Fermented tea made from leaves of garden and wild plants (master class)

[Ludmila]

Ludmila, Thank you so much. There is a lot of Ivan tea, but it is very small - 20 cm in total ... The guard is already. But after all, my hands are itching, so I took up the leaves, I'll try what happens. Is it possible to add dried apple and bird cherry flowers to ready-made teas, will they not give a bath flavor?
And once again I ask the experts to answer - is it necessary to twist young frozen leaves for leaf tea or is it possible to dry them without twisting? And is it necessary to put them under oppression (if it is possible not to twist). There are a lot of leaflets ... Although she made herself a promise without fanaticism, but ...

[MixElla]

MixElla, freezing leaves does not provide for the destruction of cells and the release of juice from them, and fermentation is the transformation of insoluble substances of the leaf tissue into soluble and easily assimilated ones.
I only make tea by hand twisting, well, I like it that way). Do not wait for the plant to grow, URGENTLY collect it now, you will get a super elite tea.
Yesterday I picked the tops of the heads, 15-20 cm, found them at home, that is, tore off all the leaves from the stalks, wilted them and put them in the freezer, since it didn't work out in time, on the weekend there will be an opportunity to twist and put on fermentation, for 12 hours and dry immediately. After twisting, I immediately cut it into washers, seal it by hand, do not put it under oppression, only close it with a bag or a damp cloth.

[Galina Iv.]

Galina Iv., thanks, I will.

[MixElla]

MixElla, Eleanor, last year I fermented bird cherry leaves, at first I could not drink it, the tea was very tasteless, it stood for six months and drank it mixed with black chokeberry.

I'm sorry, I'm confusing this with meadowsweet)), the bird cherry was also not impressed.

[MixElla]

Is it possible to add dried apple and bird cherry flowers to ready-made teas, will they not give a bath flavor?

MixElla, Eleanor, walk a few pages back (564 pp.) There is even a photo of dried flowers. we dried different flowers last year. You can dry different. They mainly give beauty to tea, but not aroma. All the aroma comes from the tea itself. So, feel free to dry. Only at a low temperature.

Is it necessary to roll young frozen leaves for leaf tea or is it possible to dry them without curling? And is it necessary to put them under oppression (if it is possible not to twist).

Eleanor, if you want to get excellent tea, it is still better to twist or twist the leaves in a meat grinder. It is tastier and more aromatic. And the volume takes less. And a simple crushing of the leaves will give huge volumes that still need to be found, where to put.

Try to do as I wrote. You will see the result will be better.

Thanks I will definitely try

Zakhari, wonderful tea turned out. And now I was interested in the Mulberry itself, but it does not grow with us, although I need to find out if there are already some varieties for planting in our conditions.

On weekends, I grinded and fermented raspberries. Today I returned from work late, sniffed it (after 32 hours of fermentation), and it smells like a mixture of mint, watermelon and some kind of citrus.
Loaded for drying. I'm not sure this smell will last dry, but it was fun to try.

Nastya, did not the raspberries crumble in a meat grinder? And I wonder why you chose this fermentation time?

The raspberries, of course, crumbled. I didn't expect anything else. It was slightly prickly, so I didn't wrinkle it with my hands.
I had no other way out with fermentation: when I went to bed yesterday, the smell from the rolled leaves was still not very strong and the raspberries were cold. And this morning I ran away on business - there was no time to dry ... and then unexpectedly stayed at work ... Well, here I am Drying what happened
The smell knocks you off your feet! Not to say unpleasant, but generally unusual. The smell of mash, sour, spoiled is not at all.
Of course I won't ferment that long next time! No more than 8 hours, and dry.

The raspberries, of course, crumbled.

Nastya, if you remember, we found a way out so that the raspberries would not crumble. It needs to be done with something sticky. With the same Ivan-tea. Or cherry, apple, black chokeberry, pear. And delicious tea will turn out, and the granules will be strong. Last year I made a lot of this tea, taking raspberries as a basis (50 - 70%). They drank it with pleasure. Very tasty.

[Lyudochka]

Lyudochka! Thanks for the advice!
I will definitely make raspberry granules if the leaves fall over again. Perhaps I will do it with plum leaves - my mother-in-law promised to pick it up on occasion ... Or with lemongrass leaves ...
And for the very first time I wanted to make pure raspberries. Looseness does not bother me at all: raspberries, when brewed, settle to the bottom of the cup, swell and do not interfere. But the purity of the first experiment was preserved.

Do it for your health, Nastenka!

Zakhar, it turned out beautiful tea. The color is very, very! I love this color in tea, perfect in color! I and the mulberry itself - very good. Respect!
Nastya, I have to go on Saturday so that there is time to work. And I fermented raspberries after the freezer, it breaks down well there and does not prick anymore.

white mulberry leaves

I didn't really like mulberry tea
smells like pumpkin very strong
and tea like pumpkin juice tastes

[Lilya34676]

Lilya34676, I also heard the opinion that tea from it is not very good. But in general, it is too early to draw conclusions. It will get better in the fall.

