The time for preparing and drying Ivan tea will come soon. What is this herb, how is it useful, where to collect it and how to ferment it? Let's explore in more detail.
Since ancient times, mankind has loved herbal drinks. They replaced the usual tea and coffee, perfectly toned and invigorated.
Each nation has its own zaparkas, infusions and decoctions of healing and simply delicious herbs.
Somewhere chamomile is brewed, in other places saffron and cardamom are loved, and Ivan-tea has always been popular in Russia.
This primordially Russian herb, otherwise fireweed, can still be found in any corner of Russia, starting at the end of spring. It is difficult to confuse it with something else.
What does Ivan tea look like?
Surely, you all saw him when you went to the dacha, to the village, to swim on the city beach or to barbecue in the nearest fields and forests.
It is a tall plant with narrow leaves and a bright lilac “cap”. Fireweed grows in glades, along any roads, in fires and deforestation.
Its stems seem to stretch towards sunlight, so that it can reach up to 1.5 meters in height.
When to collect Ivan tea?
In Central Russia, its collection begins from mid-June to early July. In the south, in the first half of June, and in the northern parts of the country, it is customary to harvest this medicinal herb in mid-July, early August.
Important!
The plant must bloom.
The leaves and flowers of fireweed are collected separately, in different bags.
The collection procedure is best performed in the morning, but later than 11 hours.
Cut flowers carefully, choosing only open buds.
You can not collect brushes with unblown flowers.
Pull the leaves from the stem very carefully, moving your hand from top to bottom with a sharp but light movement.
Collect only whole and undamaged leaves. They should not have dark spots and holes.
The top and bottom leaves are not suitable for making quality tea.
It is not worth collecting later than the specified time or earlier (a month above), as the herb will not have the healing power.
Exactly! Ivan-tea is a herb from which a traditional healing Russian drink, known in Ancient Russia, is made.
How to dry or all the secrets of fireweed fermentation?
Twist the collected leaves of Ivan tea with your fingers into a tube and place in a glass container.
If the leaves are too large, you can scroll through a meat grinder.
Cover the jar with leaves, soaked in clean water and well wrung out, with a cloth. Leave the leaves for 2-3 days in a dark, cool place (but not in the refrigerator). This is fermentation.
Then pour the leaves onto a dry and clean baking sheet. Dry the fireweed in the oven at 110 degrees, turning with a spatula and stirring slightly until a dark brown hue appears. It will look like regular loose leaf tea.
Cool the prepared fireweed on a baking sheet, pour into a jar with a tight lid.
Brewing Ivan tea, like a regular brew, only this drink will be much more useful.
You can store properly dried Ivan-tea for 3 years in a dry place. At a temperature not higher than 25 degrees and not lower than 15 degrees.
Important!
Since this plant belongs to medicinal, the drink from Ivan-tea cannot be drunk daily.
Before using the broth, a specialist consultation is required to exclude varicose veins, thrombophlebitis, arrhythmia and glomerulonephritis. These conditions are contraindications to the use of Ivan tea.
Ivan tea for health
If you want to be healthy - make harvesting of native herbs and flowers, those that were collected by our ancestors, grandmothers and great-great-grandmothers. To brew a wonderful drink in a large teapot or cast iron that brings strength, vigor and health to the body.
Natural herbs are undeservedly forgotten, but it is enough to lower your gaze and look at your feet to find a natural remedy for any misfortune.
It is good that now Ivan-tea is again in demand as a delicious natural drink and an inexpensive medicinal plant.
Health to you and take care of yourself!
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Thanks for reading to the end!