About the miraculous Koporye tea mentioned in the historical chronicles of Russia from the 12th century. Ivan tea or fireweed was in great honor in tsarist Russia, as in many European countries, it was supplied to the imperial table, and was also widely exported abroad, most of all to England. The raw material for Koporye tea (in honor of the village of Koporye, located near St. Petersburg) was fireweed leaves.

Ivan tea is famous for its rich exquisite taste and a healing effect on the body. Nowadays leaf tea supplied to us from the East (Indian, Chinese), practically supplanted this healing drink. But according to taste this primordially Russian tea is in no way inferior to overseas varieties, what can we say about therapeutic effect... That is why we decided to tell you about it.

In this article, we want to dwell on how to prepare ivan tea, what time it is best to collect it, what leaf fermentation is, tell about the basic rules for drying and storing finished raw materials. Properly dried willow tea has light aroma fruit, and when brewed, the drink exudes an indescribable smell and has a slightly sweetish taste therefore there is no need to add sugar.

Ivan tea: description

The medicinal plant has many popular names: Russian tea, down jacket, fluff, Koporsky tea, koporka, wild flax, Kuril tea, skrypnik, field leukonia and others, given in different localities. The official name is narrow-leaved ivan tea or narrow-leaved fireweed. The plant is perennial, grows everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere. In countries of the former Soviet Union most often found in the strip of coniferous forests, as well as in Siberia. Ivan Chai is a frequent visitor to forest clearings and forest edges, along railways, close to sown fields, next to reservoirs on moist fertile soils.

One of the interesting and very important for health features of Ivan tea is its ability not to absorb dangerous toxic substances from the soil and air. Moreover, it is drunk not only hot. The cooled tea leaves, even after standing for a day, do not lose their taste or healing qualities! And also fresh grass fireweed contains the same amount powerful antioxidant- vitamin C, as well as recognized sources of this substance: black currant and red Bell pepper(about 600 mg% per 100 g of raw materials). Here is such an unusual plant. And now we will tell you how to prepare Ivan tea for preservation maximum number nutrients in raw materials.

Ivan-tea: collection and preparation

The plant is harvested during the period of active flowering - from early July to late September. As a rule, they do not take the color, cutting off only the leaves, for which the stem is clamped closer to the top with one hand, and the other is sharply carried from top to bottom, capturing young leaves. Harvesting is done in dry weather, the best time for harvesting - early morning. Particular attention should be paid to appearance plants. It is undesirable to take leaves from dried, unhealthy, damaged, heavily soiled and dusty specimens. In order not to harm environment, do not mow the grass to the right and left. It is better to collect little by little green shoots from different areas.

Fermentation of Ivan tea

Having learned how to prepare Ivan tea, you can at any time enjoy a very pleasant taste and healthy drink, held in high esteem by emperors and kings, and treat them to their dear guests and friends. The collected raw materials must be processed in a certain way. First of all, the leaves should be rinsed under running water, and then spread out in a layer of about 5 cm to wither for a day. The raw materials should be mixed periodically.

Then the leaves are curled. This process is done manually: each leaf should be rubbed between the palms, turning the raw materials into thin bundles or rolling them into small balls until they darken, releasing cell juice. The next stage is directly fermentation. The curled leaves are laid out in a layer of 3-4 cm on a baking sheet or in enamel trays, covered with a clean damp cloth on top (you can use a towel).

The containers should be placed in a warm place (the air temperature should be about 27 ° C), since the fermentation process goes much better in a warm place. Ripening usually lasts from 8 to 12 hours. During this time, the fresh smell of grass changes to delicate aroma ripe fruits and flowers, which is actually a signal of the end of fermentation. You should not overexpose the leaves, as they can simply turn sour and hopelessly deteriorate.

How to dry ivan tea

After fermentation, the leaves are immediately cut with a sharp knife or scissors, poured into a thin layer on baking sheets, previously covered with wax paper to avoid contact of the raw material with a metal surface, and dried in an oven, oven or special dryer at a temperature of about 55 ° C. If you dry tea in the oven, then the door must be ajar, since ventilation is necessary for high-quality drying. Raw materials must be periodically mixed with a wooden spatula, along the way checking readiness.