[brand new tea makers]

Expensive brand new tea makers! Once again I draw your attention to the fact that when the choice of material for tea is best guided by the voting results in this topic. More than 150 tea people voted last season. I reset the vote in March, as preferences have changed somewhat over the winter. And there was a fairly objective picture about which tea is better. Please see the voting results. And if possible, then choose leading plants for your tea. This will save you time. Because you can try to make tea from everything that grows. But not all tea is delicious. But it will be unmistakably good if you cook it with plant leaders. And when you have enough tea prepared, you can safely conduct experiments.
I also remind you that guaranteed delicious tea is obtained from garden plants, which contain a large amount of tannins... All leader plants have them. Therefore, the tea from them is delicious. You can check the presence of tannins in the leaves by asking any search engine the query "Composition of cherry leaves" (for example).
Another important point. I came up with a test that, even at the collection stage, will help you understand Is the tea delicious from these or those leaves... We called this test batch test... That is, when the leaves are collected in a regular bag, you need to stick your nose into it. If you smell delicious, then the tea (if there are tannins in these leaves) will turn out delicious and aromatic.
I also draw your attention to the recipe "Country tea" (fermented) - six in one, i.e. tea made from a mixture of different plants. it almost always turns out better than mono-teas, and the proportions and composition can be any.

[Ludmila]

Ludmila, but you can put a video on rolling tea leaves, well, I don't understand how to do it right from the description. Last weekend I tried to make tea for the first time. I collected the leaves (apple, pear, currant, raspberry and some strawberries), put the bag in the freezer overnight, thawed it in the morning and played it on e-mail.meat grinder (then I read about the breakdown of meat grinders and got scared - I decided that then it was necessary to master manual twisting). Then I put the tea in a saucepan for fermentation (about 6 hours) - the smell of some kind of herbal turned out to be quite strong. Then it was dried in the oven for 1 hour at 100 C, and for about 1 hour at 50C. Then tea hung in the bag for two days in the shade on the balcony. The herbal smell became weaker, but it remained. I tried to make tea - the color turned out to be so cool, it turned out to be dark, saturated like real tea, but the smell is not for everybody, it smells like grass to me, and my husband speaks normally. I also feel herbal taste in my taste, but I want a fruity one. Probably. somewhere I made a mistake when cooking, or in vain I mixed different leaves together. I read about the test after. Now I will probably try all types in turn and see what I like best. Thank you so much for the tea recipe, very interesting, although it takes time.

Yulia, I do it with a meat grinder, last year with a manual one, this year with an electric one, I specially bought one more, but I twist Ivan tea, and it is soft. Hands-well, very long, and it takes up a lot of space. Tell your husband, my men liked our tea so much that they twisted it themselves later.
Somewhere in Temko there is a video, but later the girls will come in, poke, I can't, or ask the search engine.

[Elena]

Elena, Thank you!!! I just don't have a simple meat grinder, only an electric one. So I worried

[afnsvjul, Julia]

afnsvjul, Julia, the video is in the Ivan-chai Temko! literally on the current pages. Look, interesting!

[Oksana]

Oksana, Thank you!!! Something I did not guess to look at this Temko .....

Luda, what kind of life is this! We got out of the car near the house, we go to the entrance, and on the way we have three large cherry trees, around a bunch of overgrown. I brake, my husband bumps into me from behind. And I saw excellent leaves of normal size! I stand and look ... Then I turn on my brains - and sadly walk on. And in the village they are still very tiny ...

Such a disappointment
I ruined the pear leaves
I wanted to try making green tea
and nothing came of it
I just ruined everything

[afnsvjul]

but you can put a video on rolling tea leaves, well, I don't understand how to do it right from the description.

afnsvjul, Julia, by definition, I do not make loose leaf tea, only granulated. I could try to do this specifically for video, but I do not have a video camera, and there is no one to shoot. In the internet there are a lot of videos about rolling Ivan-tea. For example this one:

But, to be honest, the leaves of garden plants are very difficult to roll by hand. If you set yourself the goal of making your own tea on an ongoing basis and a lot, then you need to buy a separate meat grinder. I understand that you feel sorry for yours. But I bought a cheap Chinese one and it has been working properly for the 4th year (mmm).

the smell of some kind of herbal turned out to be quite strong.

Julia, in general, it is too early to make garden leaves. They gain their taste by the time the fruit ripens. and I like autumn even more. And the composition that you listed is simply gorgeous. This tea should turn out to be very good. And in general, I do not recommend drinking tea right away. In all my recipes, I write that tea should be allowed time for dry fermentation, at least 1 month in a dry, dark place in an airtight container, and preferably until autumn. I never drink freshly made tea - I don't want to be disappointed.

