How to make fermented Ivan tea

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

In good restaurants, along with expensive and very famous brands of Chinese, Indian or Ceylon tea, you can be offered Koporsky, or fermented Ivan tea. What is this drink? This is Russian tea, or rather, an infusion from a plant called Ivan-tea. Its other name is fireweed. In our article we will tell you what it is and what, in fact, is the use of fermented Ivan tea. In this regard, we will tell something from the history of the origin of the blend recipe, popular in the village of Koporye, not far from St. Petersburg. Maybe you are interested in a unique plant and want to know how to ferment fireweed tea at home.

A bit of history

An interesting story of the origin of Kopor tea. Before the British found out about Indian tea and began to export it to European countries, everyone drank only Chinese. Since it was very expensive, it would be an exaggeration to say that everyone drank it. They drank herbal, fruit and cereal drinks, infusions, decoctions, decoctions, sbitni, etc.

The trade route from China to Europe went through Russia. For Russian taste, Chinese tea differed little fromfireweed drink. Some of its varieties were better, while others were even worse than what was made from the same fireweed. However, in the Celestial Empire, by that time, a whole tea culture had been formed for many centuries. Tea bushes were divided into varieties depending on the area of growth - the quality of the soil, air temperature and light. The properties of the same plant also depended on how the tea was prepared. The Chinese still know a great many methods of drying and fermentation. They are systematized and described in the medical and philosophical treatises of the Eastern sages.

One and the same plant, depending on the area of growth and harvesting method, not only had a different taste, color and smell, but also differed in biochemical composition and, accordingly, in therapeutic indicators. Koporsky fireweed probably looked like one of the very good varieties, and therefore became known outside of Russia. Maybe the Chinese merchants taught their Russian friends how to make it according to oriental recipes and told them how to properly ferment Ivan tea, or maybe our ancestors dried it in this way long before they met the Chinese and their national drink. Now this is not known for certain.

It is difficult to say how our ancestors harvested herbs with fragrant leaves before they tried Chinese and Indian teas, but we will present the classic Koporsky recipe and several other recipes in this article. It should be noted that according to the above recipes, you can harvest other herbs - lemon balm,mint, oregano, currants, raspberries, etc. Just do not mix them together until fermentation is completed. Each herb is best cooked separately. But brewing several different plants in one kettle is even very useful. You can learn how to make individual compositions. We will introduce you to some especially tasty and he althy ingredients and explain how they work. But first, we’ll tell you how to ferment Ivan tea correctly.

Herb collection time

The timing of the collection of medicinal plants is of great importance, and fireweed is certainly a very useful plant. Since in order to make fermented Ivan tea, according to some recipes, only leaves are needed, and according to others, the entire aerial part, the harvesting period stretches for the whole summer, including September. This should be done in the morning, immediately after dew, in extreme cases in the evening, when the sun leaves its zenith. The worst time is noon. Raw materials are harvested in dry weather, after a period of rains and several subsequent warm days. Such conditions contribute to the juiciness and saturation of the biomass with useful substances. The area must be chosen remote from industrial facilities, it is best if it is a clearing in the middle of the forest. You can collect it both in spring and autumn. It is not recommended to do this only during the flowering period, because in this case, flowers and seeds will inevitably come across among the leaves, that is, white fluff, which many do not like for purely aesthetic reasons.

Parts of the plant used in tea

Ivan-teafermented is made from the aerial part of the fireweed, although the roots of the plant are considered useful. In the old days they were dug up, washed, cleaned and ground into flour. This flour was used to make bread, cereals, stews and jelly. For medicinal purposes, the bushes were dried entirely. They were dug up with their roots, tied several plants together and hung in attics. If necessary, the dried plants were untied and steamed with boiling water. This infusion, although it was not fermented, was drunk for various ailments. The most active beneficial properties of many herbs are manifested during special processing - fermentation.

Leaves, stems and roots are used for fermented Ivan tea. The best blend is obtained from the leaves alone, taken from the top. Tea made from all leaves from top to bottom has good properties.

How to properly remove leaves

To remove the maximum amount of foliage, you need to grab the top of the fireweed with your left hand, and remove the leaves with a tightening movement with your right hand and immediately put it in a bag. It is more convenient to hang the bag over the head and left shoulder obliquely and move it forward. With a little training and with our hint, anyone can quickly collect a lot of leaves. In order to prepare the traditional weakly fermented Ivan-tea recipe from the village of Koporye, you need at least one large bag (like those in which we carry products from the store) of leaf mass. A cheaper, but also tasty and high-quality blend is a fermented product from the entire aerial part. We will only talk about weak and strong fermentation loose leaf tea. Stems are not used in our recipes. For the preparation of granulated willow-tea, raw materials need about a third more. The granules are a highly compressed green mass.

Properties of fireweed

I must say that fireweed has long been well studied by phytospecialists. Even children can be given to drink even fresh, even dried, even weakly or strongly fermented Ivan-tea. The benefits and harms of this plant depend only on the amount of infusion drunk and the correct preparation of raw materials. It has a very mild effect on the body, although it is a tonic drink. Ivan tea has a good effect on metabolism, normalizes blood pressure, relieves fatigue and does not contribute to overexcitation. Even tooth enamel does not darken from it.

