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

Today all evening I make tea (more precisely, I twist rolls, cut and ferment) from cherries, raspberries, currants, apple trees, pears and fireweed. The beauty! The smell in the house is pleasant, and the hands smell like!
So, what am I ... Yes, I just decided to share my "bike" - suddenly someone will come in handy. It has been raining every day, the leaves cannot be collected, and I have had supplies in the freezer since July - I had the opportunity to collect, but there was no time to make tea. Then I sent the freshly picked leaves to tea, and they all lay in the freezer. And now, when there is time, I take them out and make tea! And then the thought came - city dwellers can come to the dacha, collect different leaves (while they have not fallen yet), bring them home and freeze them. And tea will start when the opportunity arises. Now it was so nice to twist fireweed - a whole bag (T-shirt) was chipped and set to ferment :-)

And, I almost forgot - everyone for whom this is relevant - Happy New Academic Year! )))

[Linga]

Yes, I just decided to share my "bike"

Linga, for us the more "bicycles" the better! Thank you ! Anyone who has large freezers is fine.
Glad to see you !

Ludmila, tell me, how much pure cherry tea to ferment after scrolling through a meat grinder?

[Oksana]

Oksana, I ferment the cherries from 3 to 10 hours. Always good at it.

and what do you like best? more? less?

Lyudmila, have you forgotten, cherry is difficult to spin in a meat grinder compared to fireweed, apple, plum, pear, currant? I'm so afraid for the meat grinder ...

I like any, even a 24-hour one (the smell of a drunk cherry is obtained). But I didn’t make pure cherries this year, because I fell in love with "Country Tea", to which I add quite a bit of cherries and the tea is obtained with a bright cherry aroma. I fermented cherries with fireweed for 20-24 hours, with garden ones - 9-10 hours.
Make hours 6. I had the most popular cherry tea last year.

[Oksana]

cherry is difficult to spin in a meat grinder compared to fireweed, apple, plum, pear, currant? I'm so afraid for the meat grinder ...

Oksana, very hard. I'm afraid for mine too. Have you already dried the leaves? If not, look at how mistletoe did it here and here... I haven't tried that yet. but I will definitely try.
I can also give advice. If the leaves are already withered, then put them in the freezer, and then make the "Village". Cherry behaves a little better with other leaves. And there is a strong cherry aroma, even from a small amount of it.

[Ksyusha]

Ksyusha, do you twist different leaves into fabric separately or all together? And where do you keep this twist - where is it warmer (in the house) or cooler (on the terrace, for example)?

Lyudmila, and I am glad that I managed to look into your topic (there is sorely lack of time)))) You are all such great fellows - you have done so much, wrote so much!
And here I hung bags all over the house for drying - I did so many different things that I had to put a memo in each bag (what is it, how it fermented, how it dried). And now I'll go dry the 24-hour fireweed :-)

[Linga]

Linga, and I cling to the bag a piece of adhesive tape for pasting the windows. Holds well. I then glue the same tape to the container.

Yes, girls, today I went for raspberry leaves, I could not pass by the fireweed. He’s all gone, but the leaves are there. So, the fluff does not clog the nose and eyes. Rough leaves, but greenish. I have collected for "Derevensky".Whoever grows nearby fireweed, you can still collect.

[Ksyusha]

Ksyusha, do you twist different leaves into fabric separately or all together? And where do you keep this twist - where is it warmer (in the house) or cooler (on the terrace, for example)?

I will answer about my twist. I twist the leaves of different trees separately, it's easier to do in a towel, and they dry at different times.
I thought that I would no longer make tea, but the grapes again gave young shoots and the neighbor added, now there are exactly 1.5 kg of leaves on the roll. They lie in the fabric for exactly 10 hours, I began to check, the fabric warmed up again, only with grapes this happens.
So now you need to think about what else to collect.

Lyudmila, I then transfer the same piece of paper from the bag to the container)
And I also got to the fireweed a couple of days ago ... but the leaves are sooo coarse, yellowish and already bitten by someone :-( (now I empty the freezer - I have such a young fireweed, green!)

