe them. And after all, my tea is not very good. correctly - in disposable plastic containers. So, if someone did not feel the honey-floral aroma, it is worth thinking about punctures during the preparation of tea.

And most importantly - what is the mistake? This year I will no longer have the opportunity to repeat it, I still don’t understand anything ...

SvetaI, Sveta, I tried to show your mistakes. And tea is a profitable business. Those who are not mistaken will not fully understand the process. But if this calms you down even a little, then I will say that when I just started making tea, there was practically nowhere to take information for me. And take advice too. So, I threw out the first few batches of tea - it sour, then the groin was silage, then it turned out without any aroma, then it was slippery. But I'm stubborn. Since they wrote that this is divine tea, then I decided at all costs to achieve the same result. And she did it! And you will succeed. I'm sure of that! So don't worry! Good luck to you!

[Citizen]

Moderators, but no other way.

Citizen, inactive links can be given.
In general, there is a personal person for such things, if you really, really want to, but you can't ...

Dear tea makers! Due to technical problems, I dropped out of the Internet for almost a month and, accordingly, from tea topics. I apologize for not being able to respond to all messages. My Internet is still weak, but it is there. So I will try to read everything that was written here without me and, if possible, answer questions. Although I see that the newcomers did not remain unaccompanied. Thanks to everyone who helped them and answered questions.

[Vika71]

Vika71, I generally knead the frozen))) that is, I take it out of the freezer, disassemble what is frozen and immediately knead it. Your idea to twist after fermentation is interesting and must be tried. I saw just yesterday a video from the production of Ivan-tea, they twist it before fermentation and again after, the second scrolling is explained by the fact that excess air is squeezed out, you get even plump sausages)))

[Ludmila]

Ludmila, lappl1, many thanks for such a detailed debriefing. Everything is as you wrote. This year it will hardly be possible to make work on the mistakes, but I hope my tea plot will not go anywhere and next year I will do everything right.
But I still have blackberry leaves and a garden mix in the freezer, maybe it will work better with them.

[SvetaI]

SvetaI, Light, health! I am sure that everything will be OK!

But I still have blackberry leaves and a garden mix in the freezer, maybe it will work better with them.

And there are practically no problems with gardening problems. Here they can withstand freezing perfectly. We can say that freezing is created for them.

Your idea to twist after fermentation is interesting and must be tried. I saw just yesterday a video from the production of Ivan-tea, they twist it before fermentation and again after, the second scrolling is explained by the fact that excess air is squeezed out, you get even plump sausages)))

Semblis, Marinayes, re-scrolling after fermentation gives great results. We have some girls doing this. Everyone is happy. And the granules are denser, and the volume of the finished tea is less - it's easier to store. And when brewing, the granules do not disintegrate. But it is not necessary to scroll after fermentation. You can simply twist twice in front of it. The result is practically the same. I really like double scrolling. Try it, maybe you will like it.

[lappl1]

lappl1Lyudochka, please clarify this phrase "IF EVERYTHING IS DONE CORRECTLY, then after three hours this aroma appears and does not disappear anywhere - neither during drying, nor during dry fermentation". But after all, they wrote that when the temperature rises during the drying process, the smell decreases and disappears with further drying. And that the finished tea does not smell. When making tea, I was guided by this factor when making tea. My ready-made freshly made tea has a faint smell of tea.

[mironirina]

mironirina, Irina, everything is correct for you, do not worry.
I meant that three hours after the start of fermentation, a strong floral-honey aroma appears. And while drying in the oven, there is a stunning smell of tea throughout the house. In the house (I repeat) ... But itself ONLY DRIED TEA from the oven already practically odorless. And when we pour it into a bag and hang it out to dry it, then the tea gets some moisture from the air, due to which the smell appears again. And then dry fermentation takes place in a jar, due to the residual moisture content of 2 - 5%. This same moisture gives us the scent again.
I just want to remind you that a dry product (any, not just tea) practically does not smell. But since it is difficult for us to dry tea so that it is absolutely dry (and this is not necessary - we need 2 - 5% moisture), a faint, faint smell is still present.

I just want to remind you that a dry product (any, not just tea) practically does not smell.

Lyudmila, and even after drying my tea has a smell. I opened a tin can, and he smells there too. I did something wrong?

Nina, re-read what Lyudmila wrote to you. You have not understood anything.

Nina, re-read what Lyudmila wrote to you. You have not understood anything.

Garik, thanks. I got it.

[ninza]

Lyudmila, and even after drying my tea has a smell. I opened a tin can, and he smells there too. I did something wrong?

ninza, Nina, everything is correct! After drying in the bag, the tea "picked up" moisture from the air. It is not enough, but it is moisture that makes it possible to smell. And from the oven we get dry tea. Maybe there is moisture, but inside the granules, it is sealed, so to speak. Because of this, we do not smell. I repeat - a dry product (any) does not smell anything. If it smells, then it is no longer dry.
And in the bank, he simply has to smell. If it doesn't smell, then you just dried it out. But since there is a smell in the jar, that's great, it means dry fermentation is in progress. The main thing is that IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE OVEN, it has no or almost no smell. If the tea smells IMMEDIATELY AFTER OVEN, then we have not finished drying it. and it will become moldy during storage.
So, Nina, don't worry. everything is OK.

