Ivan tea (fermentation of fireweed leaves) - master class

I don't know what I have with Ivan-tea ... when I just dried it, the aroma was unspeakable, now it doesn't smell at all ((. Maybe it's not in a very tight metal box? And I have 3 liters of it, that is several batches are mixed.

[Lyudochka!]

Lyudochka! That's what it means to want to STRONGLY !!! I started looking for "Fireweed, buy in Ukraine" in a search engine and then .... I just attacked a store located 20 km from my house! And there are both seedlings and seeds. I decided to buy seedlings (rhizome) ... and here the husband is just nearby, sent him and he will bring him now !!! As many as 5 roots! Now I will plant and cherish them! Wish me good luck!

[Natusichka]

Natusichka, we have whole fields, meadows, forests of this fireweed .... it's a pity not to send it via the Internet ...

sorry not to send over the internet.

Yeah ... sorry ...

[Natusichka]

Natusichka, I really hope that you will find fireweed at your place. After all, he is growing somewhere. Encyclopedias will not write in vain.
How glad I am that you have found fireweed rhizomes for sale. But how will you plant it now? Is the earth frozen? If it's not a secret, how much does one root cost?
I wish you great luck in breeding this wonderful herb.

I don't know what I have with Ivan-tea ...

Galya, there could be some aroma during drying. At first ... But if you dry it, then the smell of paper will remain. You couldn't determine the moment when it was already enough to dry, especially in a frying pan, where drying takes place quite differently than in the oven. I tried drying in a pan a couple of times and gave up this idea. Uneven drying is obtained. Some tea leaves are overdried, while others are wet.
Therefore, I dry in the oven and try to leave the tea a little damp than dry it out, and then in the turned off cooling oven it comes to a normal state. In general, you need to keep your ears open during drying. Of course it is sad. How does it taste? Smart people write that we can get either taste or aroma. Or a bias towards taste, or towards aroma. And balance is difficult to achieve.

[Natusichka]

Natusichka, will you tell us later about your experiences in growing fireweed? You are welcome! It will be very interesting for us.

[Luda,]

Luda, yesterday my husband bought 5 roots, 10 hryvnyas each, and yesterday he planted ... we have a thaw on the street "0", and very wet earth.
I really hope that at least some bush will survive! It is VERY HOT in our summer !!! The sun is scorching, it will be difficult ... but God willing, something will grow. I will definitely unsubscribe later what I can do.

Natusichka, so I doubt something about planting, at 0 degrees they will not take root, I would urgently dig up and overexpose until spring on the balcony or in the basement, sprinkling it with earth. If there will be frosts, and there will be no snow, they will definitely freeze out !!! And shade with something from the scorching sun. (We would have a little bit of your sun, scorching))

UAH 10

how much is it in rubles today ??
ooooooo .. I'm fainting !!!! 35 rubles! If you only knew what field I collect it next to the dacha !!! (what business should you do)))))

[Natusichka]

Natusichka, congratulations on your purchase and landing. And I would leave them in the ground. Nothing will happen to them. I remember I was on a business trip in January, in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. On the street - minus 40 *. And the gardening service is planting tree seedlings all over the city. They hammer the ground with road equipment and lower the seedling directly into these holes. I asked the Deputy Akim (Mayor) about such a strange timing for landing. to which he replied that they always plant trees like this - everyone takes root. Let's hope that Natasha will be all right.Natasha, we hold our fists for your roots. I hope everything will be all right.

I say something to my tea, I tasted it yesterday, but it's just delicious !!! Astringent, who does not know finally can not distinguish from tea from tea leaves!

[lappl1]

lappl1, Lyudochka, of course trees are planted like that, but this is another matter! Okay, shut up, leave in the ground
The trees have just roots, and here is the rhizome, which contains the juices ...

Okay, shut up, leave in the ground

Eh no! Do not be silent! Well you are our specials! And I do not even understand how the rhizome differs from the root. So explain. otherwise Natasha is trying. I wish everything was good!

I say something to my tea, I tasted it yesterday, but it's just delicious !!! Astringent, who does not know finally can not distinguish from tea from tea leaves!

Well, thank God! My heart relieved! And in order not to roll a barrel for your tea next time, first brew yourself a store. Then then it will seem to you that you are in Paradise ..

I found it: The most favorable time for transplanting Ivan-tea plants is early spring and early autumn (September-early October). Plants can be transplanted at the end of spring, but it is necessary to provide them with good care - timely watering, feeding.
Lyuda, I’m just sorry if Natusichka ruins what I bought.

Yes, I'm sorry too. What about the difference in climate? It's warm there in winter. Does this somehow affect the landing time?
I hope Natasha will make the right decision.

if I'm not mistaken, they have minus 20 without snow ...

