Country tea (fermented) - seven in one

[*]

Country tea (fermented) - seven in one

Category: Blanks

Kitchen: Russian

Ingredients
Leaves of ivan tea, apple, currant, cherry, pear, mountain ash, linden	1000 gr and more

Cooking method

• In one of the comments on my recipe Fermented tea made from leaves of garden and wild plants 🔗 - Marina asked if it is possible to mix the leaves of different plants when making tea. I replied that I make tea from one plant, and when brewing, I mix them. But then I remembered that in the brochure by Margarita Voronina "Gorodets tea is a joy to the soul, health to the body" * there is an old recipe based on willow tea under the modest name "Country Tea". It is prepared from the leaves of five plant species. I wanted to cook it, which I did.
• "Gourmet tea" - that was the first thought that came to mind after tasting it. And, of course, I wanted to share it with you, dear forum users. It would be possible to post this recipe in one of the posts of the above topic. But it seemed to me that he might get lost there among the comments. Therefore, I decided to post it in a separate recipe.
• "Country tea" is prepared by fermentation (fermentation) leaves. During fermentation, part of the insoluble substances of plant tissue turns into soluble and easily digestible ones, and the taste of the finished tea becomes refined and aromatic. You can read more about the fermentation process and the stages of making fermented teas in my recipes here and here
• First, here's a recipe from the brochure:
• Country tea
• Water, a few leaves of Ivan-tea, apple-tree, currant, cherry, mountain ash, linden.
• Fold 5-10 leaves in a pile, roll into a roll and roll until juice comes out. Put in an enamel bowl, cover with damp gauze and place in a warm place. When the rolls turn brown, spread out in one layer and dry in the air or in a slightly warm oven, but always in a dark place. Dried tea is ready to drink.
• Now I will describe how I made this tea. Tea preparation consists of several stages.
• 1. Collection of leaves.
• I collected the leaves of all the plants indicated in the recipe - ivan tea, apple, currant, cherry, mountain ash, linden + additional pears.
• 
• 2. Withering of leaves.
• This process is needed to make the leaves easier to process in the future. In addition, excess moisture in the leaves does not allow for high-quality subsequent fermentation. As a result, the tea will be of poor quality.
• We spread the leaves indoors on cotton or linen in a small layer (3 - 5 cm). It is necessary to control the process and periodically stir up the leaves so that they wither evenly. Try to keep the rays of the sun out of the leaves, otherwise the leaves will dry out rather than wither. For the same reason, leaves should not be dried outside, because the sun and wind will quickly dry the leaves, which will complicate their processing and worsen the quality of future tea.
• On average, the process takes 12 hours, depending on humidity and air temperature. On a dry, sunny day, the process is faster, on a rainy and cool day - longer (a day or more). The best temperature for wilting is considered to be 20 - 24 ° C at a relative humidity of 70%. Periodically stir up the leaves so that the upper or outer leaves do not dry out.
• 
• The end of the withering process is determined by folding the leaf in half. If in most of the leaves we feel the "crunch" of the central vein, then withering should be continued. If most of the leaves do not have "crunch", then proceed to the next stage.The end of withering is determined in another way - when a handful of withered leaves are strongly squeezed, the lump should not open.
• 
• 3. Preparation of leaves for fermentation.
• Put the leaves in the freezer for a day in order to make them easier to twist in the future. It is advisable to spread the leaves into thinner bags so that they freeze evenly.
• 
• You do not need to freeze, but after freezing it is much easier and faster to work with such leaves.
• After a day, I put the leaves from each bag in a separate bowl. Thawed them for half an hour.
• 4. Rolling leaves.
• Fold the leaves of fireweed (ivan-tea) in a pile, then currants, apples, pears, cherries, lindens, mountain ash - from larger to smaller. At first I tried to do it in no particular order, but it turned out to be more convenient. The rest of the leaves twisted into the leaves of the fireweed very well.
• 
• She put a stack of leaves on one palm, covered them with the other palm and twisted the ball in two or three circular movements, then a roll, trying to squeeze the juice out of it. The rolls turned out to be rather "shaggy", but that's okay - it didn't affect the result. Rowan and linden leaves I did not put in every roll.
• 5. Fermentation.
• Fold the rolls into a plastic container (you can use an enamel saucepan or bowl), sprinkle a little water from a spray bottle to make the mass more moist
