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

[Oksana]

made a little black chokeberry tea, why didn't it brew with me and the water remained light, but your tea acquires the color of tea?

Oksana, I have 3 guesses:
1. there were very few leaves and they lay during fermentation in a thin layer in a bowl... With what layer did you ferment the black chokeberry?
2. Re-fermented... How long did the fermentation take? I usually fermented it for 3 hours in the past years. This year my neighbor won't let me pick the leaves yet.
3. Blackberry variety is not the same... I have one small cherry tree. Planted 2 years ago. The husband brought the seedling from another city. The berries are tasty, not sour. So, the leaves almost do not smell. And the rest of the trees growing by shoots are stumpy to the point of impossibility ...
So, chokeberry has several varieties. for example, Rowan Likernaya Michurina is sweetish, almost without astringency. And the variety Rowan Black-fruited is sour-sweet with an astringent taste. Maybe you and Ksyusha have just such not tart varieties of chokeberry?

Once again, I expose a photo of my black chokeberry tea:



Well, Lina and Veronica, maybe, will bring some clarity ...

Lyudmila, I'll try again. Of course, I don’t know the variety, but I have 6 bushes, there is where to collect the leaves and work on the mistakes: I’ll pick up more leaves (I didn’t take a lot of them, but I put them in a small bowl, the layer was 3 cm), and I’ll put it on to ferment in the morning, then I will follow more often (fermented overnight). And how should it smell?

And these are the worms

Figase worms! , and a photo of a sheet with leaves is possible? how is it twisted? I

[Bounty]

Something with teas is still not working out for me. only blackberry and smelled. I also tried to twist the raspberries with the apple tree, it seems that I already smelled some weakly pleasant smell, but I have no color in the brewed form anywhere.

Bounty, Oksana, even if you have no color in apple tea, then obviously you are doing something wrong. If you described in detail how you make tea, or even better with a photo, then maybe we would have found a mistake.
I will write the most important points when making tea.
1. Leaves wither... In light of the latest news - dry wrapped in cloth. If you don’t wither the leaves at all, then an excessive amount of juice will not allow high-quality fermentation - this is not my recommendation, but tea manufacturers.
2. Twist in a meat grinder.
3. Lay in a layer of at least 5 cm (already flattened). 3 cm is not enough! Take a narrower cup so that the layer is larger.
4. Ferment for no more than 6 hours, or less - 3 - 4 hours. Temperature during fermentation should be at least 18 *. And then, it is advisable to cover with jackets, blankets, to keep warm, as it is now cool. Maybe they were just frozen, and did not get warm during fermentation due to the low temperature in the room?
5. Dry at 100 * for 1 - 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally. Then reduce t to 50 - 60 * and dry almost to the end. Then we dry it in a thin bag.

[Ludmila]

Ludmila, I roll the leaves as in the picture, but I came to this myself. At the very beginning, I folded the towel in half, and when there were a lot of leaves, it was inconvenient to fold, so I began to twist.

Is there a photo of a sheet with leaves? how is it twisted? I

I join the previous speaker ...

[made it to the end]

Fuh ... the topic was filling up faster than I could read, but I still made it to the end)

DariaYou deserve a reward for this! Thank you for reading everything! It's really not that easy! Thank you for this and for your kind words! We are glad to welcome you to tea topics.

It's a pity that I started collecting leaves too late)

It's not too late! There is still a lot of time ... While the leaves are on the trees, you can make tea!

[Alla]

I roll the leaves as in the picture, but I came to this myself.

Alla, I wrote a few posts ago about you. But I didn't know how you wrap the leaves. Thank you !!! And you, in my opinion, make tea with foliage. Or I'm wrong?

Girls, how poked you !!! There are no leaves now, I went to photograph with the material at hand.