Ready-made willow tea resembles Ceylon tea, has a rich black color, tea leaves, when exposed to external influences, should break, but not crumble into ash. Overdried leaves smell like cardboard, and taste like ordinary hay. Therefore, the drying process must be closely monitored. The time depends on the amount of raw materials, the layer on which it is scattered, and oven, usually about 40 min. Koporye tea is stored in glass containers, which must be tightly closed so that the aroma does not evaporate. Storage time no longer than 2 years.

V folk medicine not only the leaves, but also the roots of the plant are actively used. They are harvested in the fall, dug out, washed from the ground, cut and dried in dryers or in an oven at a temperature of about 70 ° C. The roots of Ivan tea are stored in glass containers for up to 3 years.

How to make Ivan tea

Koporye tea is brewed and drunk in the same way as the Ceylon or Indian tea we are used to. First you need to rinse teapot boiling water, then put dry ivan tea at the rate of a teaspoon in a glass of water, pour hot water(95 ° С), leave for about 5 minutes and pour into cups. A properly prepared tea has a certain sweetness, but if desired, the drink can be slightly sweetened with natural honey.

Traditionally, the recipe for preparation and the secret of how to prepare ivan tea were passed from mouth to mouth in every family, being considered a family secret. The collected leaves of narrow-leaved willow tea were collected, dried, doused in wooden tubs boiling water, rolled by hand until the appearance of cell juice, dried on large trays placed in Russian ovens. Young greens of ivan tea were widely used in food as a green additive in salads and soups, and fresh roots plants in some cases replaced white cabbage... The dried roots were ground into flour, which was added to pies and bread.

We told how to prepare ivan tea, but about what healing qualities possesses this plant and how it is used in folk and traditional medicine to heal from various diseases, will be our next article "Ivan-tea medicinal properties and use."

one more way:

Ivan tea recipe from Dmitry Samusev

While still living in Belarus, I drew attention to the name of the plant and tried to simply dry and brew it. Nonsense turned out: hay with hay.

Tried it differently several times. Then I found out about fermentation, but did not know what it was.

Having already arrived on my land this spring and saw the young shoots of this plant, I again wanted to unravel the secret of tea and drink a normal domestic drink. Succeeded. I figured out the secret.

Everything is very simple. The plant itself contains everything you need for fermentation. It is his own juices and enzymes. If you crumple a leaf in your hands, then some of the cells will burst, the plant will let out juice. In wet crumpled leaves will contain vitamins, nutrients and intracellular enzymes. These enzymes, leaving the vacuoles, begin to actively change biochemical composition plants. It's like self-digestion. At the same time, the leaves darken somewhat, another, pleasant burnt appears. For this fermentation process, I leave finely chopped, well-crumpled leaves in a non-metallic container under oppression (with a decrease in contact with air and metal, vitamins are retained) for 1-2 days at room temperature... If you keep it longer, the tea will ferment like cabbage.

In agriculture, something similar happens during silage of hay, when the cut grass is collected in herds and it sours with its own enzymes. Lactic acid generated naturally preserves the grass. I wrote this to the fact that any medicinal wild-growing plants can be fermented and on the basis of this process an infinite number of teas can be prepared. The taste and smell of freshly dried and fermented herbs are noticeably different. You can add flower petals, dried berries, fruits to teas ...

So, after fermentation, spread the leaf on cast iron pan and on very low heat "simmer" for about forty minutes. This heating to a hot state is necessary to accelerate fermentation, in which part of the insoluble, non-extractable substances of plant tissue are converted into soluble and easily digestible substances. These are the substances that give the taste, smell and color of tea.

After forty minutes of languishing, turn on medium fire and, constantly stirring with a wooden spatula, bring the sheet to dry state. Neatly! Don't burn it. And then the tea will be fired.

In appearance it is regular black large leaf tea, however, with a pleasant peculiar smell. When brewed, Ivan tea gives a good color and nice smell, and with an increase in dosage, it acquires an intense color and astringency, like the usual tea.