• 
• Press down with oppression
• 
• Close the container with a damp cloth and a lid, cover with a blanket if it is cool in the house (less than 18 * C) and put to fermentation.
• 
• Ferment for 6 to 8 hours. Focus on the smell - after 7 hours it became very strong for me. Look, the leaves have slightly changed color after fermentation.
• 
• If the temperature is higher, the tea can be fermented for a shorter time. The end of the fermentation is a strong aroma.
• 6. Drying tea.
• First, cut the rolls into thin washers about 3 mm thick.
• 
• Put them on baking sheets, loosen slightly.
• 
• Put in the oven with the door ajar at a temperature of 100 * C for 1 hour. Monitor the tea, stirring it occasionally. Then reduce the temperature to 50 * C and dry the tea until most of the "tea leaves" become dry. This tea dries out pretty quickly.
• Look how beautiful it turned out!
• 
• Pour the tea into a bag made of thin cloth, hang it outside in the shade and dry until the residual moisture disappears. If it is damp outside, then tea should be dried in the house.
• 
• 7. Storage of tea.
• Pour dried tea into a container, cans, metal boxes, close it tightly, sign and send for storage in a dark dry place. The final tea will be ready one month after the so-called dry fermentation... But the longer the tea is stored, the tastier and more aromatic it becomes.
• 
• 8. Brewing tea.
• Rinse the teapot with boiling water. Pour tea into it at the rate of 1 - 2 tbsp. spoons in a glass of boiling water. Brew for 10 - 15 minutes. Pour into cups without diluting with boiling water. Re-pour the steamed mass with boiling water. It will work well too. This tea can be brewed up to 4 times.
• 
• 
• Wonderful tea turned out! Beautiful in any form - dry and brewed! And of course it's delicious! You won't immediately understand what it is made of. First you hear the taste of cherries, then suddenly you feel the currants, and then everything alternately. You don't drink tea, but you solve the riddle! We loved this tea. Recommend!
• This tea can be prepared and granular, twisting withered leaves in a meat grinder... Here are photos of the process of making granulated "Country Tea".
• Twisting withered leaves in a meat grinder:
• 
• Granules and twisted mass:
• 
• Slightly compacted mass (I just knock the bottom of the container on the table, the mass compresses itself). It is not necessary to press the granulated tea with the bend:
• 
• Cover with a damp cloth and ferment for 6 - 8 hours under the same conditions as leaf tea:
• 
• After fermentation, place the mass in a layer of 1 cm on baking sheets lined with baking paper:
• 
• Dried tea under the same conditions as loose leaf tea:
• 
• Drying tea in bags until residual moisture disappears:
• 
• Tea in containers (for storage) and a metal box (for daily use). In a metal box, tea is mixed with petals of various plants, berries, apple and pear peels:
• 
• Dry and brewed tea (cherry + apple + raspberry)
• 
• Tea composition can be changed at your discretion, choosing your favorite plants for him. The proportions of the constituent parts can also be very different. In order to make a delicious and aromatic tea, it is important to choose the right leaves for its preparation. The main principle when choosing is the presence of tannins (tannins) in the leaves... If there are no tannins in the leaves, then the tea will turn out to be tasteless. Therefore, when choosing a plant for making tea, you should familiarize yourself with the chemical composition of the plant leaves. Young leaves are richest in tannin. In delicate raw materials, their content is 20-30%. In a hardened leaf, the reserves of tannins are sharply reduced. It is better to make tea from those plants, the fruits of which we gladly eat - apple, strawberry, cherry, blackberry, raspberry, black currant, pear. In the leaves of each of these plants, tannins are in sufficient quantities.
• You can collect tea leaves throughout the season. In spring they are very tender, curl and ferment more easily. The tea turns out to be delicate, with a delicate aroma. It is better to collect leaves for tea during the fruiting period of plants, then the leaves, like the fruits, will accumulate a lot of useful, flavoring and aromatic substances. In autumn, the leaves are coarse, harder to curl and ferment longer. The rolling process can be facilitated by pre-freezing the leaves. But it is more difficult to collect quality leaves in the fall - they are damaged by garden pests and diseases.
• Before choosing leaves for tea, I recommend that you read with the properties of a particular plant, as well as possible contraindications for various diseases.
• Nice and delicious tea!
• 
• 
• I would like to thank Sea-Marina for reminding me about this method of making tea, and Margarita Voronina for the recipe included in the brochure.