I hope Natasha knows what she is doing. I think that the site should write a way application landing ...

Lyudochka, just in December, even with their climate, he will not be able to take root ...

Clear! Natasha, answer me !!!! We are worried !!!!

[Girls!]

Girls! Tell me what to do? GUARD!!!!!!!

And what I bought at such a price ... then I had no choice either ...
Girls, how does this plant grow, a bush?

[Natusichka]

Natusichka, I express my purely my opinion, I would urgently dig up and overexpose at home. Buds are formed on its rhizome and one branch grows from each bud, the height under favorable conditions can be up to 150-200 cm! If you cut the leaves after the first harvest in June, they will grow back for the second harvest. You can just pinch the crown, then numerous young shoots will go from the internodes and this one long lash will turn into a lush bush)

[Natusichka]

Girls! Tell me what to do? GUARD!!!!!!! And what I bought at that price ... then I had no choice ... Girls, how does this plant grow, a bush?

Natusichka, or maybe call those comrades who sold the roots? They should know. But I would have obeyed Galya - she is a specialist in scent.
In general, what kind of winters do you have - frosty? Maybe cover the plantings with a penny of hay? Now I'm going to ask the collective mind in the next topic. There are many experienced girls there.

[Natusichka]

Natusichka, here is what Veronica replied in the adjacent thread:

I should also know what temperature Natusichka had when she planted them ... Better, of course, either in the basement, or dig in, as the seedlings are sometimes buried in before winter. And most importantly, what kind of rhizomes does it have? If they are thin, like in the basement, otherwise they will not overwinter. Again, what a winter it will be. But if you've already planted it, don't dig it ... I remember fireweed from childhood in Moldova. He is there. It should be in Ukraine, only, probably, not in the steppe zone, but where there are more forests.

When I sat down, the temperature was "0" ...
And if you keep it at home, then what? To plant in a pot and keep in an apartment?
And if it is in the basement (in the garage), then it will not be warm there either ... and even dark ... what if they think they are dead ... and then they will not rise in the spring ...?

Oh, I don't know what to do ...

The woman who bought it said to immediately plant it on the street ... about 25 cm deep ...
Winters we have very different: and -15 and "0" and "+". You can't guess.

height under favorable conditions can be up to 150-200cm!

No, we will most likely have unfavorable conditions .. very hot in summer ... but I will try very hard (if they winter, of course ...)

If you cut the leaves after the first harvest in June, they will grow back for the second harvest.

I can already imagine how I collect the leaves, and then mow ...

You can just pinch the top of the head, then numerous young shoots will go from the internodes and this one long lash will turn into a lush bush)

This is what suits me! If there is a bush, then there will be a lot of leaves! And, therefore, I will make more, more tea! (As in a joke: a man came to the pharmacy and said: "Give me pills for greed ... and more ... more ...!"

And, I wonder, if you put it in a pot, will it grow on the balcony? Does he have a large rhizome?

And if in the basement (in the garage), then it will not be warm there either

must be stored where potatoes are stored, that is, not below 0 degrees)
the rhizome grows quite long, up to 2 m)
I would take a pot, sprinkle it with earth or wrap it tightly in a newspaper, or even easier to wrap it in a newspaper and put it in the refrigerator and check it periodically, if it gets dry, then sprinkle it with water and again in the newspaper.

"Ivan - tea. Contraindications.
Individual intolerance. Do not drink this tea in large quantities for more than two weeks, otherwise diarrhea may begin. "

Here's what I read today))

Gal, I have been drinking Ivan-tea for three years. No diarrhea ...

We, too, no one suffers from diarrhea. We drink tea almost constantly for several years.

[Marina]

Marina, thanks a lot for the comment. Could you share your experience of making Ivan-tea. Since you have been making tea for many years, I would love to know the nuances. And then we cook in our own juice for the first season. I would love to hear the opinion of an experienced tea-maker. we will be very grateful to you!

Well, they teased me so much with Ivan-tea that I was already running out into the street and looking ... if the leaves had appeared ...

[Natusichka]

did the leaves appear ...

Natusichka, we will now wait for the whole topic ...

Here, THANKS, girls for the support !!!

Well, of course, Natusichka! We are experiencing as for our own!

Dear Lyudmila! For six months now I have been mentally saying to you every day "Thank you!" for this master class! And even several times a day
Since I made the first portion of fireweed tea, I don't even want to try any other tea (especially store tea)! I "infected" my mother with this tea, she lives in an area where fireweed is the sea, and we wound it up with her not a decent amount. I hope that we will have enough until the next harvest, otherwise I just don't know how I will live without fireweed tea and what to drink. Is that water

I prepared a little from the leaves of other plants: irgi, strawberries and monarda. But not a single tea "suited" me so well as fireweed. Of course, I also drink other teas on the sly, mainly so that the taste of my favorite tea does not become boring. But the fact of the matter is that theirs is "so that ..", and the fireweed - "because" (because there is nothing better and I do not want anything else)) It comes to the point that going on a visit, I take tea leaves with me so as not to had to drink store tea!