Now tea is being dried in Isidri, grapes, quince. pear, raspberry. I defrosted packages from 20.00 to 8.00, in the morning I thought that I would do it quickly, but it didn't work out.
The leaves of quince, pear, raspberry are dry, but the color has changed and have a fruity aroma, it made me happy. Only the leaf of the grapes is wet, but it is thin and it took a long time to separate the leaves.
Today changed the rolling of the leaves. I took a board for shredding 34x20. On it, she was the first to lay out grapes with an overlap (like a tile is laid), then a layer of quince (large, dense, fleshy), then raspberries (a large leaf), then a pear (a small dense leaf) and again a layer of grapes overlapping. Then I roll it, the grapes hold this mass well, it turns out an impressive 20 cm long roll. Cut after twisting the whole mass, fermented for 5 hours. But even when twisting from the aroma, my head was spinning. I think the tea should be good.

The second batch is at fermentation, here we had to get grapes out of the freezer, immediately carefully dismantle the leaves and twist them. But the grapes did not have a herbal smell even immediately after the freezer.

And there is still twisting, not enough raspberries, took them out of the freezer to defrost,

[Ludmila]

Ludmila, Yes, I only make loose leaf tea, something didn't work out for me to scroll in a meat grinder.

Immediately I apologize for the external, "working" look of the sheet. Folded in 4 layers, size 90x60. I lay the leaves in the middle and slightly higher (instead of leaves, a towel). Then I fold the upper third so that all the leaves are closed, then the lower third, then I begin to twist as tightly as possible. I try to have one fabric at the end. The result is a 23x9 roll (approximately), I don't stand with a ruler. I leave it at room temperature from 12 to 24 hours, depending on my free time. How it appears. so twisting. I don't put it in the bag.





something like this..

And how much to ferment raspberry leaves, well, so that there is no green tea? My cup is not big at all. I crushed it with a pebble for now. The same as Ivan tea in time?
Tomorrow we will go to the mountains and will return only in the evening, it will be about 20 hours of fermentation.

Ol. for me, 20 hours is a lot. I would dry it for at least an hour in the morning, and on my return I would dry it.

[lappl1]

lappl1, Lyudmila, and when you can pick off leaves on an apple tree and a pear, so as not to harm the trees. I have early pears, and there are late autumn ones. So the late ones are just starting to pour.

Oyyy ... Melchik is the master's kitchen (I am resting in the south), and I get up early tomorrow. Mlyn, why did it bother me to wind it up today?
There is nothing to do, let it be worth it. Experimenting at the same time. It's not a pity, there is not a full tea cup there.

Py. sy. Even I am quite that. I counted right now .. mmm .. at 8 o'clock tomorrow it's already 16 o'clock ... klmn ...
Eh, I'm a loser. Showed off with her tea knowledge

[Vladimirovna]

Come on, experiment.

and when can I cut off

Vladimirovna, it is better not to cut off. and cut off so that the sticks remain on the branch, then the stalk (or whatever it is scientifically called there) is not damaged. And you can always cut it off a little, the fruit will be nothing.

at 8 am tomorrow already 16 o'clock turns out

and if nave crawling into the kitchen ???

Collection of strawberries + raspberries + apple tree.

Now drying .. such a flavor !!!!!! I liked this combination very much !!!!

[Bounty]

Bounty, and you conduct an experiment, put a small portion on fermentation and sniff the aroma at intervals and wait for the smell to change for the worse - it means too much fermentation. Twist in a meat grinder (there is a noticeable change in aroma), compact it in a glass - you can put it in a plastic bag and do not forget to write down the time after which the aroma seemed to you the most successful.

[Omela,]

Omela, if the leaves are scrolled, then they must be wilted before that? Or can you put them right in the freezer without withering, and then scroll? I'm confused

if the leaves are scrolled, then they must be wilted before that?

Galya, Be sure to wither. I don't put it in the freezer. It (the freezer) is needed if you twist it with your hands. And in front of her it is still necessary to wither.

something like this..

Oh, I didn’t think I should twist the roller so tightly.
I also folded it into a square and Fse. THANK YOU! Boom to know!

Galina-Better to wither a little before the freezer. Lyudochka, forgive me rationally, we must get rid of it before it's too late.

Oksan, thanks! Everything is in the subject, but we have already written so much ... No strength to search.
Loksa,
I went to dry.

[Oksana]

Boom to know!

