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

[Ludmila]

And I've almost made cherry leaf tea. Dry in the house on paper. How long to dry them in time, otherwise it's time to leave ...
I collected the leaves of fireweed today - I got a taste ...
I also think to collect leaves from other garden trees. Oh, I feel I will pick up all the leaves in the garden!
Thank you, Ludmila, for a new interesting meditative activity - to twist the leaves!

And this is how my cherry leaf rolls looked like

[Marina]

Dry in the house on paper. How long to dry them in time, otherwise it's time to leave ...

Marina, if you dry tea at room temperature, then it may not work - it will lose its taste or acquire undesirable ones. At the initial stage of drying, a temperature of 100 * C is needed to stop the fermentation process. This stage lasts 1 - 1.5 hours.
In the middle of the process, when about 50% of the moisture remains, you need to reduce the temperature to 50 - 60 * C and dry until almost all the tea is dry. This stage lasts from 1 to 3 hours.
And then it is poured into a bag and dried until the residual moisture disappears for several hours. Sometimes even a day is needed for this.
The exact drying time is difficult to name. It depends on many conditions:
- the weather in which you collected the leaves. The drier and hotter, the drier the leaves were torn off, which means they will dry out faster afterwards.
- the type of plant. There are drier plants - raspberries and currants, for example. they dry faster. And plants that are more humid in nature (fireweed, pear, apple) dry longer.
- the degree of withering or freezing of leaves before fermentation. The less the leaves have withered, the longer they will dry. The less they froze, the worse the juice will be released from them when rolling the rolls, the faster they will dry.
- from the method of preparing the leaves for fermentation. If the leaves were twisted in a meat grinder, then they are dried in the oven longer than leaves rolled up and then cut into washers. And the whole leaf dries the fastest.
- on the features of the oven - with or without convection, a stationary stove or mini-oven, gas or electric.
- on the number of leaves and layer thickness during drying. The more leaves and the thicker the layer, the longer the tea will dry. And vice versa
So I can't tell you the exact drying time. Everyone should choose a drying mode based on the listed conditions for collecting leaves and preparing them for fermentation. After a couple of games and experience, it will be easy to do.
Marina, your rolls looked great! I hope you can dry your tea before you leave. Good luck to you! And pleasant meditation while rolling the rolls!

[Ludmila]

Ludmila, again a huge THANKS! I dropped by from the dacha for a couple of days at work, so immediately on the Internet, to thank and with the report! We cleaned the territory there - there was plenty to do!

That's not all, but about 2/3 of the tea made. Most of all - from fireweed (it had the most delightful aroma), I also made 3 jars of pear (it is the second, for me, in terms of aroma), a couple of jars of apple (it is the lightest, I dried finely chopped green apples to it and mixed with tea), also made from black chops, cherries and strawberries. I wanted from bird cherry, but the leaves have a very strong smell of almonds (hydrocyanic acid!), I was afraid of something. Planning fir, plum, hawthorn.

[Linadoc]

Linadoc, wow! Yes, Lyudmila turned half of the country into Sri Lanka, for which many thanks to her and bow to the ground! Today, with grief in half, I found a willow meadow, and as a result, we are now at first one in the morning, and I just finished grinding the leaves!

[Linadoc]

Linadoc, Blimey ! I have no words! Emotions go wild from just one photo! You are so great! We did a great job! Thank you for such a wonderful report!

Most of all - from fireweed (it had the most delicious aroma)

That is why the first recipe that I posted was exactly the recipe for Ivan tea. I just love it! But since many people simply do not grow it, I posted the second and third recipes. As it turned out, not in vain! Look how much tea has already been made!

I wanted from bird cherry, but the leaves have a very strong smell of almonds (hydrocyanic acid!), I was afraid of something. Planning fir, plum, hawthorn.

Almost everyone (including me) got a bad experience from bird cherry. She lost her aroma, and the finished tea turned out to be weak in both taste and color. however, we tasted it right away. The month of exposure has not yet ended.
The girls praised the plum, but no one has yet made the hawthorn. So you will be the first.
Good luck to you, Linadoc, and new wonderful tea!

[Lenochka]

Today, with grief in half, I found a willow meadow, and as a result, we are now at first one in the morning, and I just finished grinding the leaves!

LenochkaHow good it is that they found fireweed! Yes, it's too late for you! But with tea you will! All the best to you!
Yes! Do not overexpose the tea during fermentation, otherwise today in 9 hours I got a sour mass. Then I will describe this sad experience!
Good luck, Lenochka! And thanks for the kind words addressed to me!