I collected the leaves (apple, pear, currant, raspberry and some strawberries), put the bag in the freezer overnight, thawed it in the morning and played it on e-mail. meat grinder (then I read about the breakdown of meat grinders and got scared - I decided that then it was necessary to master manual twisting). Then I put the tea in a saucepan for fermentation (about 6 hours)

Julia, how many leaves were there? What layer was during fermentation. The reason may be that there were very few leaves and the fermentation went badly. At what temperature was fermented?
And another important point. all the same, garden leaves must also be wilted before freezing. Last year we came to this unanimously.Excess moisture interferes with normal fermentation. I need to correct my recipe.
Well, your tea cannot be bad by definition. Take it away and you won't recognize it in the fall.

[Lilya34676]

Such a disappointment, I ruined the pear leaves I wanted to try to make green tea and nothing came of it, I just ruined everything

Lilya34676how did you do it? Why spoiled? Generally, our leaves are caffeine-free. And green tea might not work. I never wrote that we make green tea. I am even interested in your experience.

Lilya, do not worry, most likely, they did not spoil anything, just take it away, and after 2-3 months open it and try, then decide what you did. We had all sorts of teas, and frankly spoiled (it seemed so), and in the winter ... they were waiting for the opening. Moreover, pleasant ones.

I made currant from branches cut for molding, tried it, it was normal in color, but the taste lacks astringency. Or does it not exist in such tea?

[jkzrhjkz]

jkzrhjkz, Olga, just answered a similar question, read my post on this page (answer # 11367). And in general, currants, like other garden plants, do not have caffeine, which is in traditional tea and gives astringency. And in order to answer your question more fully, you need to know how you made tea - the number of leaves, the size of the layer during fermentation, time, temperature, leaf or granulated.

And the composition that you listed is simply gorgeous. This tea should turn out to be very good. And in general, I do not recommend drinking tea right away. In all my recipes, I write that tea should be allowed time for dry fermentation, at least 1 month in a dry, dark place in an airtight container, and preferably until autumn. I never drink freshly made tea - I don't want to be disappointed.

Lyudmila, just curiosity was soooo bursting ,,,,,, I really wanted to try, what happened

Julia, how many leaves were there? What layer was during fermentation. The reason may be that there were very few leaves and the fermentation went badly. At what temperature was fermented?

There were not very many leaves, but I put the whole twisted mass in a small saucepan and the layer seemed to be normal. I overthrew a damp gauze, I periodically moistened it. We now have a heat under 30C and at home it is also quite hot. Was it necessary to stir during fermentation? Maybe I fermented too little and 6 hours is not enough?

And another important point. all the same, garden leaves must also be wilted before freezing.

What does it mean to wither? Just spread out and dry?

Currant - the amount is small (I think it was 500 grams, but it does not react to the finished steelyard).
I froze, thawed, twisted in a meat grinder (it was lazy with my hands, but as a result I got ready-made granules in half with dust, it's really bad, sift it?) Fermented all night, 12 hours (that's a lot? Sister says the smell at the beginning was better, but you write that the process does not go so quickly). I dried it in a gas oven, on low gas, and in a frying pan, the dust seems to have burnt.

[Yulia]

Maybe I fermented too little and 6 hours is not enough?

This is enough for garden plants.

What does it mean to wither? Just spread out and dry?

Yulia, no, no need to dry. Look in the recipe for ivan tea Ivan tea (fermentation of fireweed leaves) ... The process of withering is described there. And read this link about withering https://Mcooker-enn.tomathouse.com/index.php@option=com_smf&topic=389380.0

[Ludmila]

Ludmila, Thank you, I will definitely read. But I did not really understand the timing of the harvest, that is, you need to collect the leaves after harvesting?

[early to judge tea on the second day after preparation! For at least a month, he should stand in an airtight container in a dry, dark place.]

twisted into a meat grinder

It is better not to make currant tea through a meat grinder because of the dust. I wrote it in the recipe. It turns out much worse than sheet.
If you twisted through a meat grinder, then it was necessary to wither the leaves before twisting. I have already written many times that not withered leaves ferment worse. I asked you to read my answer to Julia. There are many answers to your questions. The most important answer is early to judge tea on the second day after preparation! For at least a month, he should stand in an airtight container in a dry, dark place.
12 hours is a lot for currants and other garden plants. Only cherries withstand long fermentation - 12 hours or more.

but you write that the process does not go so quickly)

What is the process? Where do I write? I didn't understand this phrase.
Olga, I asked you questions, but you did not answer all of them. What was the layer during fermentation? It is very important! What was the temperature? And I think that when drying in a pan, the process went wrong for you. What was the temperature in the oven?

But I didn't really understand the timing of the harvest, that is, do you need to collect the leaves after harvesting?