Oksana, it’s even more convenient for me, I don’t have to stir up the leaves and save them from the wind (it was dried on the veranda).

Galya.

I brewed freshly dried tea - grapes + quince + pear + raspberries, the aroma throughout the house is caramel-fruity. The color is deep yellow, there is a bitter taste in the taste, but more sweetness. I can't brew in the evening, I can't stop, this tea can be drunk indefinitely. The tea was dried in Isidri.

The second batch was dried in the oven at 120 degrees, tomorrow I will dry it in Isidri and compare the color of the tea. I have not dried at this temperature yet.

Girls, I missed something. Do you wither the leaves wrapped or what?

The second batch was dried in the oven at 120 deg.

Doesn't it dry out at this temperature? I dry at 100 gr. and after 20 minutes everything was dry

[Galina]

Galina, I put 2 large pallets at the same time, half full. The door is slightly open from above, during drying I mix and change places, dried for 1 hour.

Dry leaves wrapped in cloth.

[Ksyusha]

KsyushaThank you very much for the leaf wrapping workshop. Serious approach!
I’m not going to do tea with my gardens and mushrooms. The oven has been drying the mushrooms for 10 days after the dryer. It works almost round the clock - you can't bake bread in it, no pies, no tea to dry ... And the rains will not stop. In general, as soon as favorable conditions converge, I will immediately try to wrap the leaves.
Oksan, show us the already dried worms. Interesting ...

[Alla]

Today changed the rolling of the leaves. I took a board for shredding 34x20. On it, she was the first to lay out grapes with an overlap (like a tile is laid), then a layer of quince (large, dense, fleshy), then raspberries (a large leaf), then a pear (a small dense leaf) and again a layer of grapes overlapping. Then I roll it, the grapes hold this mass well, it turns out an impressive 20 cm long roll.

Alla, I wonder how! This is the size of the rolls! Is it possible to lay them in a dense layer? Do you cut the rolls after fermentation? Or before?

this will be about 20 hours of fermentation.

for me, 20 hours is a lot.

Olya, Ksyusha is right. I do not ferment gardening for more than 10 hours (except for cherries). Basically - 4 - 6 hours.

It's not a pity, there is not a full tea cup there.

Not enough! You may not understand what happened there. Gather up more.

[Galya]

if the leaves are scrolled, then they must be wilted before that? Or can you put them right in the freezer without withering, and then scroll? I'm confused

Galya, if the leaves do not wither, then they will crumble in a meat grinder. And, besides, excess juice can interfere with the fermentation quality. Here is what they write in the smart book:

When withering, it is the moisture changes under the influence of a certain temperature that determine the course of biochemical processes inside the tea leaf. Water in cells is the medium in which the interaction of substances dissolved in it takes place. It is known that at high dilutions, some reactions cannot occur or they take much longer to complete than is necessary to complete a particular production process.
Therefore, the leaf must be dried to the same moisture content.
A relatively heavily withered leaf curls better and produces more good teas by the nature of the leaf than an unfinished leaf. Experiments in India have found that the best tea is obtained with a dry matter to water ratio of 1: 2, that is, the remaining moisture in the leaf should be 60–62%. A leaf is considered to be well wither when all flushes in the game have wither more or less evenly. In production, the end of withering is determined not only by the water content in the withered leaf, but also by a subjective method, the essence of which boils down to the fact that the stem of the withered flush should not break under mechanical action, and when a handful of withered leaves are strongly squeezed into a lump, it should not open.

So, not withered leaves can give tea, weak in infusion, color and taste.

Doesn't it dry out at this temperature? I dry at 100 gr. and after 20 minutes everything was dry

Galya, you are confusing something either in real life or in terms.
Withering of leaves after collection is carried out at room temperature. Not in the oven, not in the dryer - the leaves will simply dry there. Then you will not make anything of them either by hand or in a meat grinder.
Drying of tea after fermentation is carried out in the oven at a temperature of 100 *.
What are you doing? Do you dry leaves or dry tea at 100 *?

[lappl1]

lappl1, Lyudmila, and when you can pick off leaves on an apple tree and a pear, so as not to harm the trees.