Interestingly, the Ivan-tea brew does not stain tooth enamel, and in general, well-made Ivan tea is much tastier than Indian or Ceylon tea. By its properties, the drink of Ivan-tea occupies, as it were, an intermediate position between black and green in terms of strength and healing properties. And if you add flowers to this tea, dried berries and the fruits, then the price will not be for him!
And this is all "pasture", a gift native nature, an environmentally friendly fortified product made with your own hands to your delight, and surprisingly to your neighbors.
So, we collect young shoots of willow-tea (flowers are also possible, but I have not experimented with flowers yet, I don’t know), finely chop the leaves, wrinkle them well with our hands so that the green mass becomes slightly damp, put them in a bowl under oppression for a day or two at room temperature.
Then heat under a lid in a skillet over low heat for 40 minutes. Finally, dry the mass over medium heat with constant stirring.
Ivan-tea, he is Koporsky tea is ready! Enjoy your tea.
A small recommendation for collecting willow tea
If you noticed the Ivan tea plantation, in the spring, around the beginning of May, although in different areas there may be different periods, cut off the tops of young shoots, from them you will get Koporsky tea top grade... And the cropped shoots will begin to bush, and by the beginning of flowering, there will be much more leaves on the plants than usual.
http://www.epochtimes.com.ua/ru/articles/view/34/4653.html
Based on materials: anastasia.ru

Very good article. On my own behalf, I want to add: rolling a large volume of leaves with your hands is very laborious, so after the leaves have wilted, I scroll them in a meat grinder with a coarse mesh. Then the technology is the same. The tea is obtained as granulated.

1. Collection.
It is necessary to collect the leaves of Ivan-tea at the beginning of flowering (in Karelia optimal time- July).

Drying.
After collecting, separate the leaves from the stems, sprinkle them on clean paper in a layer of cm. Within 3-4 hours, the leaves will dry out and wither. It is necessary to periodically stir them up and prevent sunlight from falling on the leaves.

Fermentation.
For fermentation, the leaves must be twisted by hand between the palms with effort so that 30 x 100 mm rolls are formed. Roll the rolls until they darken and begin to give juice.
After they need to be laid in layers (layer thickness up to 5 cm) in a wide enameled dishes and cover with a thick damp cloth. Put the dishes in a warm (24-27 degrees) for 6-12 hours. During this time, oxidation of the secreted cell sap with darkening of the leaves will occur. You can make sure that the tea is ripe by changing the herbaceous smell to a rich floral-fruity one.

Drying.
After fermentation and maturation, you need to start drying. In ancient times, in the homeland of Koporye tea, drying was carried out in an oven, in clay pots... But nowadays it is more convenient to dry Ivan tea in the oven. To do this, finely chop each rolled sheet and spread it in a layer of 1-1.5 cm on flat baking sheets covered with parchment paper... Dry the tea leaves at 100 degrees for about an hour.
Therefore, it is better to keep the oven door open, constantly stirring and making sure that the tea leaves break when squeezed, but do not turn into dust. Well-dried Koporye tea has the color of real black tea, but with a richer aroma.

Brewing.
Such ivan tea is traditionally brewed - an incomplete teaspoon of tea per glass of boiling water or two tablespoons per 1 liter of water. Brew for at least 15 minutes. Correctly brewed Koporye tea has a pleasant, slightly tart taste with a fragrant floral-herbaceous aroma. Re-brewing is allowed.

Enjoy your tea!

2. “Earlier, the peasants harvested fireweed (Ivan-tea) during its flowering, until the inflorescences gave fluff. Collected flowers and leaves in large quantities... the whole mass was rolled up in a layer of 5 cm and strongly crushed until the juice appeared. such a rolled and compressed roll lay for 8-10 hours. At this time, self-heating (fermentation) of the entire mass took place. then the plant was freely sprinkled, dried and dried in a Russian stove. "

3. “In monasteries it is passed through a large meat grinder and then fermented. I also eventually came to this. The taste does not change very much, and the sea saves time. Then I stupidly put this mass into a container, cover it with a clean cloth (well, this is from insects, so as not to climb) and leave it to ferment. While the mass is fermented, it "burns", that is, it is heated.
Fermentation: if it stands for 6-12 hours, then the infusion will be closer to green tea in color. If it is a day, then to black.
Drying in the oven, yeah ... If you just dry it, it will be hay and hay. About "Finely chop each rolled sheet" - this is for masochists 😉
Dried directly in a layer, sometimes loosened. The smell is similar to baked apples.
As for the tonic effect, this is a rather cunning state modulator. In the morning he invigorates. In the evening you drink, it doesn't seem to interfere with sleep, the only thing is a strong diuretic. "

Legend:

Is there a connection between the introductory word "tea" and tea - a drink? At first glance, there is no connection, because there is Chinese, Indian and other tea, and the story of the flowers of ivan tea is just a beautiful legend, nothing more.