I read above that fireweed may cause diarrhea. In my opinion, this is all very individual. Someone will, for example, I did not. And even, health has improved in some ways. Was "female" a problem with which for many years she could not cope with either medicines or herbs. When I started drinking fireweed tea, I immediately noticed a change for the better. I even have a theory that something is missing in my body that is in this tea. Therefore, I just want it all the time.

[Natusichka]

Natusichka, you can plant rhizomes, you just need to sprinkle it with dry soil, in the sense of not frozen (let's say purchased) and slightly huddle, and remove the hilling in spring - after frost. You can also cover it with spunbond, then it will definitely not freeze. Need to clarify about pruning, they only sold the roots?

Svetlana, how beautiful you wrote about tea, they took my words off the tongue, I can't say or write so beautifully.

[neighbor]

Dear Lyudmila! For six months now I have been mentally saying to you every day "Thank you!" for this master class! And even several times a day

neighbor, Sveta, how glad I am that our Ivanushka is to your liking! Thank you for such a wonderful review. Helen noted that you wrote very beautifully about tea! I join - like a poem. Ivan-tea does not need any advertising - you just have to read your review, you immediately want to run and do it. But winter stops ...
And also very valuable is your remark about the improvement of health due to drinking willow tea. I subscribe to your every word. This is not weed, but a panacea. And not only for us girls, but for men too. So you need to harvest this seagull a lot.
Here you write that you like the other tea less. Have you tried to make "Country tea" - from a mixture of plants. if we take fireweed as a basis, and add cherries-raspberries to it, and even a couple of delicious raspberries, then the tea turns out to be divine. If you haven't, try it next season. I think you will like it.
Sveta, thank you for this wonderful review. it was very pleasant to read it!

I just want to run and do it. But winter stops ...

Girls, I wrote several times in the topic that I harvest not only fireweed in the form of tea, but also just grass - I twist the leaves in a meat grinder and immediately send it to the dryer. Cool remedy - for cough, stomach, intestines and other problems. So, once in December, when there was not too much snow, I tried to pick dry stalks of fireweed - with seed capsules. brewed in a thermos and drank like ordinary weed when the cough overcame. On the same day it became easier, but after three days everything went away. So, I recommend picking our favorite weed in winter.

[Ludmila]

Girls, thanks for the kind words about my review!
Ludmila, I "did not reach" the Village tea. Since there was no shortage of fireweed leaves. And from other plants I did not really like the gulls. Well, that is, if there was no fireweed, I would definitely like it))

I used to love to add various herbs to shop tea: oregano, lemon balm, mint, thyme. I love all these herbs and grow them on the site + my mother picks up wild ones in the forests-meadows. So this year, all my boxes of herbs are full-bodied. Because I like the taste, color, aroma of pure fireweed so much that I just feel sorry for it to be "diluted"

I found a way out: I mix strawberry leaf tea with herbs. It gives astringency and a dark infusion (like a store-bought "black" tea), but there is not much aroma, one can say there is almost no aroma. Here I add aromatics to it.
And I also have some just dried fireweed. It turned out by accident: it was very hot and the leaves did not wither, but dried up. Of course, it is very different from fermented, I also drink it with different additives.

But this year I will definitely do the Village one, I promise!

[Svetlana]

I "did not reach" the Village tea. Since there was no shortage of fireweed leaves.

Svetlana, I also have a lot of fireweed, and within walking distance - 20 meters from the house starts. And the first year, too, I mainly made tea from it. But then she began to do others. And the opening of the last season was "Village" for me. Especially with the addition of cherries, even in the smallest quantities to fireweed. Cherry gives such an amazing aroma, not detracting from the advantages of fireweed, but emphasizing it.
What kind of tea do you make - leaf or granulated? Judging by what you write about the light infusion of tea, you are making a leaf. I'm not wrong? If you didn’t do it in a meat grinder, then be sure to try it. It differs from leaf very strongly - it is darker (almost black), more aromatic and stronger in taste.

But this year I will definitely do a Village one, I promise!

If you have no shortage of fireweed, then I advise you to take it as a basis. The tea is delicious in any combination ...

The first portions were leafy - made by hand. Now I remember how my palms ached from rolling balls of leaves. For some reason I thought that "handwork" was better than "meat grinder")) Well, one day (when my mother brought two huge bags of leaves at a time) I switched to a meat grinder. It turned out to be easy, neat, simple! For my taste, the most successful tea is after a meat grinder.