The dish is designed for

about 200 gr.

Time for preparing:

from 1 to 1.5 days

Cooking program:

Meat grinder, oven

Note

Important! In 2014, our members of the forum have gained rich experience in making tea. This experience was described in the comments to this recipe. I made active links to the most important questions related to fermentation of leaves of different plants. They can be found after Notes on the same page. I also posted active links to excerpts from Wu Wei Xin's book "The Encyclopedia of Healing Tea", in which you can read a lot of useful information about all stages of making tea. Please read all this information.
Important! *If Ivan tea can be consumed by almost everyone without restriction, then teas from garden and wild plants may have contraindications. Therefore, when choosing plants for tea, it will not be superfluous to consult a doctor. And further. You should not drink only one tea for a long time. I'll tell you about myself. I prepare teas from a large number of plants, I constantly alternate them, so I did not observe any problems from their use.
Important! Do not ferment herb-leaves of medicinal plants for making tea (e.g. chamomile, St. John's wort, yarrow, Rhodiola rosea, Echinacea, etc.). You won't get a tasty tea or a medicine. At first, the properties of medicinal plants during fermentation may either weaken or disappear altogether, or even change. Therefore, when preparing fermented teas from medicinal plants, those useful substances that are present in properly prepared medicinal raw materials do not always work. Secondly, the taste of tea made from fermented medicinal herbal leaves is very far from the taste of the drink that we consume as tea. Exactly tea, not a medicinal infusion... Therefore, if you want to prepare something for medicinal purposes, then it is better to do it as recommended by herbalists-pharmacognosts, that is, dry the raw material at certain temperatures, which are different for different types of medicinal raw materials.
Sources:
1. M. B. Voronina "Gorodets tea is a joy to the soul, health to the body" 🔗
2. V. Odintsov, Ing. - Forgotten drink (109). "Science and Life", 1989, no. 07
🔗
3. Fermentation of Ivan tea ... 🔗
4. Own experience.
5. Medicinal plants and herbs, photos, description, application, properties, treatment. 🔗

Links to answers to frequently asked questions:

Brief instructions for making tea Description, Scheme
What is the difference between herbal and fermented teas?
What affects the quality of tea?
Natural fermentation
Aroma test for future tea
Snails on leaves
To wash or not to wash the leaves? 1 2 3
Twist the leaves in a meat grinder or twist by hand? 1 2
Leaf twisting grinders 1 2 3 4
Why do the leaves crumble when twisted in a meat grinder? 1 2 3
How to cut leaves for loose leaf tea?
Effect on Fermentation of Insufficient Manual Leaf Processing
Chopping leaves on a combine
The effect of fermentation on the medicinal properties of plants 1 2 3
What conditions do you need to create for good fermentation? 1 2
How to ferment tea with what layer? 1 2 3
At what temperature should tea be fermented?
Why and when do you need oppression during fermentation? 1 2 3
Fermentation in a ham maker
How to dry tea 1 2 3 4 5
Drying temperature 1 2
Drying tea in a dryer 1 2 3
Airfryer for drying tea (paramed1)
How to tell if tea is dry?
Why is there a "bath" smell (the smell of brooms) of ready tea? 1 2 3 4 5
Why is tea odorless?
Why is brewed tea light in color? 1 2
Why does tea have a herbal smell?
The reason for the fishy smell of tea
Whole leaf tea made from frozen leaves (no withering or curling)
The method of hardening the leaves in preparation for fermentation - alternate freezing and thawing of the leaves (Zachary)
Making tea using the sweating method 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Rada-dms 36-hour fermentation tea without grinder or curling
How to “fit” tea into your personal schedule? 1 2 3 4 5
How to achieve the strength and astringency of tea?
Why does tea grow moldy when stored?
How much tea to procure?
End of the fireweed season

Tea from the leaves of some plants:
- Apricot 1 2 3
- Cherry plum - conventional technology, Cherry plum by hardening
- Amaranth
- Grapes 1, 2, 3
- Bird cherry 1 2
- St. John's wort
- Viburnum
- Irga
- Linden
- The turn 1 2
- Badan 1 2 3 4 5 6
- Barberry 1 2
- Lingonberry
- Elder
- Felt Cherry
- Blackberry 1 2
- Peach
- Spiraea
- Blueberry
- Rosehip
- Schisandra
- Cypress
- Loch Jigida 1, 2, 3, 4 (watch the page to the end)
- Sea buckthorn
- the Rose 1, 2, 3, Photo, fermentation of petals
- Mulberry (black tea), Mulberry (green tea)
- Fermentation of berries 1 2 3 4
DIY tea gift wrapping 1 2 3 4 5, Carton for packaging, Gift stickers

Wu Wei Xin "Encyclopedia of Healing Tea" (excerpts):
- Tea classification
- Harvesting raw tea
- Transportation of tea leaves
- Withering
- Twisting
- Fermentation
- Drying
- Green tea production
- Yellow tea production
- Red tea production
- Changes in the chemical composition of the tea leaf
- Factors affecting the quality of the tea leaf

Similar recipes

Ivan tea (fermentation of fireweed leaves) - master class (lappl1)

Fermented tea made from leaves of garden and wild plants (master class) (lappl1)

Liquid yeast based on fruits, vegetables, herbs, tea ... (lappl1)

An amazing, healthy drink prepared with soul !!! This weekend we are starting to prepare raw materials, we barely waited !!!!