A boy named Ivan lived in a village near St. Petersburg, he loved to flaunt in a red shirt. Most of the time, fellow villagers saw him in the forest, at the edges, among flowers and grasses. He loved the forest, studied the healing properties of plants. Seeing a scarlet color flashing among the foliage, they said: "Yes, this is Ivan, tea, walking!".

No one noticed at what moment Ivan got lost, but on the edges of the outskirts suddenly appeared beautiful scarlet flowers unprecedented before. When people saw them, they mistook the flowers for Ivan's shirt and began to say again: "Yes, this is Ivan, tea!" So the name stuck to the unexpectedly appeared flowers.

People got used to them: beautiful flowers, but fragrant ones. And once flowers fell into a pot of boiling water and the broth turned out to be pleasant and refreshing. So they began in the village of Koporye, near St. Petersburg, to make a healing drink from the leaves and flowers of ivan tea. Such is the legend about the appearance of Ivan tea in Russia.

More from the internet:

Healing properties of Ivan tea:

Prevention of malignant and benign neoplasms;
Strengthens potency;
Effective for diseases genitourinary system(powerful prevention of prostititis);
Scars stomach and duodenal ulcers;
Increases immunity to respiratory viral infections;
Prevention of caries;
Improves blood composition;
Reduces intoxication of the body;
Relieves food and alcohol poisoning;
Restores strength when exhausted;
With stones in the liver, kidneys and spleen diseases;
Strengthens hair roots;
Vitamin "C" in "Ivan-tea" is 6.5 times more than in lemon;
Eliminates headache;
Normalizes blood pressure.

The history of oblivion of "Ivan-tea" is closely related to the name - "Koporsky tea". This was the name of the drink, which in the old days was prepared from "Ivan-tea".

The fact is that Chinese tea FIRST came to Russia in the first half of the 17th century (this is the BEGINNING of the tea and coffee World expansion! :), but since foreign goods cost a lot of money, its ALTERNATIVE in Russia was OBVIOUS!

ALTERNATIVE, of course, was “ Blooming Sally", Which Russian" tea-growers "brewed and drank back in the 12th century!

Brewed " Blooming Sally"In such a way that he began to REMIND the taste and color of subtropical tea. They made it like this: leaves " Ivan tea”Dried, scalded in a tub with boiling water, ground in a trough, then thrown back onto baking sheets and dried in a Russian oven. After drying, the leaves were crumpled again and the tea was ready.

Most of this tea was prepared in the village of Koporye near St. Petersburg. Therefore, they began to call the drink, and later the "Ivan-tea" itself, Koporsky tea ... HUNDREDS of poods of this product have been used in Russia. Later, it became the MOST IMPORTANT component in Russian exports. After special processing, "Ivan-tea" was sent by sea to England and other European countries, where it is also FAMOUS as Persian carpets, Chinese silk, Damascus steel. Abroad " Blooming Sally"Called RUSSIAN TEA!

Leaving on a long journey, Russian sailors always took Ivan-tea with them in order to drink themselves. And as gifts in foreign ports.

However, there were also unscrupulous merchants who used Ivan-tea to counterfeit Chinese (Peking) tea. They mixed with chinese tea leaves of "Ivan-tea" and passed off this mixture as an expensive oriental curiosity. But I must say that in pre-revolutionary Russia, and even after the revolution until 1941, the addition of other plants to subtropical teas was considered shameless falsification, fraud and was prosecuted. Therefore, such merchants were most often convicted of such unseemly acts and brought to justice, sometimes even arranging high-profile trials.

