How to brew Ivan tea correctly?

Koporye tea, prepared from Ivan tea, can be safely called a traditional Russian drink. For its preparation, narrow-leaved fireweed is needed.

Let's dive into the history of Ivan-tea a little.

It became known in the 12th century. Tea owes its name to the city - Koporye. However, now this settlement is a village and is located in the Leningrad region. Koporye tea was one of the main products that was exported from Russia, therefore it bore the quite expected name - Russian tea.

Today it is on par with the varieties of this drink from Ceylon, India and China in terms of its taste and quality characteristics. The British bought it from the Russians in thousands of pounds.

In the early 20s of the XX century, it was considered the main tea in modern Russia and Ukraine. Unfortunately, the East India Company and the peculiarities of its market strategy made their negative contribution. Their products became cheaper, in connection with which the export of Koporye tea practically ceased.

Today it is produced in small volumes on the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod region. (Gorodetsky district), in the villages of Maly Konyp (Kirov region) and Stolbushino. Pleasantly pleased with the fact that the popularity of tea is gradually returning, there are more and more people showing interest in the benefits of Koporye tea. Those who have tried it at least once note excellent taste and unique aroma. Let's dive into the history of Ivan-tea a little.

An important feature of Koporye tea is the absence of uric, oxalic, puric acid, caffeine. After all, as you know, they have a devastating effect on metabolism. Therefore, the drink does not create an addiction effect.

At the same time, it boasts an abundance of useful properties. This is due to the presence of such components as ascorbic acid, vitamin P. It is recommended to include it in the diet:

with problems with immunity;
to fight infections;
to normalize the work of blood vessels;
to remove active radicals;
with intoxication, alcohol poisoning;
to combat inflammatory processes;
tea normalizes working capacity, calms, has a very mild hypnotic effect.

More collection, drying, fermentation and rolling Ivan tea have been discussed in another article. We advise you to familiarize yourself with it.

Cooking features

We note right away that a lot of time and effort must be spent on this process. Nevertheless, the result is entirely justified.

We divide the preparation into stages.

Withering of leaves. To do this, they need to be scattered with a layer, the thickness of which should not exceed 5 centimeters.
Twisting. After about a day, take the dried leaves, twist them, placing them between the palms so that their color becomes darker and the juice begins to come out.
Fermentation. Move the twisted tea leaves with the same thickness into an enamel bowl, cover it with a damp cloth and put it in a warm place for 10 hours. When the herbal aroma changes to fruity, the process is complete.
Also dry the leaves and cut them.
Place the leaves on a baking sheet, previously covered with parchment. The layer should not exceed 1 centimeter.
Dry the leaves by choosing a temperature setting of 100 degrees. The process will take 1 hour, but it is necessary to control the drying progress.
If the leaves turn black and break, then your tea is ready for further use as a hot or cold drink.
Use a glass container for storage with a tight lid.
Keep the prepared tea for a month before you start brewing it.

Fireweed is used in cooking in tea, which acquires a wonderful aroma and pleasant taste. There are several ways to brew healthy and tasty Koporye tea from a plant:

According to the first recipe a few teaspoons of dried willow-tea should be poured over 0.6 liters of boiled hot water. Tea should be infused for at least ten minutes. It is best to use tea fresh, but it does not deteriorate even for 2-3 days. Tea is delicious both cold and hot. And it's best not to add sugar or bring cold tea to a boil.
In the second recipe use fresh fireweed leaves. They are laid in a thick layer in a bowl and non-hot water is added. Tea is heated over low heat and then insisted. You can mix flowers with leaves in equal proportions.

Vitamin Tea Recipes

To strengthen the immune system, you can periodically drink vitamin teas. There are several simple recipes for their preparation.

Ivan tea in recipes is taken along with flowers.

First recipe. Grind and mix in equal quantities: Ivan-tea, leaves and stalks of nettle. Take twice as many blackcurrants and three times as many rose hips. Boil two cups of water in a saucepan and add 2 tbsp. tablespoons of the resulting mixture. Wrap in a warm towel and wait 70-80 minutes. Strain through cheesecloth or colander. Add honey or sugar to taste.
Second recipe. Grind in equal quantities: fireweed, blackcurrant fruits. Take three times more rose hips, nettle leaves and carrot roots. Grind everything in a blender or meat grinder and mix. We put on fire 2 tbsp.water and wait for it to boil. After boiling, we fall asleep in water 1 tbsp. spoon of this mixture. After 7 minutes, turn off the fire, wrap in a warm towel and leave for 4 hours, or more. Strain through cheesecloth or colander.
Third recipe. We grind in equal quantities: fireweed, lingonberry fruits. Add three times more rose hips and nettle leaves. We grind. Boil two cups of water and add 1 tablespoon of the resulting mixture to it. We wait about 10 minutes, then wrap it in a blanket and steam the tea for about 5 hours. We express and drink vitamin tea.
Fourth recipe. Grind and mix in equal proportions: Ivan-tea, rose hips, red rowan fruits. Pour 1 tablespoon of the resulting mixture with two cups of boiling water and leave for about 60 minutes, after which it is necessary to drain through gauze or a small colander.
Fifth recipe. We take in equal quantities: rose hips, raspberry leaves, lingonberry leaves, currant leaves, Ivan tea. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 2 tablespoons of the resulting mass and boil on fire for 10 minutes, after which it is necessary to leave the broth to cool on the stove. Strain, add honey or granulated sugar to taste.
Sixth recipe. We mix in equal proportions: strawberries, lingonberries, fireweed. Grind. Add 2 tablespoons of the resulting mass to a pot of boiling water (1 cup) and brew for about two hours, wrapped in a warm blanket. Strain through cheesecloth or a fine colander, add honey or granulated sugar to taste.

For information on how to brew Ivan tea, see the following video.