[Rada-dms]

Rada-dms, You are the first for tea again! Welcome ! Thank you for your amazing consistency! Enjoy making and drinking tea!

And at our dacha, while she was alive, in a tub she chopped a flowering oregano with a cut along with leaves and stems. Then she put it in a pot and put it in the cooling Russian oven for three hours. Then she took it out, put it on a steel sheet and dried it there on the "free spirit", as she said.
The tea was super !!! A reddish-brown infusion with an oregano scent, but not fresh, but a deeper aroma. I still remember.

They began to make it in large quantities, when there was a coupon system, and then it came to the point that it was impossible to buy black tea with coupons.

PS By the way, I advise you to make tea from one cherry leaf, its taste and aroma are super. Especially if the leaves "sweat" well in a closed bag. There water is released, condensation. But I dried without an oven, in the shade in summer and dries so well.

Cool recipe!
But with fireweed we have a plug ((. For some reason, this grass leaves our region, for three years (if not more), I do not see the massive flowering of willow-tea, before all the hills and plains were pink from it, but now only a few bushes and very few of them.

Another dissertation!
Lyudmila, thank you for continuing to educate us and teach us how to make teas!
When do I have gingerbread truck will roll over it will turn out to get raw materials

[lappl1]

lappl1, Lyudmila, I still admire your tea !!! It's time to take action! I found fields with fireweed - on the weekend we will go with my husband (I wanted one, but I'm afraid of snakes!), And because of the snakes I won't take the kids, but I really wanted to involve them in the process! But I will definitely entrust them with currants and cherries!
Thanks for the detailed reports !!!

[Elena]

And at our dacha, while she was alive, in a tub she chopped a flowering oregano with a cut along with leaves and stems. Then she put it in a pot and put it in the cooling Russian oven for three hours. Then she took it out, put it on a steel sheet and dried it there on the "free spirit", as she said.

Elena, yes, our grandmothers knew a lot, but we only now understand their wisdom. She just used the method of fermenting oregano, maybe not knowing this term. By the way, this fermentation method was also used for fireweed leaves. I also want to try this method of making ivan tea.

By the way, I advise you to make tea from one cherry leaf, its taste and aroma are super.

I have been preparing this tea for the third year already. And in the previous recipe "Fermented tea from leaves of garden and wild plants" I told how to prepare fermented tea not only from cherry leaves, but also from many other plants. You can see this recipe here https://mcooker-enm.tomathouse.com/index.php@option=com_smf&topic=389380.0

ElenaThank you very much for sharing your grandmother's experience with us. And I invite you to join us to repeat her experience in memory of my grandmother!

[fly tsetse-Elena]

fly tsetse-Elena, Thank you !

But with fireweed we have a plug ((. For some reason, this grass leaves our edges

Yes, it's a pity that the fireweed leaves you. And such tea can be prepared without fireweed. It will work very well too.

[Alyona]

Lyudmila, thank you for continuing to educate us and teach us how to make teas! When my truck with gingerbread rolls over, I will be able to get raw materials

Alyona, Thank you for your kind words !
Yes, it's time to find sources of raw materials and prepare tea! I wish you good luck in your search gingerbread truck !

[IRINA]

Lyudmila, I still admire your tea !!! It's time to take action! I found fields with fireweed - on the weekend we will go with my husband (I wanted one, but I'm afraid of snakes!), And because of the snakes I won't take the kids, but I really wanted to involve them in the process! But I will definitely charge them with currants and cherries!

IRINA, thank you ! I am very pleased with your assessment!
I am glad that we found where to get fireweed. So you will have tea! I wish your friendly family a pleasant and useful rest while making tea!

[Ludmila]

Ludmila, thanks for another tea recipe! I'd like to try it, but we don't have Ivan-tea and mountain ash. What would replace?
And also, from the last recipe, your phrase haunted me:

She twisted balls from leaves in two or three circular movements, then - rolls, trying to squeeze juice out of them.

I can't understand about the balls. I put a leaf on a leaf, each shifting a little down, about 5-8 pieces, it turned out like a "Christmas tree", and then I twisted it. The son just folded a few leaves in a pile and rolled them into a roll. And how can I not understand this in a ball at first?