However, even such cases could not deprive Koporye tea of ​​popularity, and already in the 19th century it made the MOST POWERFUL COMPETITION for Indian tea.

Great Britain, which owned HUGE tea plantations in India, bought TENS OF THOUSAND poods of Koporye tea annually, preferring RUSSIAN TEA to Indian tea!

So WHY did such profitable production Koporye tea? The fact is that at the end of the 19th century its popularity turned out to be so GREAT (Attention! :) that it began to undermine the financial power of the East Indian tea campaign, which traded Indian tea!!! The campaign fanned a scandal, as if Russians are grinding tea with white clay, and it is, they say, harmful to health. And the TRUE reason is that the owners of the East India campaign had to REMOVE the MOST POWERFUL COMPETITOR - RUSSIAN TEA from their own market in England !!!.
(This is the same East India campaign that got the whole Southeast Asia addicted to opium.)

The company GOT its own, the purchase of Russian tea was reduced, and after the revolution in Russia in 1917, when England entered the military bloc "Entente", the purchase of tea in Russia STOPPED COMPLETELY. The koporye went bankrupt.

BUT A NEW TIME STARTED !!! :)

And just recently, people REMEMBERED about it healing drink... After a long break, it was reproduced according to old recipes and the sailors of the Kruzenshtern took it with them to the round-the-world regatta. The famous lone traveler F. Konyukhov always uses this healing "Ivan-tea" in all his travels!

The underside of coffee vigor

In the near future, IT IS NECESSARY TO INTRODUCE "Ivan-tea" in the food of people, excluding or at the first stage LIMITING the consumption of subtropical teas and coffee, where there is an excess content of caffeine, which for a Russian person can be used very limitedly.

Another academician I.P. Pavlov found that caffeine enhances excitation processes in the cerebral cortex and increases motor activity. However, large doses of it can lead to depletion of nerve cells. Tea alkaloids enhance cardiac activity. The contraction of the myocardium becomes more intense and rapid. Due to this, more blood flows to all organs and tissues and they receive enhanced nutrition. As a result, a person feels as if a surge of strength, his mood improves, all the senses become more acute.

However, such elevations of spirit are naturally accompanied by an increase in energy expenditure, which is not compensated for by tea, because, although chemical composition it is also a rich plant, a person needs 2-3 times more for normal activity.

BUT ... CAFFEINE, like other stimulants of the central nervous system and CONTRAINDICATED in case of hyperexcitability, insomnia, severe hypertension and atherosclerosis, diseases of cardio-vascular system and just in old age.

The mechanism of action of caffeine important role plays the fact that it inhibits the enzyme phosphodiesterase. At the same time, cyclic adenosine monophosphate accumulates inside the cells, under the influence of which metabolic processes in various organs and tissues, including muscle tissue, and in the central nervous system are enhanced. But a paper cup of tea or coffee is not considered doping at a distance.

At the same time, caffeine binds to receptors in the brain, displacing adenosine, which normally reduces the processes of excitation in the brain. Replacing it with caffeine leads to a stimulating effect.

However, with prolonged use of this alkaloid, like other drugs, its effect gradually decreases.

And from tinted boiling water, they often go to a cup of real tea (a teaspoon of tea leaves for 0.15-0.2 liters of boiling water) washed down in three doses at intervals of 1.5-2 minutes. Then, by the morning cup, the daytime, and then the third, because in the absence of caffeine, the accumulated adenosine occupies all available brain receptors, sharply increasing the inhibition processes, fatigue, drowsiness, depression appear, decreases blood pressure and other unpleasant sensations arise.

In addition, the tannins contained in tea, and up to 18% of them (the higher the grade, the more there are), bind insoluble compounds and remove calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, metal salts of copper, zinc, nickel and other microelements from the digestive system. That is why in the East, tea is drunk one hour before a meal or two hours after a meal, and without any spices and sweets, which stimulate the secretion of saliva containing a lot of calcium and other digestive media rich in enzymes and vitamins.