Vladimirovna, I am a complete zero in gardening. I got a garden already ready and very large, so I did not really notice that I did harm to the plants. I cut it off from spring to late autumn. The apple trees are resting this year, but they still bloomed strongly and are bearing fruit now. And then, I do not tear much on one tree - I move from branch to branch, from tree to tree. The pear has not bloomed this year - it is also resting. But I cut off all the cherries almost to zero from the neighbors - they allowed it, because they were going to uproot the cherry growth. This year, their cherries are all again in leaves - the neighbors did not have time to lime it. But they do not bear fruit at all.
In general, Galina is literate in this regard. But she is in the country, away. Will come back, you need to ask her.
And Mistletoe is right - by cutting the branches, we will not harm the trees.

Lyudochka, forgive me rationally, we must get rid of it before it's too late.

Oksan, be smart ... And then I’ll go to my computer, it may be too late to be - people’s tea will turn over or dry out ...

[Alla]

The tea was dried in Isidri. The second batch was dried in the oven at 120 degrees, tomorrow I will dry it in Isidri and compare the color of the tea. I have not dried at this temperature yet.

Alla, I wonder which option you like best. write later, please.
And at 120 * how long did you dry? More than 30 - 40 minutes are not needed, otherwise it can dry out and generally lose the smell. And then go to 100 *, and then you can finish drying in Isidri.
And further. Leaf tea dries faster than granulated tea, so the time for everything should be shorter.

Girls, over the past couple of days there have been reports that tea from such plants as willow-tea, apple-tree, pear (even in "Derevensky") has a light color. This is a clear sign of weak leaf breakage during twisting. Because tea from these plants, in principle, should be obtained very dark, even with a small addition of these leaves to tea. Hand rolling the rolls does not allow the sheet to be severely destroyed. As a result, fermentation is weaker than with mincing tea. Well, the tea turns out to be not as strong as granulated.
This is just information for thought for those who have not yet made tea in a meat grinder.

[Galina]

Girls, I missed something. Do you wither the leaves wrapped or what?

Galina, not much and missed. This is Omela, Lina and francevna who have been doing this for a long time, but only now they have put everything on the shelves for us. Ksyusha even showed us pictures of this process. So the girls have better leaves on the meat grinder. Have you seen the Mistletoe Worms? So, you need to do this so that our meat grinders do not torment ...

[Oksana]

Well, I'll set it to ferment in the morning, then I'll follow it more often (it was fermented overnight). And how should it smell?

Oksana, you do not need to follow more often - earlier than in 3 hours do not look there. This, in principle, may be enough. In any case, do not ferment it for more than 6 hours. And the blackberry smells when dried and in finished tea like a cherry (well, very similar), but much stronger.

Galya, you are confusing something either in real life or in terms.
Withering of leaves after collection is carried out at room temperature. .....
What are you doing? Do you dry leaves or dry tea at 100 *?

Lyudmila, of course I described myself, it happened to me in the night.
I dry in the oven at a temperature of 100 *. Only an hour is too long for me, I have it already in 20 minutes. To clear my conscience, I also keep it a little at 60 *, and then in a pillowcase and on a string, so that I finally get it.

This is Omela, Lina and francevna who have been doing this for a long time, but only now they have put everything on the shelves for us. Ksyusha even showed us pictures of this process. So the girls have better leaves on the meat grinder. Have you seen the Mistletoe Worms?

Yeah, I found everything, yesterday I twisted the dried leaves into a cloth. I'll scroll through it today.

of course I described myself,

Galya, I understand that.
Yours dries up very quickly due to the fact that it is loose leaf tea. It dries quickly. It can also dry quickly due to a small amount of tea. So do not worry about your conscience, and if you think that the tea has dried up, send it to the bag. Let it dry up in it. True, now it is cold and damp, so it will not work out quickly.

yesterday the leaves were dried and twisted into a cloth. I'll scroll through it today.

Checkmark, will you show later what happened?

Yours dries up very quickly due to the fact that it is loose leaf tea. It dries quickly. It can also dry quickly due to a small amount of tea.