[Ludmila]

Ludmila, what a beautiful photo and description! Already ran to pick half the leaves. I have no fireweed: pardon: well, nothing, I'll do it.

Lyudmila, you are super, this is what I need, all in one vessel. If tomorrow I don’t get fireweed, I’ll do it only when I come from Karaganda, after the 15th.

And also, from the last recipe, your phrase haunted me:

Quote: lappl1 from Today at 03:19 AM
She twisted balls from leaves in two or three circular movements, then - rolls, trying to squeeze juice out of them.

Annushka, I will try to explain, I hope Lyudmila will not be offended, because with these rolls, it turned out to be a gag. After freezing, the leaves are very soft and pliable. You just squeeze your stack, as if you crumple a sheet of paper, and twist it between your palms, it turns out a ball and juice stands out well on all the sheets. Then straighten this ball a little, just like a paper ball, and only then roll this pile into a roll. There is no need to twist even rolls, I squeeze it even more like an accordion and then roll it between my palms again until the juice is released. It turns out that something in between a flagellum and a roll. Otherwise, if you gently roll it into a roll, the juice will stand out inside and the fermentation process will go worse. And when you cut, if the sliced ​​curls are tight, they dry for a long time. Better that they were loose.

[Eva3]

Eva3, thanks a lot, I get it!

[Eva3]

Eva3, thanks, while I went to my computer, you explained everything so well!
Anya, I slightly tweaked the recipe. Maybe this will be clearer?

[Anya]

thanks for another tea recipe! I'd like to try it, but we don't have Ivan-tea and mountain ash. What would replace?

Anya, to your health! Prepare this tea too! You can exclude any of the plants altogether. Or you can replace those that you like! In general, experiment!

[Larissa]

what a beautiful photo and description! Already ran to pick half the leaves. Well, I have no fireweed, so I'll do it.

Larissa, I am pleased that you liked the recipe! Correctly, that they began to make tea, not postponing the matter indefinitely! I think that tea will be very good even without fireweed! Cook it with pleasure and drink it to your health!

[Lyudmila.]

this is what I need, all in one vessel. If tomorrow I don’t get fireweed, I’ll do it only when I come from Karaganda, after the 15th.

Lyudmila., thank you ! I'm glad that I liked the recipe! Have a nice trip to Tanyusha and new delicious teas! Good luck!

Lyudmila, thank you for the recipes, you read every recipe, and it’s like childhood in the country, the smell of grass, the crowing of roosters. After your next masterpiece, I go to collect leaves and take the child with me, when I was a child, when I went to pick berries, I saw whole fields with Ivan tea, and we pick leaves of currants, cherries, and other plants in the garden. But I have questions, but before putting the leaves in the freezer, do they need to be washed? Is it possible to add berries to tea, because now the currants are already both red and black ripe. If possible, can there be some special way of drying berries?

[natKa_I]

natKa_IThank you for appreciating the recipe! I am pleased that with this recipe I at least did not bring you much back to childhood! It's good that you involve the child in useful work.

do you need to wash the leaves before putting them in the freezer?

I have a very clean garden, as our village is far from roads and businesses, so I do not wash the leaves. But if you doubt their purity, then, of course, you need to wash them. But before freezing, the leaves must be dried so that there is no water on them.

Is it possible to add berries to tea, because now the currants are already both red and black ripe.

I have already answered this question in the next recipe. If you add ground berries to tea, then the mass will be too wet for fermentation and subsequent drying. And if you add whole berries, then during drying it turns out that the tea is already dry, but the berries are not. You will have to dry until the berries are dry.And this will dry out the tea itself, and it will lose its aroma and taste.

If possible, can there be some special way of drying berries?

Maybe there is. But I dry in an electric dryer. The berry is dried quickly and much more useful is stored in it than in simply dried in the air.

So I got to the garden-vegetable garden :) The process has already begun, I was so impatient that in the dark they had already picked up the leaves, washed them and sent them a little damp to the freezer.
There were questions! Do you think it is worth fermenting hyssop, the plant is still very fragrant. Can calendula and echinacea leaves be fermented and used?
What does fermented viburnum leaves taste like? What can you say about fermentation of birch leaves?
And yet, isn't the temperature 100 degrees high in terms of preserving useful properties?

viburnum leaves

Kalina is bitter. Included in the astringent collection

from, sorry, diarrhea. And locks. Be careful.

As for the taste after fermentation, I won't say, I didn't.