And Ivan-tea blooms from mid-June to late August. Flowers open from 6 to 7 am, attracting many bees. This is not surprising, because "Ivan-tea" is one of the best honey plants. It is estimated that bees can store up to a thousand kilograms of honey from a hectare of "Fireweed" land. By the way, fireweed honey according to experts, the sweetest, and if the honey is fresh, the most transparent. In addition to nectar, bees remove their bread-bee bread from the flowers of "Ivan-tea".

The seeds of "Ivan-chai" ripen in August. Ripe seeds with fluff fly out of the fruit-boxes. Above the thickets of "Ivan-tea" and far around the fluff flies - as if several featherbeds were ripped open. The seeds of "Ivan-chai" are remarkable for their amazing volatility - the wind carries them away for tens of kilometers. Flowers, leaves, less often the roots of "Ivan-tea" are used as medicinal raw materials.

The collection is carried out during flowering (usually leaves and unblown buds are prepared separately).

"Ivan-tea" contains:

• Flavonoids (quercetin, kaempferol, which has an antispasmodic choleretic and diuretic effect);
• Tannins (up to 20% of tannins of the pirogal group, which have astringent anti-inflammatory and hemostatic effects);
• Mucus (up to 15%, which provides emollient and enveloping properties, the ability to relieve inflammation, soothe pain, soothe and relieve cramps);
• Not a large number of alkaloids (these substances in large doses poisonous, but in small ones they have wonderful medicinal properties, are able to improve metabolism, blood circulation, the state of the nervous system are good pain relievers);
• Chlorophyll (a green plant pigment that absorbs light energy, stimulates wound healing, improves metabolism);
• Pectin (this substance increases the shelf life of tea).
• The leaves contain vitamins, especially a lot of carotene (provitamin A) and vitamin C (up to 200-388 mg - 3 times more than in oranges).
• The roots are rich in starch (this is a storage carbohydrate of plants), polysaccharides (these carbohydrates are involved in immune reactions), organic acids (are involved in biochemical reactions., Play an important role in maintaining acid-base balance).
• In addition, the leaves of "Ivan-chai" contain a large amount of trace elements that stimulate hematopoiesis - iron, copper, manganese and other trace elements necessary for metabolism - nickel, titanium, molybdenum, boron.

No plant can boast of such a set of microelements!

Unique composition defines diversity healing properties"Ivan-tea". This is a mild laxative, emollient, enveloping, wound healing, analgesic, anticonvulsant effect. By its anti-inflammatory properties, "Ivan-tea" surpasses all medicinal plants- scientifically proven that it has the highest anti-inflammatory coefficient among plants! :) And in terms of its tranquilizing effect (sedative, reducing feelings of tension, anxiety, fear)

In folk medicine, "Ivan-tea" has long been considered also an antineoplastic agent. AND Scientific research confirmed the centuries-old experience of herbalists, a high-molecular compound hanerol was isolated from the Ivan-tea inflorescences, which exhibits antitumor activity, has a relatively low toxicity and a wide range of effects on tumors.

To summarize, "Ivan-tea" GIVES US WITH YOU:

• Prevention of malignant and benign neoplasms;
• Strengthens potency;
• Effective in diseases of the genitourinary system (powerful prevention of prostititis);
• Scars stomach and duodenal ulcers;
• Increased immunity to respiratory viral infections;
• Caries prevention;
• Improves blood composition;
• Reduces intoxication of the body;
• Relieves food and alcohol poisoning;
• Restores strength when exhausted;
• With stones in the liver, kidneys and spleen diseases;
• Strengthens hair roots;
• Vitamin "C" in "Ivan-tea" is 6.5 times more than in lemon;
• Eliminates headache;
• Normalizes blood pressure !!!

