Ivan tea (fireweed) is a perennial plant with long, narrow, dark green leaves and purple flowers. The rhizomes of this plant have a sweet taste and can be eaten both raw and boiled, fried. Koporye tea is made from the leaves of this herb, which may well replace the ordinary Chinese tea made from camellia leaves. Everyone can make Ivan tea at home.
Instructions
Step 1
Pick the narrow leaves of the willow-herb plant, as well as the flowers. Tear them exclusively from the top of the plant, as this will protect you from collecting low-quality raw materials, namely overripe flowers and rough leaves.
Step 2
Within 3-4 hours after collection, remember the leaves of the fireweed in your hands, then twist each leaf into a spiral. At this stage, it is necessary to ensure that the leaves exude juice. You can also skip the leaves through a meat grinder, but this method is not very good, as many of the beneficial properties of tea are lost.
Step 3
Next, place the resulting raw material in a glass jar, close it and place in a dark, warm place for 24-36 hours, the time depends on the temperature, the higher it is, the faster the fermentation will take place. It is worth remembering here that at a temperature of 24-25 degrees, the process will end in about 30 hours. After 25 hours, open the jar and smell: at the end of the fermentation process, the contents of the jar will have a very pleasant fruity aroma.
Step 4
The next step is drying. Put the leaves in a thin layer on a baking sheet, after covering it with parchment, and leave in a warm, well-ventilated room (dry the fireweed flowers on another baking sheet). Once dry, combine the dried leaves and flowers and transfer the mixture to a clean, dry jar or paper bag.
Step 5
To prepare not only tasty and aromatic tea, but also healthy, it is necessary to pour fireweed leaves not with boiling water, but with hot water, the temperature of which is not higher than 90 degrees. So, put a teaspoon of dry fireweed leaves in a cup and pour 200 ml of hot water over them. Let the drink sit for at least five minutes. A fragrant and healthy tea is ready.