Yes, girls, I forgot to add - when it was cool, the room was somehow 18-19 * C, my fermentation was poor and I was afraid that it would start to deteriorate, and moved the pots and buckets to the tomatoes in the greenhouse, it was 28-31 * C and the process went by leaps and bounds (they definitely took part in the process there). Fermented in 4-5 hours. I dried it in a gas oven and in a special depression in the Russian stove. My husband and I ourselves put in the stove and, in addition to the oven, provided for something like a depression-pocket specifically for drying (mushrooms, fruits, herbs), that's where it dried best - the aroma is wonderful.

the room was somehow 18-19 * C, it was poorly fermented and I was afraid that it would start to deteriorate, and moved the pots and buckets to the tomatoes in the greenhouse, there was 28-31 * C and the process went by leaps and bounds (they are there for sure took part in the process). Fermented in 4-5 hours.

Yes, in a greenhouse the fermentation process is faster! I also wrote about this in the recipe. And there is a photo!
But I have never used a Russian stove, although there is one. We don't drown it in the summer. But we must try. After all, our ancestors did not have ovens, and in the Russian stove, tea, and everything else, was dried.

The girls praised the plum, but no one has yet made the hawthorn. So you will be the first.

I have a hawthorn in the freezer, because the jerky didn't want to spin

[Tanya]

Tanyaso you are the first with hawthorn! And he presents surprises, what a capricious one ... Crumbles? Or gets stuck in a meat grinder?

I got stuck, but I have an ordinary meat grinder of Soviet times. Maybe some other will work. Yesterday I brought from the forest hawthorn, wild rose, fireweed, wild strawberries, drupe, sweet clover and ... plantain

And today I picked up strawberry and blackberry leaves. There was no time for mushrooms. Next time I'm planning: pear, apple, mountain ash and wild cherry. Interesting with plantain?

I really liked the plum, the granules turned out to be good, the color is so very noble, the tea itself is crystal clear, and the taste is very pleasant. Very similar to apple and quince, differ only in shades of color, quince is the lightest, amber, plum is the darkest, apple between them. And to taste, of course, in some way they are similar, but each has its own shade.For me now, these three are my favorites (eh, we don't have fireweed)

I tested a peach, I have one and a small one, I did it for trial. As already mentioned here, there was a very rich smell of almonds; after drying, it softened considerably. The color is not bad for a green tea lover. I did not really understand the taste and did not appreciate it. Maybe later it will show itself differently. Given the small amount, it will go somewhere in addition.

And what plum, prune or ordinary, there is still cherry plum And thanks for the quince and peach. And the apricot? And also almonds ...

Here, probably the third part of the ugorka, the rest is round, I think it will be white in color, because it was not mine, next to an abandoned estate, that she collected there, it looks like she moved there from her neighbors, and they used to grow such white not far from the stone.
I wrote about the apricot earlier, it is still a dark horse, let it mature. I like its smell, but the taste was still incomprehensible and cloudy.

I wanted to write that I was misleading about thorns, re-read the encyclopedia of medicinal plants and read that flowers and bark are harvested in spring, rhizomes in autumn, it helps but not for coughing, leaves are harvested as a valuable raw material that contains many useful substances, vitamin C in tm number. Thorn leaves have the property of improving metabolism and wine made from berries is useful, read a lot of information on the internet about its thorniness, I want to say 'that there are thorns where the berries are, and the ends of the branches can easily be cut off like cherries, young shoots-branches are completely without thorns -absolutely.
And I also found in this encyclopedia that Ivan tea grows throughout Ukraine .... (though under a different name - narrow-leaved chamerion), it remains only to find. The encyclopedia must be said in 1990 edition with the advantage of plants growing in Ukraine and in the Ukrainian language and with two tables of contents: in Russian and in Ukrainian (for convenience it is obvious - it helps me personally to search).

if you dry tea at room temperature, then it may not work out - it will lose its taste

Luda, my tea has already been dried in the oven at 100 and 50 * C, and then instead of drying it in bags, I put it to dry on paper. By this hour, it is completely dry and sent to a jar.

I also gathered fireweed and immediately froze it. Already got a taste ...

I got stuck, but I have an ordinary meat grinder of Soviet times.

Tanya, my old meat grinder was naughty too - I didn’t twist hard leaves. I often had to disassemble and clean it.

