I apologize for interfering with your conversation
flete, welcome to tea themes. I am very glad that our ranks have been enlarged. Thank you for such a detailed report and for sharing your experience.
I wanted to share my version, which turned out quite by accident - do not throw too much slippers)) There was no time and the collected leaves - I left in the same bags in which I collected, only for some reason I tied it very tightly, squeezing out the air (on the machine, apparently). And it so happened that they lay in a warm place for several days. That's when a crazy berry-fruity intoxicating smell went out of them, I came to my senses) I put it in the refrigerator and again could not process it in a day, they lay for almost 5 days ... When I opened the freezer drawer, where they lay, I could immediately hear it is this heady smell. She took it out, thawed it, ground it - the smell is just stunning. I also fermented it in a saucepan - the smell has diminished. But even after drying, the aroma is such that my pets only clatter their tongues with delight) I haven't tasted it, to be honest) And then I decided to do the same trick again - but it turned out that it was cool at home,but we haven't connected the heating yet - and my leaves are now moldy - I had to throw out 2 bags.
flete, it turns out that you have invented one of the methods of making this tea. In our topics, it is called the "sweating method". On the pages of the recipe in the Notes, I have provided links to the experience of making tea in this way. You can see these links:
Making tea using the sweating method 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rada-dms 36-hour fermentation tea without grinder or curlingIn your case, the first batch of tea was made almost right. Almost - because it was still necessary to keep the leaves in bags less. 1 - 2 days is enough. Further - already over-fermentation, due to which the smell and taste are lost. You didn't even need to ferment the tea after the meat grinder, because a few days was enough. Or ferment for 3 - 5 hours, no more. Putting the leaves in the freezer saved your tea. If you just put it in the refrigerator, the tea would go bad.
The following batches of tea may have deteriorated if the leaves were wet before being placed in the bag. If they were dry, they would not become moldy even in cool weather. One could simply wrap the bag of leaves in blankets to keep the heat generated by the anaerobic bacteria in the tightly tied bag.
there is a smell, but still weak - I will wait for that strong aroma, like the first time, and only then freeze it. And I probably won't hold it long after the meat grinder.
You don't have to freeze it, but immediately send the tea to a meat grinder, and then for 3 - 4 hours for fermentation and drying. In general, there is a risk of tea over-fermentation in your experiments. I was able to verify this from my own experience. I made several batches of tea with this method. Now, after a lapse of time and dry fermentation (aging of the finished tea in a closed container for several months), I can say with confidence that tea prepared in the usual way (
withering-twisting-fermentation-drying) is much more aromatic and better. And it takes less time. And the tea tastes better.
If you have a time limit to make tea, then I can advise a way in which you can make tea whenever it is convenient. The result is great. We have almost all switched to this method, because it is difficult to make autumn leaves in another way. This method consists of the following steps -
withering (you can do it without it if the leaves are dry) - freezing - defrosting - twisting in a meat grinder - fermentation (6 - 10 hours, no more) - drying.
flete, You are well done ! We independently came to the way we came to collectively. I wish you good luck and have time to prepare a few more batches of tea during these deciduous days.