[Alla]

Alla, Thank you ! And I've already wrapped everything together. Okay, next time I'll do it separately if I don't like the result.

the fabric warmed up again, only with grapes this happens.

And my fireweed was heated when it was hot - I did it like that once.

I thought that I will no longer make tea

It is very difficult to stop! I already wrote that only the snow stopped me last year.

[Linga]

but the leaves are sooo coarse, yellowish and already bitten by someone :-( (now I empty the freezer - my fireweed is so young, green!)

Linga, yes, rough, but few yellows. But the raspberry surprised me. Half of the bushes began to turn red. Collected both green and red leaves. By the way, it turns out that in our vicinity there are 2 types of raspberries growing - prickly and not prickly. Before that, I only collected not prickly. She tore like fireweed - not one leaf at a time, but removed a handful of leaves from a branch. And today such a number did not work - prickly !!! It will be interesting to compare the result, although in Derevensky it will not be easy to do. I collected a full packet of leaves today. Half of them are raspberries, and the other half are cherries, pears, fireweed, apple trees.

Hello everyone! Finally I got at least something to write. I went on vacation in early July, and two weeks later I broke my arm (it's good that my left one). I just went to work yesterday. Therefore, I stayed at the dacha for almost two months, came home only when it was necessary to see a doctor. I don't have a meat grinder at my dacha, I had to "work out a broken arm": roll and cut. True, the strength, of course, is not the same ... But nothing, it's great anyway Made tea from willow tea, plum, cherry raspberries, Japanese quince, bergenia, rose petals and ... chubushnik leaves. In the freezer there are still blackberry leaves and a strawberry mustache. I collected rose petals from faded flowers, when they began to fall, and - in the freezer. When the bag was being typed, then it defrosted - and fermented. The smell is caramel. In badan leaves, only those that have already undergone natural fermentation have broken off - dark brown. Rinsed off dirt and dried. The taste and smell are specific, but I got used to it, I even started to like it, I make mixes. I dried everything on an IR mat (somewhere at the beginning of the Temko I wrote about it). I also dried pears and apples cut into strips (there is no harvest this year, so it was a pity to throw it away), I also add it to tea. Later, more Jap. I'll cut the quince.
In general, now I open the jars, smell, enjoy the aromas. And, of course, I brew it and enjoy it again. Thank you all !!!

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 they 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.

Girls, what a delicious tea it turned out! The color of the tea leaves is the darkest, it is indistinguishable from black tea, the taste is soft and delicate, the aroma is berry-fruity, there is no predominance of one fruit. It all depends on the ratio of the number of leaves in a given tea. If we take the volume of leaves, then here is the ratio of 5: 2: 2: 1 Raspberry-quince-pear-grapes. In previous teas, there were a lot of grapes, there is a slight sourness.
It's amazing that the "sweating method" has produced such an excellent tea.

[Lёlka]

Hello everyone! Finally I got at least something to write. I went on vacation in early July, and two weeks later I broke my arm (it's good that my left one). I just went to work yesterday. Therefore, I stayed at the dacha for almost two months, came home only when it was necessary to see a doctor. I don't have a meat grinder at my dacha, I had to "work out a broken arm": roll and cut.

Lёlka, Hello! Thank you very much for such a detailed and positive report! "Merry" you have a vacation! Hope it's okay now!

In general, now I open the jars, smell, enjoy the aromas. And, of course, I brew it and enjoy it again

How many different teas have you made! Well done ! I am glad that you got the tea, despite the broken arm. You will now enjoy your tea in winter and remember your vacation.

[Alla]

Girls, what a delicious tea it turned out! The color of the infusion is the darkest, it is indistinguishable from black tea

Alla, today I dried raspberries-apple-cherry-pear-fireweed (5: 2: 1: 1: 1) - 6 hours of fermentation. Enjoyed the scent too! And just like you, Alla, there is no predominance of any one plant. Even the cherry is not guessed here. Girls, the smell of gorgeous black tea turned out! I was surprised myself that I got such a smell. Even my husband noted this when I asked him what it smells like. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m sure it will taste great.