Detailed recipe for making Koporsky tea

Withering: the leaves are scattered in a layer no thicker than 5 centimeters for a day or day, until they become lethargic, while they must be periodically agitated, not allowing the leaves of the upper layer and around the edges to dry out.
Twisting: the leaves are rolled between the palms of the hands into small, spindle-shaped sausages about half the size of a sausage until they darken from the emerging juice.
Fermentation: rolled leaves are placed in a layer of 5 centimeters in an enamel bowl or tray, covered with a wet cloth and placed in a warm place (24-27 ° C) for 6-12 hours to ripen. The higher the temperature, the faster the fermentation process goes, the end of the process is characterized by a change in the herbaceous smell to a rich floral-fruity one. Too high temperature and overexposure are dangerous - fireweed acquires the smell of low-grade overboiled "public catering" tea.
Drying: the fermented leaves are finely cut, spread on sieves or baking sheets covered with parchment, in a layer of 1-1.5 centimeters and dried at a temperature of 100 ° C for about an hour, periodically checking the readiness by touch. Well-dried tea has the color of real black tea, rich and stronger than its aroma, tea leaves break when squeezed, but do not crumble into dust. When the bulk of the tea reaches this condition, the drying temperature is reduced, and the craving, moderate during the drying process, is sharply increased. If too high temperature and overexposure of tea in the dryer, an admixture of the smell of "dry paper" appears in the bouquet.
Storage: like real tea, Koporsky requires tight packing during storage - best of all in glass jars with plastic lids. Koporye tea reaches the marketable condition after about a month of storage, and in the future its properties, like that of real tea, are even more improved. The dried flowers also make a wonderful drink.

How to properly dry Ivan tea leaves

This primordially Russian tea is made from the leaves of the ivan tea plant (E. angustifolium), exquisite in taste, it is in no way inferior to overseas varieties. In the centuries before last, Russia supplied the whole of Europe with Ivan-tea.

The English name for narrow-leaved fireweed, or willow-tea - Fireweed - means "weed of conflagrations." On lands devastated by fire, this plant appears first, preparing conditions for the settlement of other plants in the future. Ivan tea has flying seeds and quickly colonizes areas with disturbed vegetation; the pink blaze of willow-tea flowers can be seen in vacant lots, in vegetable gardens and villages, in clearings, on the edges of the forest.

Ivan tea recipe from Dmitry Samusev

While still living in Belarus, I drew attention to the name of the plant and tried to simply dry and brew it. Nonsense turned out: hay with hay.

Tried it differently several times. Then I found out about fermentation, but did not know what it was.

Having already arrived on my land this spring and saw the young shoots of this plant, I again wanted to unravel the secret of tea and drink a normal domestic drink. Succeeded. I figured out the secret.

Everything is very simple. The plant itself contains everything you need for fermentation. These are his own juices and enzymes. If you crumple a leaf in your hands, then some of the cells will burst, the plant will let out juice. Wet crumpled leaves will contain vitamins, nutrients and intracellular enzymes. These enzymes, leaving the vacuoles, begin to actively change the biochemical composition of the plant. It's like self-digestion. At the same time, the leaves darken somewhat, another, pleasant burnt appears. For this fermentation process, I leave finely chopped, well-crumpled leaves in a non-metallic container under oppression (with a decrease in contact with air and metal, vitamins are preserved) for 1-2 days at room temperature. If you keep it longer, the tea will ferment like cabbage.

In agriculture, something similar happens during silage of hay, when the cut grass is collected in herds and it sours with its own enzymes. The resulting lactic acid naturally preserves the herb. I wrote this to the fact that any medicinal wild-growing plants can be fermented and on the basis of this process an infinite number of teas can be prepared. The taste and smell of freshly dried and fermented herbs are noticeably different. You can add flower petals, dried berries, fruits to teas ...

So, after fermentation, spread the sheet on a cast-iron pan and "simmer" over very low heat for about forty minutes. This heating to a hot state is necessary to accelerate fermentation, in which part of the insoluble, non-extractable substances of plant tissue are converted into soluble and easily digestible substances. These are the substances that give the taste, smell and color of tea.

After forty minutes of languishing turn on medium heat and, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula, bring the sheet to a dry state. Neatly! Don't burn it. And then the tea will be fired.

In appearance, it is an ordinary black large-leaf tea, however, with a pleasant peculiar smell. When brewed, Ivan tea gives a good color and pleasant smell, and with an increase in dosage, it acquires an intense color and astringency, like the usual tea.

Interestingly, Ivan tea does not stain the tooth enamel, and in general, a well-made Ivan tea is much tastier than Indian or Ceylon tea. By its properties, the drink of Ivan-tea occupies, as it were, an intermediate position between black and green in terms of strength and healing properties. And if you add flowers, dried berries and fruits to this tea, then there will be no price for it!