Yesterday I brought from the forest hawthorn, wild rose, fireweed, wild strawberries, drupe, sweet clover and ... plantain

When will you do everything? Or will you freeze and turn each scent in turn, ferment, dry?
And plantain is bitter and not tasty !!! What are you going to do with him? Tea is unlikely to be good from it. But he is very useful. I just dry it. As a medicine.

[bird62]

And today I picked up strawberry and blackberry leaves. There was no time for mushrooms. Next time I'm planning: pear, apple, mountain ash and wild cherry.

bird62, Ira, then unsubscribe about the blackberry, please. And then very few people did it. And I don't remember the report about her.
Good plans! And what kind of mountain ash? Black or red!

[Eva3]

Eva3, great tea turned out! It can be seen that the granules are strong. And the color of the tea is very rich! I am sure that this tea is very tasty!
Yes, the peach is pale! Apparently, this is his peculiarity. And for some reason I thought it would be dark. The main thing is that you, as a green tea lover, are happy with it. And the taste must still be infused.

[Vika]

I wanted to write that I was misleading about thorns, re-read the encyclopedia of medicinal plants and read that flowers and bark are harvested in spring, rhizomes in autumn, it helps but not for coughing, leaves are harvested as a valuable raw material that contains many useful substances, vitamin C in tm number.

Vika, so you try to do it. Since this turn is a storehouse of utility! And then tell us.

[Marina]

Luda, my tea has already been dried in the oven at 100 and 50 * C, and then instead of drying it in bags, I put it to dry on paper. By this hour, it is completely dry and sent to a jar.

Marina, so this is a completely different matter! And then you did not say that 100 and 50 grams. it has already passed! So everything is great!

I also gathered fireweed and immediately froze it. Already got a taste ...

Marina, yeah, this thing is - you start, it's hard to stop! So, don't slow down, but build up!

[Vika]

And I also found in this encyclopedia that Ivan tea grows throughout Ukraine .... (though under a different name - narrow-leaved chamerion), it remains only to find.

Vika, well, so you need to throw a cry to your friends all over Ukraine. Maybe someone met him!

I just finished drying the leaves of a wild pear. The result was very pleasing - the smell is intense, even somewhat reminiscent of the smell of good black tea - both in shade and intensity. I did it in a "lazy" way - the leaves lay in the freezer for several days (my hands did not reach), then I cut them directly unfrozen, while the leaf had already released moisture. For reliability, I ground the cut leaves with my hands in a bowl, like salted cabbage, so that even the mass began to clump slightly. 4 hours of oppression - and lo! Reassuring!

[linden]

Girls! In general, for two days in a row I did linden.
She tore leaves from the linden growth - they are much larger than on the tree itself. The smell from the package was very pleasant.



I dried the leaves for 6 hours. The leaves were twisted remarkably! I do not remember such strong granules in any plant.



1 batch - fermented overnight (9 o'clockin). The smell is strong and pleasant. Doesn't smell of linden. She began to dry, first the smell of brooms steamed in the bath, then something sour. I decided that I had overexposed the tea during fermentation. I decided to repeat it.
2 batch - fermented 4 hours... The smell is delicious, strong! It doesn't look like a lime tree. I started to dry - again the smell of brooms steamed in the bath, but not sour.
Dried green tea. The granules are very strong, do not crumble.



I made some tea. Both batches have almost the same color. Taste too. True, tea that has been fermented for 4 hours is slightly brighter. But not tasty! You drink like a medicinal decoction of some kind! The first batch has no sour taste. The brewed tea is slightly viscous, like linden flower tea.



In general, I did not like the tea at all. Some kind of deceitful! It smelled so nice during the collection of leaves, fermentation, but during drying, the smell was not at all tea, and don't understand why ... I thought I had overexposed the first batch during fermentation, but it turns out not! The second batch turned out to be just as not tasty. So this is just a feature of the linden leaf like this.
Conclusion: I'm not going to do linden anymore! And I do not advise you. And I recommend making "honey" from her flowers! Awesome thing! I am still delighted with the result! Who hasn't done it yet, take note.

[Tanya]

I just finished drying the leaves of a wild pear. The result was very pleasing - the smell is intense, even somewhat reminiscent of the smell of good black tea - both in shade and intensity.

Tanya, yes, a pear is a thing! Where did you find the game? Wasn't it dangerous to follow her? Well done, what you did.
Girls who haven't made a pear yet, fill this gap! You will not regret! I sometimes drink only a pear without interruption for another tea, so I like it.

Where did you find the game?