Thank you very much for sharing your grandmother's experience with us. And I invite you to join us to repeat her experience in memory of my grandmother!

Thank you for reminding me too! I will definitely make my favorite, undeservedly forgotten tea, and I will try to repeat yours too.

[Rada-dms]

So I got to the garden-vegetable garden

Rada-dms, at last ! Waited, waited! ...

Do you think it is worth fermenting hyssop, the plant is still very fragrant. Can calendula and echinacea leaves be fermented and used? What does fermented viburnum leaves taste like? What can you say about fermentation of birch leaves?

Of all the things you've listed, I haven't fermented anything. And no one seems to be either. In addition to viburnum and echinacea. Some of the girls made viburnum, but they did not like it. Echinacea was made and not reported.
My opinion is that “tasty” leaves should be sent to tea. After all, we primarily make a delicious drink, not a medicinal collection. Calendula and birch are unlikely to add good flavor to your tea. And the viburnum, judging by the reviews of the girls, too.

And yet, isn't the temperature 100 degrees high in terms of preserving useful properties?

In adjacent topics paramed1 (a pharmacist by profession) wrote on this topic. While she is silent, I will answer what I think about this.
When preparing our tea, some useful properties of the plants themselves remain (micro and macro elements, for example). Some are reduced or lost (vitamins). Still others are modified during the fermentation process (bitterness leaves or a new taste appears).
I will note that we are first of all making tea... What is tea in general? This is a delicious and aromatic drink. Therefore, when people drink the usual Indian or Chinese tea, they (for the most part) perceive it not as a medicine. And they follow him to the store. If a person has health problems, then he goes to the pharmacy or harvests those plants that will help cope with these problems. And he doesn't really think about whether this broth will be tasty, even if it's bitter wormwood or disgustingly sweet licorice. It is necessary, then it is necessary.
So it is with our tea. The technology for making fermented teas described in the recipe is similar to the technology for producing tea all over the world.
So, if you want to make tea, you must follow the conditions for its preparation, which are described in the recipe. If you want to get, first of all, medicinal benefits from plants, then you need to prepare not tea, but simply dry the leaves or other parts of the plants. Moreover, this must be done at a temperature not higher than 40 * C.

About echinacea tea. This medicinal plant with various properties - an immunomodulator, a purifier of blood, lymph, liver, increases efficiency, reduces appetite. But for these properties to work, you don't need to ferment the plant. The grass (that is, the entire aerial part, together with flowers) just needs to be dried. Different forms (alcohol tinctures, decoctions, infusions) are used in different cases.And if you make fermented tea from this plant, then be careful - sometimes echinacea causes allergies in dry form, and in fermented this property is enhanced. Yes, and not very tasty tea will turn out ...
I subscribe to Lyudmila's words that we make tea to make it delicious. You don't need to try to combine business with pleasure and ferment medicinal plants with everything - you can get undesirable consequences. After all, fermentation is fermentation. And during fermentation, many substances change their chemical composition.

[Veronica]

Veronica,

Hello, Lyudmila. I have followed your fermentation topics with interest from day one. Very interesting and instructive, and, I will not deny, useful. I remember many years ago in a Soviet women's magazine there was an article about Russian teas, a method for their preparation by fermentation was described. I did then, the result was pleasing, but the process of twisting until the formation of juice was quite difficult and therefore did not repeat the feat. So there, I vaguely remember, the fermentation lasted much longer than 4-7 hours, as you recommend. Now I can not assert anything without reasoning, since I can hardly find that clipping. But in your article on country tea given by you, the author recommends fermenting until brown, and yours is almost green. Where is the truth? Maybe you need to do it as it has been worked out for centuries, or does the non-fermented tea turn out better?
And for the freezing method discovered by you, thank you very much! I think that it greatly facilitates curling, which means that the difficult process will not scare away those who want to enjoy their own aromatic teas.

[Natasha]

Natasha, Hello! Thank you for your interest in my topics! Pleases your inquisitiveness and desire to understand the issues related to fermentation of leaves for making tea.

I remember many years ago in a Soviet women's magazine there was an article about Russian teas, a method for their preparation by fermentation was described.

I also remember this article - my grandmother had a file from the magazines Rabotnitsa and Krestyanka. My grandmother had a large garden. When I came to her on vacation, she always made tea from different leaves. I especially loved tea made from black currant leaves. Before leaving, I dried these leaves and took them home in the hope of enjoying delicious tea in winter. But you yourself understand that I was disappointed, because just dried leaves did not have the taste and aroma that I remembered. For the next vacation, I asked my grandmother why this is happening and what can be done to preserve the taste and aroma of freshly picked leaves. Grandma gave me this filing. Then I first came across the word fermentation. After reading about the length of the process, in my youth I did not want to make such tea. I don't remember the details of that recipe, but I remember forever that you can make delicious tea from the leaves by fermentation.