And this is all "pasture", a gift of native nature, an ecologically clean, fortified product made with your own hands to your delight, and surprisingly to your neighbors.

So, we collect young shoots of willow-tea (flowers are also possible, but I have not experimented with flowers yet, I don’t know), finely chop the leaves, wrinkle them well with our hands so that the green mass becomes slightly damp, put them in a bowl under oppression for a day or two at room temperature.

Then heat under a lid in a skillet over low heat for 40 minutes. Finally, dry the mass over medium heat with constant stirring.
Ivan-tea, he is Koporsky tea is ready! Enjoy your tea.

If you notice the Ivan tea plantation, in the spring, around the beginning of May, although in different areas there may be different periods, cut off the tops of young shoots, from which you will get Koporsky tea of ​​the highest grade. And the cropped shoots will begin to bush, and by the beginning of flowering, there will be much more leaves on the plants than usual.

Based on materials: anastasia.ru

And finally, friends! You can right now buy Koporsky tea (Ivan-tea) highest quality . (If you are selling top quality Koporsk tea, your link could be here)

To manufacturers and distributors of Ivan-Tea: for long-term cooperation and placement of your advertisement - please write to us using the contact form.

P.S. If you think this information is worth sharing with others, share it on social networks.

Fermented tea, made from the fireweed plant or, in a simple way, Ivan-tea, has tremendous healing and tonic properties. But in order for Koporsky tea to "play" in your cup with all the colors, Ivan tea leaves must go through not only a long process of collection and drying.

To obtain real taste of this drink, it is necessary for the leaves of the plant to undergo a fermentation process. I will tell you in detail how to properly prepare Koporsky tea by myself in my recipe with step-by-step photos.

How to ferment Ivan tea

The collection of herbs must be carried out in sunny dry weather. In this case, collect the leaves and flowers separately. After collecting the flowers, we immediately put them in a drying container and dry them at a temperature of 70 degrees.

The collected leaves are by no means mine.

The first stage is withering. You can, of course, spread the grass in a small layer in a well-ventilated area, while excluding direct sunlight. But, most do not have such rooms and extra space for such manipulations. Therefore, just take glass jar, tightly put the grass in it, close it tightly with a lid and remove it for exactly 24 hours.

After 24 hours, you will notice that perspiration has appeared inside the jar, and the leaves have darkened slightly.

We open the jar and take out Ivan-tea from it. The foliage has become light pleasant aroma, changed color and went limp.

Now you need to carry out the basic preparation for fermentation. For this we will "knead" the leaves. This must be done very carefully so that the structure of each leaf is broken, and it lets out the juice.

We crumple and crush the leaves for at least 10-20 minutes, depending on the amount of raw materials. It took me 10 minutes. The foliage volume has decreased by 3 times. There is a way to prepare the leaves using a meat grinder. Instead of crushing the leaves, they are passed through a meat grinder and, as a result, tea granules are obtained. But, it is leaf tea that turns out to be more aromatic. We collect the leaves in a dense pile as in the photo and cover with a towel (preferably even several) for fermentation.

The fermentation process will take 8 hours. All this time you will have to sniff the grass so as not to miss the completion of fermentation. Note that the higher the room temperature, the faster the process goes.

So, it's been 8 hours. The grass changed its dark green color to green-brown and acquired a rich aroma. The main thing is not to overexpose, otherwise the foliage may turn sour.

To stop the fermentation process, you need to start drying immediately. We loosen the grass and put it in the containers of the electric dryer.

Koporsky tea should be dried at a temperature of 70 degrees, stir periodically. You can use a regular stove and dry the tea on trays with the door open.

Well-dried tea does not have a strong aroma; this can be guided by when determining the degree of drying. The tea should rustle in your hands and break when squeezed.

The final stage is mixing the fermented leaves and flowers of fireweed.

It is believed that tea must also undergo dry fermentation for at least a month in a tightly closed container.

During this time, Ivan-tea acquires unique taste and aroma. The longer the tea is aged, the tastier it is.

Store Koporsky tea in glass or plastic cans with tight-fitting lids. The product is stored for about 2 years.