Girls! I didn’t go through the trick with wrapping the leaves in fabric for withering. Did exactly as Mistletoe "drew". There were a lot of leaves - more than 1 kg. As she put the leaves, she took them out of the fabric. Withered like this for 12 hours. The meat grinder suffered ... Either I put a lot of leaves to dry, or they dried for a little time ... The granules turned out to be ordinary, no long "worms". I also think that the knife of the meat grinder has become dull for three years of operation. The first and second years this was not the case - the leaves were twisted famously. I would like to change the knife, but I'm not sure that the Chinese will sell spare parts for their meat grinders. Interestingly, but you yourself can sharpen meat grinder knives?

[Ludmila]

Ludmila, congratulations on the wonderful tea!

When withering, I spread the leaves in a not very thick layer. For example, 1.5 kg of grapes was laid out on 7 towels. We were in a room at a temperature of + 25- + 27 degrees. Before going to bed, I began to lay them out in bags, the fabric warmed up and a pleasant fruity aroma came from the grapes. And I put it in the freezer, or maybe I just had to leave it in bags and see what happens. But we still need to collect other leaves, and we have again heat with a strong wind, dust, pollen from ragweed carries. Moreover, there was a strong fire on the left bank of the Don for almost two days, but at least no one was hurt.

[Ludmila]

I can't understand why all the text comes out, but I select only one line.

Ludmila, you can sharpen the knives yourself, my husband will show me tomorrow how, then I will write.

[Alla]

Alla, thank you very much for your congratulations and for your experience! I also congratulate you on delicious tea!
I had 5 types of leaves in my freezer for a couple of months. I forgot about them. This morning I took it out, thawed it and before twisting yesterday's harvest, twisted the old frozen leaves. So they walked very easily. It's a pity that my freezer is small, otherwise it would freeze there all the time.

[Alla]

I can't understand why all the text comes out, but I select only one line. Lyudmila, you can sharpen the knives yourself, my husband will show me tomorrow how, then I'll write.

Alla, it happens sometimes. Refresh the page, you should be able to quote only what you want.
Thanks for the knives. I'll wait.

Lyudmila, you can and should sharpen not only the knife, but also the net. I found information on the internet how to do it, told my brother, he sharpened me. There the principle is this, on a flat surface, glass is best, sandpaper is applied and a knife and a grate are sharpened in circular movements. Immediately, the sandpaper goes larger, and then the finest, but I don't remember which numbers are correct. I quickly looked, I found only this advice:
I will share my experience of restoring a completely killed meat grinder (manual).
A wall mirror is taken, a medium grain sandpaper is placed on the surface. A drop of oil on the surface of the skin and rub the grate on the skin in a circular motion, do not press hard. We periodically check the lapped surface, as soon as the large risks have disappeared on the surface, we change the skin to another, with a smaller grain. We do the same with a knife.
In about 30-40 minutes, you can polish the surfaces almost like a "mirror".
After such sharpening, the meat grinder easily turns any meat of any quality, with veins and cartilage.

[Eva3]

Eva3, thank you very much! I didn't even think about the bars. Tomorrow I'll try to do it if my husband has sandpaper. First, I'll practice with manual meat grinders.
And in principle - to put sandpaper on the mirror? Can I go glass? We threw away all the old mirrors.

Brother lay down seems to be on the glass. In the same place, the principle is simply a flat surface, and what in glass, what in mirrors, I think the same surface.
And he polished my broken knife with a net for several days, in 30-40 minutes he could not cope. So you should not be guided by time, but by sight. When placing the knife on the mesh, there should be no gap or gap, everything should converge perfectly evenly. And I remembered that the knife corrected much faster than the net, so I suffered more with it. Well, maybe it still depends on the meat grinder, of course.