She tugged at the game at the stables in the suburbs. We have a horse there, a friend of our daughters. My daughter will not abandon her horse, but I, of course, dochu, accompany her there through the checkpoint. So I graze there on the territory and around: I patted the cherries, the wild game, the thyme has bloomed - it is also in the burrow!

in 9 hours I got a sour mass

Wow, Lyudmila! It is very sad that it happened, but why did it happen? After all, as I understood, the average fermentation time for fireweed is 6 hours, although today, the first fireweed pancake turned out to be a little lumpy: after 4.5 hours I smelled the smell from it through the closed door, I thought, well, yes, yes, that's just the beginning, well, I kept it for another 1.5 hours, but the miracle did not happen, the smell did not intensify anymore, but began to weaken. I put seagulls faster in the oven, but for some reason it dries heavily (after 2 hours moisture is still felt), maybe I got a layer that is too large, about 4 centimeters. Well, okay, but now I know how fireweed tea should smell) ))
Lyudmila, how much do you need to crush the granules after the meat grinder, before fermentation, with all the foolishness or slightly?

[Tanya]

We have a horse there, a friend of our daughters.

Tanya, oh, how great! Well done daughter! And the horses are probably also scared now.

the thyme has bloomed - also it in the burrow!

Someone mentioned the thyme, but they also fell silent. What are you going to do with him? Dry or tea?

[Elena]

It is very sad that it happened, but why did it happen?

ElenaIn the end, the finished tea from a 9-hour batch did not turn sour. At first I thought so. And when the second batch is made (4 hours of fermentation), the result is similar to the first batch. The tea of ​​the 1st batch is not tasty, that of the 2nd batch. I think this is a feature of the linden leaf - just right for a bath, for treatment. But no tea from it! So I calmed down about the linden tree and now I walk proudly past it. It is a pity that I only managed to make the lime "honey" once. By the time I came to my senses, the flowers had all withered and began to crumble.

[Lena]

Well, I held it for another 1.5 hours, but the miracle did not happen, the smell did not intensify anymore, but began to weaken. I put seagulls faster in the oven, but for some reason it dries heavily (after 2 hours moisture is still felt), maybe I got a too large layer, somewhere about 4 centimeters. Well, okay, but now I know how fireweed tea should smell) ))

Lena, of course, it will be hard for him - as much as 4 cm layer. That's a lot! 1 - 2 cm, no more! Otherwise, the tea will be steamed instead of drying. And will lose the remaining smell. So keep that in mind in future tea batches.
And now you have felt the smell! Here's a similar one and catch it next time. Let me remind you once again that it is better to under-ferment than to over-ferment tea. Unfermented tea, although it will not be bright in color, will be fine with the smell.

and how hard should the granules be pressed after the meat grinder, before fermentation, with all the foolishness or lightly?

Generally, if the tea is granulated, then press lightly, slightly crushing the mass with your hand... If leaf tea, then with all the foolishness you can, yes we also press down with oppression!

Have a nice week everyone! The weekend flew by in one breath! I hasten to report on my tea making in 2 days. (this is already a stage of mania) I made preparations for super tea (6 different leaves, but I have a problem with Ivan-tea ... I threw it into the freezer yesterday at the dacha, it does not freeze and that's it, even late at night it feels so energetic. palms, my feet were already reddened, the juice stood out wonderfully, I brought this "sausage" home, stood the night, there was no smell of nectar and they did not darken, I went to work and put the bowl in a cooler place, so I think maybe I should have put it on secondary freezing too , but what next ??? advise, please, since it turns out that I will stand at room temp. for another 12 hours!

If the tea is loose leaf, then with all the foolishness you can, and even press down with oppression!

This is called see above)))), it was necessary under oppression!

Therefore, when preparing teas from medicinal plants, those useful substances that are present in properly prepared raw materials do not always work.

Veronica, thank you so much for the information we need so much!

Tanya, my old meat grinder was naughty too - I didn’t twist hard leaves. I often had to disassemble and clean it. When will you do everything? Or will you freeze and turn each scent in turn, ferment, dry?
And plantain is bitter and not tasty !!! What are you going to do with him? Tea is unlikely to be good from it. But he is very useful. I just dry it. As a medicine.

My daughter is still an assistant. Now only the hawthorn is in the freezer, everything else is ready.
By the way, our fireweed, after fermentation, acquired a melon-banana aroma. I thought I had a glitch, but my daughter confirmed
And for the sake of interest, I decided to try the plantain. Just steeping the leaves is not bitter. Donnik smells awesome.