The first way is Koporsky

The collected leaves should be folded into a large wooden or enameled tub and mashed a little. You should not try to get juice out of them. They just need to be slightly crushed, that is, evenly deformed. Cover with a damp towel and leave overnight in a warm place. During this time, the leaves will wither and soften. The next day they need to be twisted - take a small handful and roll between the palms. Return the resulting spools to the tub and cover with the same towel. Dip the ends into bowls of water so that the fabric, absorbing water, remains wet all the time. Within a few days, the leaves will ferment. The tub needs to be shaken from time to time so that the leaves do not cake.

How long it takes to ferment Ivan tea depends on many factors - the temperature of the room in which it is located, and the humidity of the air, and the quality of the raw materials. When the herbal smell is replaced by a thick aroma of overripe fruit, the fermentation process should be stopped. This usually happens within 4-5 days. Tea is scattered on baking sheets and, stirring it from time to time, is dried in a hot oven. The door must be open for the oven to ventilate. When the moisture in the leaves remains no more than 10-20%, that is, they begin to break when squeezed, the fire must be turned off and allowed to cool. After that, decompose into dry glass jars. Within a month, the process of absorption will take place, that is, the alignment of the surface and internal moisture of the leaves. At this time, the jars need to be shaken from time to time. As for the question of how to store fireweed fermented in this way, there are no special rules. It retains its properties well for a very long time - up to several years. It is only important to protect it from sunlight and prevent waterlogging.

Second way - using a meat grinder

In stores, fireweed is sold not only in leaves, but also in the form of oblong sausages - granules. If you brew them, you get a very tasty drink of a beautiful reddish-brown color. Many are interested in technology: what needs to be done to get such willow-tea? How to ferment? A meat grinder with large holes - that's the whole secret. The rest of the process is unchanged - to collect, crush andwither. However, there are some subtleties.

Collected leaves, without removing from the package, you need to crumple a little. Tie the bag tightly and leave for a while in a warm place. At this time, a very important process of activating intracellular changes in the chemical composition of fireweed will occur - fermentation. As a result, the leaves will become soft and darken a little. How long to ferment Ivan tea? This is the most important question that always arises in the production of any tea. Not only the taste and color of the drink, but also its microbiological composition depends on its duration. On average, it lasts from several hours to several years. But this is a very complex and time-consuming process. A good drink is obtained after drying for a day. Next, the leaves must be frozen in the refrigerator. This is done so that they scroll better and move forward with the meat grinder shaft. Soft leaves will get stuck in it. The grate should be taken with the largest holes, because when dried, the sausage granules will decrease in size by about half, even a little more. It is necessary to scroll the leaves through a meat grinder, put the granules on a baking sheet and send to the oven, preheated to 50-60 degrees, for 5-6 hours.

When the granules dry enough and shrink, they will become brittle. Let lie on a baking sheet, cool and absorb. After a few hours, they can be sorted into jars.

Useful combinations

Dry fermented fireweed is very good to do withadding leaves of other plants, as well as berries. With raspberry, currant or lemon balm leaves, it acquires the additional aroma of these plants. They also do it with St. John's wort. Then it acquires a reddish-amber hue. Some sources believe that it is most correct to ferment each plant separately and mix only when brewing. However, with many plants this does not work. It is very difficult to ferment raspberries or chamomile. Even more so at home. But it's no secret that fermented plant materials are much more biologically active than those that were dried without prior withering.

Granulated fireweed tea can be made with natural raspberries, currants, blueberries, blueberries, blackberries, etc. From spring until October, you can collect and harvest fireweed and other plants and stock up high-quality and different ones for the whole year in composition and properties, fermented willow-tea. Its benefits and harms are constantly discussed by lovers of proper nutrition. Everyone agrees that a properly prepared blend has never harmed anyone.

Granular tea with rose petals and marigold

We will tell you how to ferment fireweed tea with rose and calendula petals. Fireweed must be withered and frozen, as described above. Rose and marigold petals should be prepared in the same way, just keep them separate from each other. As for the duration of drying, they must be fermented for the same number of hours as Ivan-tea. You need to connect all the plants together after freezing, when they become hard enough and are ready to be scrolled through a meat grinder. Dry also in the oven. If tea is harvested in the summer at a dacha outside the city, then there is another way to dry it - in a pillowcase. Pellets should be poured into a cotton pillowcase and hung in the shade of trees. Shake it from time to time.

Granular tea with berries

How to make fermented Ivan tea with raspberries or currants? In stores, it costs twice as much as simple willow-tea. But to make it even at home is not so difficult. It is necessary to prepare fireweed leaves as described in previous recipes, that is, wither and freeze. Berries in small portions should be poured into a meat grinder directly to Ivan tea. It is important that their number is half that of fireweed leaves. Otherwise, the granules after drying will become too brittle and will crumble very quickly. As for how to store fermented Ivan-tea with berries, the answer is unequivocal - in a dry place, in a dark glass dish.

How to make tea

One tablespoon of low-fermentation tea or one teaspoon of strong-fermentation tea is taken on average per glass of water. It is most convenient to use a regular teapot or a French press. Infuse the drink for 10-15 minutes. Then you can add boiling water, soak for five minutes and drink again. Unlike teas containing caffeine, fireweed does not become toxic even the next day.after welding. It can also be cooked in a thermos. Fireweed drink has such a mild and pleasant taste that it does not need to be sweetened. It can be drunk with milk or cream.