[Eva3]

Eva3, thank you and Alla for the science! And then my husband resists - he says that the knife is sharp. But I know not - I remember how the meat grinder worked before. And I will find time, at least I will grind for a week, but I will try to achieve a mirror surface.
How cool girls! Always come to the rescue. Thank you very much for this!

Girls, good afternoon! Take me into your ranks. True, I am still quite new to teas. I made Ivan-Chai this year and then came across this wonderful Temka! I will tear off everything now
Lyudmila, I express my admiration and gratitude for such a voluminous, useful and necessary work! You are just a heroine! Well this is how long it takes!
And this year, for the first time, I prepared tea from carrot tops. It turns out to be very useful for varicose veins. The taste turned out to be very interesting and peculiar. My husband is delighted with him, he says, and there is no need to add honey, the tea itself turns out to be sweet.
Now I think, while the tops have not yet departed, maybe mix with something ...

means, about carrot tops, freeze, rolled sausages, cut them, fermented for 9 hours, dried in the oven

And, well, I have read up to the experiments with carrot tops.
I dried the tops and made them in different ways: and just dried them; and in a meat grinder, then fermentation and drying; and immediately dried after a meat grinder. We did not notice a strong difference in taste. The taste is, in fact, unusual, but I did not notice the steamed carrots there. And the husband drinks it in liters and even claims that this tea gives him vigor

[Elena]

Elena, Hello! Welcome to our warm tea company! We are very glad to see you! Thank you for your kind words addressed to me! I am very pleased!

I'm still quite new to teas.

Nothing! Everyone here is like that. We make tea and learn as we go.

And this year, for the first time, I prepared tea from carrot tops.

And the husband drinks it in liters and even claims that this tea gives him vigor

Well, after those posts about carrot tops, I decided not to do it. Now I will definitely try. The tops have been born wonderfully well. Well, carrots too. In three weeks we will remove the carrots, so there is still time for this tea.
Girls, it seems to me that this tea should be "roasted" at the beginning of drying in the oven for 120 - 150 *. Then the tea is "caramelized" and there will be no that specific carrot taste. In general, we will try!
Thank you, Elena, for sharing your experience.

Lyuda, girls, hello! Today I went mushrooming and came across a wild apple tree. She would not have noticed if it had not been for the fallen apples (small, the size of a walnut). Well, how not to pick leaves, bags in your pocket! So the leaves surprised me - they were thin, compared to the garden leaves - fleshy, dense. I collected more strawberry leaves - I wither. In the plan, combine the forest apple, strawberry and raspberry.

[Valentine]

Well, how not to pick leaves, bags in your pocket!

Valentine, good day ! You are a real tea-maker! That's right - we don't leave the house without bags!

So the leaves surprised me - they were thin,

And from savages tea should turn out more aromatic. So you're in luck with such a find. Make tea, please share the result.

In the plan, combine the forest apple, strawberry and raspberry.

Cool combination! It will turn out very fragrant and tasty!

I made a mix of raspberries, grapes and strawberries (approximately 2: 1: 1).
I decided to try withering in fabric, but this method was not suitable for my conditions. I had to leave the leaves in the roll for almost a day, I was afraid that they would dry out, but when I unwrapped the fabric, the leaves were completely fresh.
I twisted some of them in a meat grinder at once, without additional drying, the other part dried up.
Both the granules and the drinks in general turned out to be almost the same. This mix is ​​very similar to regular tea. For some reason, there is absolutely no grape sourness. And one more thing: I divided the withered leaves into two portions. One was fermented for about 4 hours, the other was left overnight, because the time was late. The smell has hardly changed in 8 hours. The layer was sufficient, the house was 20 degrees. Either I can't figure out the peculiarities of fermentation, or such a driftwood that I don't feel the difference)

By the way, grape tea is really sour (not sour, but sour, it seemed to me) and it really relieves swelling. The mother-in-law felt the effect from the first cup. I drank in the evening, and in the morning I did not recognize my legs (I almost quote). Now I cut off my neighbor's and my own grapes) We have the most common variety Isabella.