I brought this "sausage" home, stood the night, there was no smell of nectar and they did not darken, I went to work and put the bowl in a cooler place, so I think maybe I should have put it on the secondary freeze too, but what next ??? advise, please. Since it turns out I will stand at room. pace. 12 more hours!
Girls, help URGENTLY, pliz, re-freeze? Apparently everyone rode off into the fields)))

[Galina Iv.]

Galina Iv., what for? He gave enough juice. Leaf fireweed can stand on fermentation longer than granulated. Is there really no smell at all? Even herbal?

Is there really no smell at all? Even herbal?

Lyudmila! Good day! There is a herbal smell, but not nectar! This is what confuses me ... it turns out that I will have it fermented for 36 hours)))))

[Tanya]

our fireweed, after fermentation, acquired a melon-banana aroma.

Tanya, there you probably have melons growing nearby. But seriously, fireweed has subspecies. Maybe you have just such a subspecies growing there. It would be interesting to look at him. I would compare it with my narrow-leaved fireweed.

and now they boast: I brought the leaves of meadowsweet, where I collected them, meadowsweet is just beginning to bloom. Therefore, the inflorescences will be with me later. and one more thing: I collected a bag of garden rose petals and I don’t know what to do with them, if you wither, they can deteriorate, in the freezer .... I don’t know ...))

[Check mark]

Check mark, Hi. What is the temperature in the apartment? And you did not put oppression, as I understood. Why can't you bet less than 12 hours? In general, people ferment such tea for two days.
If it doesn't smell sour, then I would put it in a warm place, put the oppression down and hold it for another 4-6 hours on fermentation.

I collected a bag of garden rose petals and I don't know what to do with them - if you wither, they can deteriorate, in the freezer ... I don't know ...))

Checkmark, flowers don't usually ferment. They are very gentle for this. Dry it and then add it to your tea. Or cook jam. It seems that here, at the Bread Maker, there is a recipe for rose petal jam.

If it doesn't smell sour, then I would put it in a warm place, put the oppression down and hold it for another 4-6 hours on fermentation.

Two days? wow! (wrote it down in a notebook)
I probably have a temperature of 24, I can't put it under oppression, I'm at work, I can only give a command to my household, for example, put them in the refrigerator, no more))

Well, two days is a last resort. You will get deep fermentation tea. The temperature is very good. Still, I would not put it in the refrigerator. And I can't say anything about the freezer. I didn't do it myself, that's why I can't advise. But the girls did well with the second freezer. In general, think for yourself. If you leave it further in the room, then ask your family to at least put oppression.
Ahh! Domestic and oppression will not be able to put? Yes...

Ahh! Domestic and oppression will not be able to put?

Grandpa is 86 years old !!)))

Grandfather is 86 years old, he will fall down with oppression)

No, let's leave grandfather alone! It means that your tea is destined to be deeply fermented.

[Tanya]

Tanya, there you probably have melons growing nearby. But seriously, fireweed has subspecies. Maybe you have just such a subspecies growing there. It would be interesting to look at him. I would compare it with my narrow-leaved fireweed.

Yes, pozyazya.

You also asked how am I going to process that amount. I drove 130 km to the fireweed, it is clear that you can't hit it every day, so I collected it. And dry in the airfryer, it's much faster.

Someone mentioned the thyme, but they also fell silent. What are you going to do with him? Dry or tea?

I simply dried the first batch in the air. Thyme - it is so ... not juicy, or something - a soooo lignified stalk, tiny leaves-needles ... You can't squeeze juice out of it! But what if you just freeze-thaw several times, and then just dry? A? What do you think, Luda?

She also brought in thorn leaves! A small batch for trial. Today or tomorrow they will rest in the freezer, and then I will unsubscribe what happens. Although the leaves are not dry, juicier than those of our apple trees, they can be dried and twisted in a meat grinder, but with a "lazy" option it is somehow more convenient for me. My test is not "professional suitability" (well, wrinkle-hold-sniff) Teren passed.

My soul, too, could not stand it, took up tea making. From the neighbors, the cherry at the fence crawled and all my hands did not reach to cut it out, so I think why cut it out if there are such cool leaves and most importantly a lot. I cut off all the growth, now they are in the freezer. Tomorrow I will start making tea.
I have a question, since the oven is gas and you can't really guess the temperature on it, but there is an Isidri dryer, can you dry tea in it? Although there is no 100 degrees in Isidri, is it necessary to do 100 degrees at the beginning of drying?