So there, I vaguely remember, the fermentation lasted much longer than 4-7 hours, as you recommend. Now I can not assert anything without reasoning, since I can hardly find that clipping. But in your article on country tea given by you, the author recommends fermenting until brown, and yours is almost green. Where is the truth? Maybe you need to do it as it has been worked out for centuries, or does the non-fermented tea turn out better?

When I first started making tea from leaves of fireweed (ivan-tea), I relied on the wrong article from women's magazines (it did not survive), but on an article by engineer Odintsov "Forgotten drink", published in the journal "Science and Life" in 1989 year. I wrote about this in the Ivan-tea recipe and gave a link to this article - 🔗... Pay attention to the duration of fermentation indicated by V. Odintsov - 6 - 12 hours.
Here is a page from "Science and Life" and the article itself:



And this is the paragraph in which the author writes about the fermentation process and time, including:



At that time, I also met other Internet sources.Unfortunately, I was unable to find them while writing the recipes and naturally link to them. In those sources I read that tea has different degrees of fermentation depending on how long the leaves will ferment... Ie. the taste, aroma and color of the finished drink depend on the fermentation time... I also reflected this moment in the recipe for Ivan tea:

The end of fermentation is a change in the color of the mass from green to brown or black, as well as a change in the herbal odor to a strong floral-fruity aroma. There are three degrees of tea fermentation - light, medium and deep.
When light fermentation the leaves are fermented until the first signs of a fruity-floral odor (3 - 6 hours). After drying, they remain green. The brewed tea has a light color, mild taste and delicate but strong aroma.
Tea medium fermentation (10 - 16 hours) is obtained with a pronounced aroma, moderately tart taste with a slight acidity. The color of this tea is rich, reddish brown.
Tea deep fermentation (20 - 36 hours) - tart, without sourness, with a relatively light aroma. The color of this tea is similar to the color of the usual black tea.

I noted in the recipe that I prepare teas of different degrees of fermentation and mix them to get the fullest taste, color and aroma of the drink.

From my experience I will say that focusing only on color, you can get just a sour mass. Darkening may not occur at all (for some plants). A I saw brown color at the end of fermentation only on the apple and pear leaves... The apple tree is light brown, the pear tree is black-brown.

Since all the leaves during the preparation of "Village tea" I twisted in fireweed, you see them in the photo. They do not change their color to brown, no matter how long do not keep them on fermentation. But also pear and apple leaves are visible in the photo. It can be seen that they have exactly the color that the author M. Voronin writes about - brown.



I would like to point out that I'm still not guided by the color of the mass, but by its smell... This the smell should be strong and very pleasant... At the strongest smell, I stop the fermentation process because then this smell begins to weaken, and then disappears altogether. If we wait a little longer, then we can get a generally sour mass and the finished tea will have a sour smell. Here in different topics the girls wrote about this:

The smell now looks like "Bath" like from brooms,

The smell turned out to be so familiar, they remembered and remembered with my husband - and remembered. It smells like a bathhouse! Birch brooms when steamed

I was also able to see this today. Yesterday I put granulated linden tea for fermentation. I put it on for the night. In the morning, after 9 hours of fermentation, it began to dry. And I felt everything - and the smell of brooms when steaming, and the smell of the bath, and the sour smell was well felt. That is, the tea was kept in fermentation. Since I made granulated tea, it needs to ferment for a maximum of 5 - 6 hours. And preferably 3 - 4. In general, I ruined this batch of tea. Therefore, the second batch of linden tea is now being fermented. I think that 3 hours will be enough for him, since the weather is warm today and the time for fermentation should take less. Then I will report on this in the topic about tea from the leaves of garden and wild plants.

I hope, Natasha, I was able to answer your questions. I suggest you repeat your successful experience and make fermented tea from your favorite plants. And then share the result on the pages of one of the topics about tea here https://mcooker-enm.tomathouse.com/index.php@option=com_smf&topic=389191.0 , here https://mcooker-enm.tomathouse.com/index.php@option=com_smf&topic=389380.0 or in this thread about "Rustic Tea".

To make it easier to prepare the leaves for fermentation, take a meat grinder as your assistants and make granulated tea. Or freeze the leaves first. Then the rolls will spin quickly and easily. Some girls even compare this process to meditation.