Now I have dried cherry and apple leaves, about 1: 1. So I think, ferment them together, or will it be useless, the cherry will hammer the apple tree? I have not tried the latter as a mono tea yet. Maybe add grapes to it? Has anyone tried it?

[Daria]

Daria, a bunch of grapes for each variety differs in shape, color, taste and aroma. I (together with my neighbors) have more than 12 varieties, the leaves are different in color and shape, some are very carved, and some are solid. Therefore, the taste and aroma of tea will be different.

I made a lot of tea from grapes, at first I made mono tea, mixed it only when brewing with other fruit leaves, but the most delicious tea is obtained by joint fermentation right away. Just don't put a lot of grapes.

Interestingly, but you yourself can sharpen meat grinder knives?

Grinder knives are usually sharpened in special workshops - look where they offer sharpening of scissors and professional tools.

Good day.I have a question: what about the final drying in a pillowcase? The fact is that she finally made fireweed tea, hung it up to dry, and then autumn rains gushed in - the humidity in the apartment was 100%. For our latitudes, this is normal, but for tea, I think not. It's clear who is to blame, but what to do?

[Gann]

Gann, the best advice will give Ludmila .

I would dry it slightly in the oven, let it cool and put it in sterile dry jars under the lid.

a bunch of grapes in each variety differs in shape, color, taste and aroma. I (together with my neighbors) have more than 12 varieties, the leaves are different in color and shape, some are very carved, and some are solid. Therefore, the taste and aroma of tea will be different.

And I have no doubt that different varieties differ in different ways. I specifically indicated what kind of variety I had - Isabella. In our region, it is probably the most common.
I was surprised that the mix of grapes with raspberries and strawberries did not have the expected sourness, but this did not upset me) I also really liked the grapes as mono-tea. True, I noticed that during fermentation it does not change the aroma much. Immediately after twisting, it stops smelling of grass and sorrel)

By the way, does one think that cherry tea tastes and smells very much like cherry resin? In childhood, we called it glue and ate it as a delicacy) The plum had the same tar. Or am I the only one such "gourmet"?

Just don't put a lot of grapes.

Then I'll try to make grapes with an apple, thanks)

Daria, a bunch of grapes for each variety differs in shape, color, taste and aroma. I (together with my neighbors) have more than 12 varieties, the leaves are different in color and shape, some are very carved, and some are solid. Therefore, the taste and aroma of tea will be different.

So I noticed the same with respect to different varieties of apples and pears. Different varieties have different results under the same conditions. From winter or late varieties, the taste is deeper, from earlier ones - more aromatic and sweeter. And in general, they stopped receiving notifications again, even though I am now in Moscow. Here, I noticed the message in the right column, followed the link, and here already 2 pages have been written, but I have no instructions.

[Daria]

I made a mix of raspberries, grapes and strawberries (approximately 2: 1: 1).

Daria, thanks for the great and thorough review. Very informative!

The smell has hardly changed in 8 hours. The layer was sufficient, the house was 20 degrees. Either I can't figure out the peculiarities of fermentation, or such a driftwood that I don't feel the difference)

I can't say anything about grapes at all, since we don't have it. And so I would like. But the girls make it, and the tea comes out. I don’t think you don’t understand fermentation. There are still nuances here.
Let's start with withering... Tea producers never skip this stage, since the excessive content of juice in the leaves during fermentation does not allow full and high-quality fermentation. It turns out that which leaf, smelling of sorrel, you put on fermentation, almost like that, and sent to drying. To quote this text from a book on tea:

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 degree of moisture.
Relatively a 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%.

You wrote that the leaves did not wilted in the first batch, but the second batch was dried. But is it enough? I noticed a difference in tea with varying degrees of leaf wilting. The strongest aroma and taste comes from over-dried leaves.
Now fermentation... I think that everything was in order here.
And here drying tea also greatly affects the result. Temperature 100 * and slightly higher at the beginning of drying (20 - 30 minutes) give the effect of "frying", that is, caramelerization of the sugars that are present in the leaves. Temperatures below 79 * (this is the temperature in the dryer) will not give the taste that we expect from tea.