[lappl1]

Hello dear tea makers! The theme is awesome! Special thanks a lot lappl1, Lyudmila!
I am a neophyte, with glowing eyes and hands shaking with impatience! I read a bunch of conflicting sites, my head is a complete mess, and now, having made a bunch of mistakes, I came to you, making sure that you have the most reliable place to gain experience in tea making!
I read the topic for several days, and I seem to have found the answer to the most pressing question for today. But just in case, I’ll ask your opinion. Mixing all the tips in a bunch, I washed the leaves, dried them and dried them for a long time, stuffed them into the freezer, in the city they turned the thawed ones in a meat grinder, I tamped them tightly in a bowl, and even put a weight on top!
In the morning, after ten hours of fermentation, it seemed to me that there was no fermentation at all - the smell of herbal, before leaving for work I packed a bowl of tea under a warm blanket. Upon my return, the smell of sour silage awaited me. My hand did not rise to throw it away, and I brought it to the end. I dried it for 100g for an hour, and then dried it for 30 minutes for 50g. All this happened on weekends and Monday. Still lukewarm I brewed ... the smell and taste of sour tea. I almost burst into tears. But to throw away the hand did not rise again. We decided to try again last night. And - oh, miracle, the taste is completely different! Quite a tea taste to itself, not super, of course, but not the same guard that happened the day before!
Is it worth sending this tea to ripen, does it have a chance to become a real Ivan Koporsky tea?

So, Nina, don't worry. everything is OK.

Lyudochka, thanks! Today I am already finishing dry leaf tea. I will then compare granular with sheet. Thank you again for your help and support.

[RinaM]

RinaM, Marina, I have not thrown out any of my last year's "joint" (as I thought then). Opened the last three liter can yesterday not counting the one that says "open in 2023! all the tea was delicious! One is super, the other is not such a fragrant tea. BUT! everyone has a right to be. Even those that were not immediately fragrant, after 3 months. smelled of caramel
You, of course, messed up a lot (washed, plump grinder we put a weight and a weight), but Ivanushka forgives us everything. Study the recipe, ask what is not clear, but the elite Ivan-tea is ahead of you!

[RinaM]

RinaM, although I am also a novice in the tea business, but in my opinion, after the freezer, and even twisted, 4 maximum 6 hours for fermentation. I also watched videos, read the forums, I read almost the entire topic with comments. I made a conclusion for myself, I admit it was terrible, I don't like this smell, which is called fruity, I clearly feel it, just like you, apparently, I was expecting the wrong smell. Bring the leaves home, shake them out of the bags, do you smell it? This is the same smell that should be with proper fermentation, that is, after processing (twisting, kneading), the smell returns, it becomes clearer, and as Lyudmila correctly wrote above, this happens after 4-6 hours.Another heavenly, fruity, floral during fermentation or whatever I didn’t wait for, I fermented it and everything was in the trash. When I take out a leaf from the freezer, I disassemble the frozen layers, the smell of a freshly chopped apple, knead, the smell of grass, put it on fermentation, after 3-4 hours the smell of fresh apple returns, a little later after 5-6 hours the smell appears, which is needed. Why is the time shift, I knead the frozen leaf, the mass is still warm ...

[Natalo4-ka]

Natalo4-ka, Thank you! Inspired!
Yes, I "tried" from the bottom of my heart! This was my second attempt. A week earlier, I picked up quite a few leaves, and went more or less the right way - did not wash, wilted, twisted rolls with my hands, fermented, covered with a damp cloth and under oppression. But that time, the amazing smell from Ivanushka was immediately, as soon as she spread the leaves on the sheet. The whole house was fragrant with something amazingly tasty, honey-fruit. There was no herbal smell. I put it for fermentation overnight in the sauna (just heated) on the lower shelf. It was warm enough there, but nothing turned sour by morning. I dried it in a small electric oven, right in the country. There is no temperature reading on it, so I set the twist using a scientific poke method. The tea was good, but green.
I almost read the first post with the recipe by heart, and while reading the topic I consolidated my knowledge. I would rather rush to the dacha and continue experiments while Ivanushka is still growing. We have the last site, bordered by a forest, and 50 meters to the Ivan-tea thickets. All summer I waited for it to bloom, but for some reason the panicles were green, without flowers. And only when she saw that in the field Ivan-tea was already piling in full force, she rushed to check her own. Either the peduncles were beaten with a hail, or for another reason, but there are few flowers, young layers grow on the sides on the stem. So I missed it, I realized late. The idea of ​​making your own tea has been wandering in my head for a long time, and only this year it took shape. And so ... I jumped into almost the last carriage.

Added Wednesday 10 Aug 2016 10:23 AM

Semblis, Marina, I decided for myself to follow Lyudmila's recommendations, regardless of my perception of smells and colors. I love to "gag" to create, but until the time has come for it, first you need to master the basics.

young layers grow on the sides on the stem

It seems to me that there is not one tea in your village
Fireweed gives lateral shoots after breaking off the main stem.
Or maybe the cattle ate, or mowed him down.
On the trail. do not expect flowering for a year, we are starting to cook it here when it rose 30-50 cm from the ground. And then, all summer, we harvest to varying degrees of "maturity". All is good! Each in its own way.

[RinaM]

RinaMMarina, probably, the reason was the load. I tortured the people on this score, the experts said, knock on the pan with meat-handed tea, so that he rammed himself, and that's it. No cargo needed. Apparently some kind of air must be between the granules for gas exchange. Well Lyudochka will come and tell you in detail.