Tea from the leaves of garden plants is much better during the ripening period of the fruits of these plants and in autumn. In the spring, the leaves have not yet accumulated nutrients. You won't eat green raspberries, strawberries, apples ... Not tasty! Not ripe! So it is with leaves! Not yet ripe, so to speak. Only currant can be done a little earlier. the rest of the tea will be worse than the summer-autumn version.

[lappl1]

lappl1, Lyudochka! I have a question about the leaves ... last year I collected apple and pear ... QUESTION - do you cut off the leg of the leaf and cut out a thick vein?

Thank you, I understood everything, I will wait ..... And on what then to practice, while the leaves "ripen"? Can you harvest strawberries after harvest?

[Yulia]

Yulia, yes, you can practice everything. Tea will also be good, but summer-autumn tea is better. And you must constantly remember that tea should be given dry fermentation. He's not going to impress right away.
Strawberries are best done, as I wrote in the recipe, when the beds are processed, it is better in the fall.

I just don't have a simple meat grinder, only an electric one

And I, for this case, specially bought a manual meat grinder for Avito. Girls, good evening, or rather night, I just arrived from the dacha and again brought a bunch of leaves

[Lucilia]

Lucilia, Ludmila, oh ... And at first I had a manual one, but I specially bought an electric one, because well, it's very difficult for me to twist manually, especially garden leaves, and especially summer-autumn leaves!
Happy work with the leaves! Make the tea great!

and tea like pumpkin juice tastes

Well, here I can bet I don't know where the pumpkin is. But I liked the tea

Lilya 34676, I also heard the opinion that tea from her is not very good.

I can say in the words of a classic. "You don't like cats ?! You just don't know how to cook them!" ... Everyone has their own opinions and taste preferences.

[Zachary]

Zachary, I agree that all markers are different in taste and color!
For example, now I do not like cherry tea at all and, as it turned out, ... the Village collection is so beloved by many. After some time, the smells of plants in it began to crush so strongly that it even felt unpleasant. Now I can’t add any bird cherry, cherry, blackberry, or mixes at all ... But my husband is happy, he says, he will get more.

I made a very successful raspberry, that fermented to death. By the end of drying, I smelled a little apricot! And me and my husband. Very rarely we agree with him in smelling, but here we are unanimous. I brewed raspberries - very pleasant, but without sourness. And with a distant apricot shade. The color is thick, but brown.
I am very glad that the raspberry turned out! I was afraid that she had stopped, but nothing happened.
I will definitely swing at the strawberry / strawberry leaf.

PS for those who twist and ferment a raspberry leaf: it has a ready-made, sooooo delicate aroma, if there are some smells hovering in the kitchen, you may not even feel and appreciate all the charm, do not rush to get upset, if anything!

And so far I have just dried young pine shoots, twisted them through a meat grinder and dried them in Isidri.
Haven't tried it yet ... wondering how much should you add to your tea?
I can't read the whole Temka ... tell me, please, do you still want to wash or not wash the leaves of an apple, pear, currant, chokeberry, raspberry, strawberry?
I want to try making tea this year.

[Natusichka]

wondering how much should you add to your tea?

Natusichka, well, it must be done empirically. I sprinkle about, 5 - 1 tsp. pines by 700 ml when brewing another tea.

Please tell me, still or not to wash the leaves of apple, pear, currant, black chokeberry, raspberry, strawberry?

There is no need to wash the leaves, because the bacteria on the leaves are involved in the fermentation process. If they are washed off, then the fermentation will be weaker. But if the leaves are very dirty, then of course they need to be washed, dried, and then wilted.
I never wash. But I have an ecologically clean area without businesses and roads.

[Lilya34676]

Lilya34676how did you do it? Why spoiled? In general, our leaves are caffeine-free. And green tea might not work. I have never written that we are making green tea. I am even interested in your experience.

Simply, judging by the recipe, the leaves must first be fried at a high temperature, and then rolled and dried completely
after frying, the leaves did not spin at all (they were still soft),
I crumpled them (trying to twist) and put them to dry
The smell was just grassy, ​​it didn't smell tasty (

No need to wash the leaves

and if you just wipe the leaves with a napkin?

[Lily]

judging by the recipe, the leaves must first be fried at a high temperature, and then rolled and dried completely

Lily, do you mean the experience of the Chinese? We have never made green tea. Apparently, garden leaves do not contain those substances that make it possible to make green tea. Here is what the Chinese write about this:

if the tea leaf lacks or contains a small amount of valuable substances that affect the quality of the product, then the technology is powerless, it cannot create these substances.

and if you just wipe the leaves with a napkin?

Lilya, what, dirty ecology? I don't think a napkin will help here. Then it's better to wash. many girls wash, as theirs is dirty.

dirty ecology?

I would not say, but sometimes there are sooooo dusty leaves