The mother-in-law felt the effect from the first cup. I drank in the evening, and in the morning I did not recognize my legs (I almost quote).

Class!

I’m thinking, ferment them together, or will it be useless, the cherry will hammer the apple tree? I have not tried the latter as a mono tea yet.

Daria, cherry always clogs everything, but clogs very tasty. A few handfuls of it are enough to make the tea with a distinct cherry flavor. The apple tree does not have a very pronounced aroma even in mono tea. But this tea cannot be spoiled. It will be delicious and beautiful. You can also add grapes. I have been making tea for three years, and "Village" - the first year. I wish I did this before. In my opinion, this is the most delicious tea. And the more plants we use in it, the tastier the tea turns out. I made a maximum of seven types of plants. The result is great. So it's up to you what to mix with what and in what proportions.

[Gann]

Grinder knives are usually sharpened in special workshops - look where they offer sharpening of scissors and professional tools.

GannThank you very much for your advice! In general, my husband said that he would buy me new knives (I didn't think they could fit my Chinese one). He does not let me sharpen myself. says I'll ruin it. And in the city workshop they ruined his chain for a chainsaw when he gave them to sharpen. He says that there are hacks sitting there. In general, I will wait for new knives from him, but for now I will train on cats old Soviet meat grinders.

[Gann]

I have a question: what about the final drying in a pillowcase? The fact is that I finally made fireweed tea, hung it up to dry, and then autumn rains gushed in - the humidity in the apartment is 100%. For our latitudes, this is normal, but for tea, I think not. It's clear who is to blame, but what to do?

Gann, Hello! Francevna answered you correctly. Thank you, Alla !
I do in wet weather like this:
1. I heat up the oven to 50 *. I pour tea on baking sheets. I close the oven door. I turn off the oven. After a while (1 - 2 hours) I check the tea. If it is not dry, I do the same procedure - I heat it up to 50 *, turn it off, let it stand ... I do this until it dries completely. This will prevent the tea from drying out, burning and staying moist.
2. I put the tea right in the pillowcase in the dryer, turn it on at least (30 *). Periodically I shake my pillowcase. I don't hold it for a long time (about 20 - 30 minutes). Then I turn it off. After cooling down, I check the tea. If it's not dry yet, then I repeat this manipulation a couple more times.

[Daria]

By the way, does one think that cherry tea tastes and smells very much like cherry resin?

Daria, I do not even know! I just never enjoyed this delicacy. We must look for this resin on the neighboring cherries and chew. But the fact that cherry tea is incomparable in taste and aroma, I guess that the resin should also be delicious.

Quote: Darika from Today at 19:54
By the way, does one think that cherry tea tastes and smells very much like cherry resin?

Yes, you don’t think. When I was a child, I probably ate a carriage and a cart (there are both on the drain and on the apricot, but it is not tasty), even now, on occasion, I enjoy

So I noticed the same with respect to different varieties of apples and pears. Different varieties have different results under the same conditions.

Lina, it is! I can only notice this difference on apple and cherry. I have the most fragrant tea on white bulk and wild cherry. And also on the latest variety of apples - I don't know its name. But these apples are like a stone - do not gnaw. But from the rod and Antonovka, less pronounced taste and aroma. The same is probably the case with the rest of the plants ...

Girls, made her three-day tea raspberry-quince-pear-grapes (5: 2: 2: 1) in the evening, the color, taste, aroma are wonderful, and baked pizza too. Before I had time to finish my first cup of tea, I was sweating all over, and then my husband says that he will break through later. Only then it dawned on me that raspberries do not lose their diaphoretic properties, that you need to put them in tea in a smaller ratio, it will be good tea for colds, so I will sign. So when composing a mixture of teas, you need to take into account the medicinal characteristics of the leaves of this tea.