Lyudmila, it is! I did it in sheet and in small portions.

will you show later what happened?

This time I will make a granular one and will definitely show it.

Lyudmila, how much (at least approximately) tea should be prepared to be enough until next spring?

Galya, it depends on the number of people who will drink this tea. Once upon a time I came across information that one person needs 5 grams of tea a day. 1 liter contains 230-240 grams of granulated tea. There is much less leaf. That is, 1 liter of granulated tea is enough for 1 - 1.5 months for 1 person. If you don't drink this tea in liters. Well, and count how much you need for a family, guests, gifts ...

[Alla]

Alla, I wonder how! This is the size of the rolls! Is it possible to lay them in a dense layer? Do you cut the rolls after fermentation? Or before?

Ludmila, cut the rolls before fermentation.

Alla, I see! Then fermentation takes place better.

[Alla]

Alla, I wonder which option you like best. write later, please.
And at 120 * how long did you dry? More than 30 - 40 minutes are not needed, otherwise it can dry out and generally lose the smell. And then go to 100 *, and then you can finish drying in Isidri.
And further. Leaf tea dries faster than granulated tea, so the time for everything should be shorter.

Ludmila, set the temperature to 120 degrees, but our voltage is often lower, so the temperature was faster from 100 to 120 degrees. Since she put two pallets at the same time, it was necessary to swap them and stir up the foliage. I didn't dry it out, it turned out about forty minutes.In Isidri, there are 4 trays for 10 trays of already dried tea, the weight of dry leaf tea is 250-280g.
The color of the foliage turned out to be brown, even in the grapes (when dried only in Isidri, the color was green). The brew is dark, like black tea, with a different taste and aroma. The smell is much stronger here. I am very glad that the tea turned out to be different.

Yesterday I didn't have enough strength for the third twist. The grapes were almost over, I took out the bag with raspberries late from the freezer, and the quince with pears in the bags had been in the room for a whole day at 26 degrees, but were dry. Before going to bed, I opened the bags, made several zips from the sprayer, tied them tightly and put them in the refrigerator in the vegetable compartment. In the morning I wanted to spin the rolls, alternating the foliage, but from the bags came such an aroma that no fermentation was needed. And when she took the foliage in her hands, then all the leaves were soft, pliable. So I just grabbed the leaves in the bag with my hand, squeezed it, it turned out to be a lump, immediately chopped it. Then she mixed all the leaves evenly and immediately into the oven at 120 degrees. Dried in Isidri at 55 degrees. This is the strongest flavor. Tea is closer to black.

So you need to try different options and not rush to throw away the foliage.

I got 780 grams, that's 30 trays in Isidri.

Loose tea has a large volume. I bought disposable containers with lids, but it's hard to fold tea tightly there. Most of all I like glass jars for 900 ml with screw caps. I put a large funnel on the jar with a wide opening at the bottom, fall asleep completely, and then start tamping it down with a wooden crush, so a 900ml glass jar can hold 200g of loose tea.

Girls, that autumn has come. Congratulations to everyone on the start of the new school year! May children and grandchildren delight us with their success in school,

[Alla]

AllaThank you for such detailed reports. A wonderful experience - it will be very useful to us. I personally liked the way you tamp loose leaf tea. Otherwise, it really takes up a lot of space, and this is one of the reasons why I do not do it. I think that the girls who make leaf tea will take your experience into service.
After lying in the bag for a day, your quince and pear tea was fermented, and the refrigerator stopped this process. It turns out that this is tea made by the method of "sweating".

The brew is dark, like black tea, with a different taste and aroma. The smell is much stronger here. I am very glad that the tea turned out to be different.

Yes, the temperature 120 - 150 * at the beginning of drying "roasts" the tea, giving an amazing smell and taste. I really like this "roasted" tea. I discovered it for myself only this year.
Alla, I am glad together with you that the tea is different and wonderful.

Congratulations to everyone on the start of the new school year! May children and grandchildren delight us with their success in school,

Girls, I join in congratulations! Have an easy school year for all children, parents, grandparents and, of course, Teachers!