I wish you good luck, Natalia!

Thank you, Lyudmila.We removed all the questions. Somehow I didn't notice the brown color in your tray, I paid attention only to the green, now I look, for sure, there is brown. This already senile Cypriot, probably, has a very delicate leaf, so it quickly "re-ferments". Unfortunately, it is not growing here. I'm thinking of drying the leaves out of something, and then soaking them and trying to ferment. If this happens, then you can prescribe dry fireweed in the internet and make tea from it. And the smell of steamed brooms is also unfamiliar to me, since the Russian bath with a steam room is not very common. More often you can find a sauna.
I am going to type a cherry leaf outside the window and join the process, especially since you made my task easier by inventing freezing.

[Natasha]

Natasha, glad I answered your questions!

I'm thinking of drying the leaves out of something, and then soaking them and trying to ferment. If this happens, then you can prescribe dry fireweed in the internet and make tea from it.

I don't think you can get good tea this way. After drying, the leaves lose many substances that are involved in the fermentation-fermentation process. It's easier to order not a dried leaf, but Ivan tea itself. Many are now offering it.
And be sure to try the cherries. Noble tea is obtained from it. Try rolling the withered leaves through a meat grinder. The task will be even easier.

Thank you all for your answers, I also decided to try the leaves of thorns, tomorrow I'll start!

[Rada-dms]

Rada-dms, to your health! And no one seems to have made the turn. So we are waiting for your impressions.

[lappl1, Lyudmila!]

lappl1, Lyudmila! Again they gave the command "to action!" ... I have already prepared several batches of fireweed, cut off all the garden plants, prepared them. I think, well, a break and - on the second round. An, no ... Buckets in hand and march, march, march ...
Thank you Sea and the author of the recipe directly!

[Marina]

Marina, to your health!

Again they gave the command "to action!"

but what about? We don't rest here a day, you, apparently, too! Nothing, now we will work a little, but in winter we will have a rest with our tea!
How is fireweed tea? What did you do? Leafy or granular?

Luda, can you ask another question?
Fireweed leaves lie in the freezer for a day. If there is no time for tea, how long can they still be there without losing quality?

How is fireweed tea? What did you do? Leafy or granular?

I'm crazy about him! So far I have made only granulated, but varying degrees of fermentation. Now, if we go after him again on the weekend, I’ll turn the rolls.

[Marina]

can you ask another question? Fireweed leaves lie in the freezer for a day. If there is no time for tea, how long can they still be there without losing quality?

Marina, sure you may. Ask questions, I will be happy to answer them.
Leaves can lie in the freezer as long as you like - nothing will happen to them. As you can do them, then make tea.

[Marina]

I'm crazy about him! Now, if we go after him again on the weekend, I’ll turn the rolls.

Marina, I also ! Magic tea! I warn you that you will need a lot of tea for a year! So you need to go for fireweed. Moreover, he had little left. As soon as the fluff appears, you can't make tea anymore - it strives to get into the leaves. And tea with fluff is not the same.

So far I have made only granulated, but varying degrees of fermentation.

And what degree of fermentation do you like best?

It's hard to say which one is better, I haven't tasted it yet. But, according to the aroma during drying, I probably liked the light fermentation better. I think I will decide for the winter.

[Marina]

Marinayes, light fermentation teas have the strongest aroma. I also like it better. But I mix this tea with tea of ​​another fermentation and get a strong aroma and dark color in the finished drink.

[Ludmila]

Ludmila, please tell me if it is worth fermenting lemongrass leaves. Dad is going to cut it out in the garden, so there will be leaves! ...

I used to ferment. The smell somehow resembled an apple

[Tashenka]

Tashenka, I have been living in Russia for a relatively short time. And I have not yet had time to study the plants that grow here. There is no lemongrass in our village. Therefore, I can not say anything about him. Maybe our girls will answer. Or try it yourself. Moreover, it will be destroyed. But the title is promising. I would definitely try.

Well, while typing the message, you, Natasha, have already been answered. Thank you, Tusya Tasya. The apple smell is very good! So try it, Natasha. Good luck!

[Tusya Tasya]

Thank you, girls, if today it turns out cherry, I'll try lemongrass.
Tusya Tasya, and in what way did you ferment?

[Natalia.]

Natalia.While Tusya Tasya is silent, I will tell you what she wrote about this experience in answer # 28 of this topic.

Here is my "5 in 1" - cherry, apple, plum, mountain ash, ivan tea.

Is it still dried up?
It's good that she didn't take the linden there. In "6/1" I didn't put much of it. And I didn’t like the linden separately.