Chopped and blender (in a bowl with knives, which are for minced meat). And it is also very good: the tea is "small-leaved". Not as aromatic as a meat grinder, but it brews richly.

In general, if we evaluate the quality-taste-aroma-color, then the meat grinder is in the first place, the blender is in the second, and in the third hand. It worked out for me. And I'm generally silent about the simplicity of manufacturing, the meat grinder is beyond competition.

I also dried it in different ways: 1) dried it in the oven + drying to the end in the oven with the door ajar and 2) first dried it in the oven + drying it "in the air". I have it "in the air" - on the "roof" of kitchen cabinets, it is always very hot there. Outside, I couldn't dry it out, it was too humid. Here tea No. 1 is less aromatic than No. 2, although I tried not to overheat.

Our cherry is very strongly affected by aphids. The pastoral ants populate all the cherries so that the leaves are not visible: everything is black! I tried to fight them with the help of hot pepper, but there are so many of them that some have fallen off - others are replaced and that's it. The neighbors are treated with chemistry in the spring, they do not have aphids - and I don’t even know if it is worth making tea from such a leaf. And right to do with aphids .. brr, I saw her in an enlarged form - such a vile creature !!))

[Svetlana]

SvetlanaIn general, you are already an experienced tea-maker-experimenter. Your notes are very valuable! Those who will start making tea this year should listen to your opinion - everything is short and to the point.
Here for me, too, meat-grinder tea and tea dried according to the "oven-air" method are beyond competition. I haven't tried it in a blender yet. I'll have to try this year.
Thank you, Sveta, for such a thorough analysis! It was very interesting to read. As I plunged into the summer, imagining how you do it ...

Our cherry is very strongly affected by aphids. The pastoral ants populate all the cherries so that the leaves are not visible: everything is black!

Sveta, try to put ordinary millet on the place where ants congregate on the ground in summer. They think they are eggs and run away in panic. Sergey Dyakov, a famous gardener, shared his advice on his website. This method works for me every other time. But in a greenhouse where exactly peppers grow, it does not help. But they do not climb on peppers, so I'm not particularly worried.
And someone else, on the topic of tea made from garden plants, wrote how he fights with ants. you have to ask there, let the girls repeat.

Lyudochka, and we were all surprised that people vote and vote, here is a vivid living example * Svetlana from Vladimir, come to us, we are warm and cozy and the samovar is always especially nice that young people are involved in tea making, that they love everything real and natural ! Svetlana, thank you for coming to us. What can I personally say about different teas .. I kept fireweed in a 5-liter iron jar with a loose seal. lid and I already began to panic that I had been doing something wrong all summer, the aroma was barely felt, I poured it into liter glass jars and this is where it is a triumph of aroma and taste. After fireweed, raspberries are in second place. And from different parties it is different (granules), eh, you need to write down everything in detail how I did each party. One jar is something! One friend of mine once told me that when she was in a bad mood, she took bottles of perfume and sniffed them, and I sniff tea! This is divine aromatherapy)), no perfume is needed.

As for the ants, they run for food, for aphids, so it is necessary to fight against aphids, then there will be no ants either.

[Ludmila]

Girls! Now I am studying the material on the fermentation of Ivan-tea, so there I came across a phrase that for fermentation, rolled, crushed leaves are sprinkled with milk or water! Why do I still understand with water, but they don't explain anything about milk. Maybe you know why it's there?

P. S.Ludmilawhile the layout of information on tea from books is postponed, I apologize (I have everything in a listening format or in PDF, there is no time to type everything in a Word - they pull at home. And I don't want to clog the topic with purely tea troubles, because our the composition of teas is different, therefore, you can brew not according to tea rules).

Lyudochka, and we were all surprised that people vote and vote, here is a vivid example * Svetlana from Vladimir

Galya, this thought flashed through me too. After all, we have not seen Sveta before, maybe there are still girls who have not unsubscribed, but vote.

I came across a phrase that for fermentation, twisted, crushed leaves are sprinkled with milk or water! Why do I still understand with water, but they don't explain anything about milk. Maybe you know why it's there?

Nastya, I remember this information - she also met me. I may be wrong, but milk contains lactic acid bacteria that enhance the fermentation process. Maybe not. You can try to make with excess time and raw materials.
Nastya, don't worry about downloading Pokhlebkin. He also did not meet me in the Word - only in audio and deja vu with PDF. And even to the great love of tea, spending time on typing the text itself is beyond the bounds ... If textbooks were written, or dissertations on tea were defended, it would be understandable ... And so - this is an unjustified waste of time. So let's calm down for now.