Koporye tea: benefits and harms, preparation. Koporsky tea (Ivan tea)

Koporsky tea (Ivan-tea)

Russian tea recipe

The preparation of any fermented tea consists of four steps - withering, rolling or rubbing, fermentation and drying. But we will start from the beginning - with the collection of raw materials. Tea is made from leaves, but flowers are also useful, they are useful (the substance hanerol obtained from them not so long ago has antitumor properties), smells good and is simply beautiful. And this is important, because according to the rules for compiling herbal preparations, it is imperative to add something to them for beauty, most often, of course, flowers. Without this aesthetic component, the collection will not be complete.

Ivan-tea is harvested during flowering, gently breaking off or cutting off the stems. You do not need to uproot them, because it is a perennial plant. And be sure to leave at least a quarter of the population intact so that the plants bloom normally and produce seeds. Collect and
Van tea is better not in the sun, but in shady places, somewhere along the edge of forest glades - in such plants the leaves are more juicy and tender, and tea from them turns out tastier - the leaves curl more easily and ferment better. And in open sunny places, the leaves are rough and dry, they do not curl well and give little juice, fermentation is sluggish, and the tea is not so tasty.

At home, flower tops can be tied into small bundles and hung to dry. The flowers should dry well, check carefully and if you are not sure, it is better to dry it in a non-hot oven or a non-hot oven (about 50 ° C). Remove dried flowers from their stems and store in a dry place. You can immediately cut off the flowers and dry them, scattering them in a thin layer on paper (just do not take newsprint) or fabrics.

Tear off the leaves and put them in a box with a layer of 5 centimeters for drying. When you cut off the leaves, be careful not to cut off the lower flower ovaries along with them, ripening into boxes. These boxes will open in the heat, and then you will have to choose fluff from the tea. And look again, if there are sick leaves among the leaves - with some specks, for example, and generally wrong ones. It happens that on the reverse side of the leaf you can find eggs laid by insects ... Tear off all such leaves and discard, and then remove all other leaves with one movement of the hand from top to bottom along the stem. Drying takes 10-12 hours, sometimes more. From time to time, the leaves must be mixed so that the top layer does not dry out. As soon as the leaves become lethargic and flabby, you can start twisting.

Take some leaves and roll between your palms, first a soft ball, and then roll
Eat it into a small sausage about half a sausage long and wide. Twisting is more convenient to start with a ball to collect the leaves into a ball, so they will not fray at the ends of the sausage. You need to roll the leaves with your palms until they darken from the released juice and the sausages stop crumbling. At the same time, the sound will also change - from rustling it will become like champing or smacking. Fold the finished sausages tightly into a glass or enamel container and cover with a damp cloth. Gnat is not needed. You can close the lid so that the aroma is kept under it, so it is easier to control it in the future.

Now you just have to wait for the leaves to ripen. It is impossible to say exactly how long fermentation will take - it depends on the temperature in the room. From our own experience, we can say that at 20 ° C it takes 5-6 hours, and at 25 ° C - about 2-2.5 hours. In order not to be mistaken, follow the aroma - the initial herbal smell will change to a rich floral-fruity. This smell will first increase, and then begin to weaken. This is a signal that it is time to stop fermentation. Do not overcook the leaves, you will ruin your Koporye tea, when overexposure, the aroma will change to the smell of sleeping cheap tea.

Ripe sausages need to be finely chopped and spread on baking sheets with a centimeter layer
m. On stainless steel baking sheets, tea can be laid out directly, but if you have ordinary steel, lay paper, parchment is better, but not a newspaper. You can use both sieves and special dryers, but only on the condition that there are no foreign odors on all this, otherwise the tea will absorb them all. Slightly shake the cut sausages with your hands to break up large sticky lumps. Place the baking sheets in an oven or oven heated to 100 ° C, but not more. Leave the oven damper and oven door slightly ajar so that there is draft. Stir the tea occasionally. Again, it is difficult to say about the exact drying time. You need to dry the tea until the tea leaves begin to break when compressed, but do not crumble into dust. When almost all tea becomes like this, the draft must be sharply increased. Do not overdry the tea, especially with high tempera
round, it will smell like dried paper (even if you did not lay it). If you don't have a thermometer, follow the rule - it's better to be underheated than overheated. Therefore, it is better to keep the tea a little longer in a non-hot oven than to burn it.

Well, Koporye tea (Ivan-tea) is ready. Maybe this recipe will seem too complicated to you and you will even wonder if you can do it right. Do not doubt. Just don't let the process go by itself, keep an eye on the tea as closely as you would on small children, and you will notice everything you need in time, and the recipe will tell you what to do next. We tried to put together here our own experience of making this tea, we make it every summer for the whole year. Marketable, as they say, the tea will reach the condition after a month of storage, and about
definitely in a tightly closed container. We use a large 15-liter birch bark jar, but regular glass jars with a well-ground lid will also work. The longer the tea is stored, the better it becomes. Don't forget to mix it with dry flowers.

And now the last and almost the main thing remains - brewing. Don't shrug off this topic impatiently. Improper brewing can ruin the best tea(it is impossible to spoil only tea with flavors, it cannot be made worse). And since now you can’t buy good tea in an ordinary store and there is no mass culture of tea at all, we think it will be useful to tell people who are deprived of the opportunity to see real tea (not only Russian), what it really is.

How do people generally evaluate the quality of tea for themselves? Most often, by the way it is brewed, and determining this is as easy as shelling pears: throw the bag into a cup, pour boiling water, and if the water
immediately turns brown, which means that the tea is brewed well. And now do not be lazy and do the following: pour water into a glass, moisten a brush, type water-soluble paint on it (watercolor or acrylic, and preferably dark for clarity) and dip it into a glass, just dip it, do not interfere. See? Now raise and lower the paint brush, as if dipping a bag into the water. See the process? This is how “good” tea is “brewed” just as quickly and well. And real grass (any, and tea too) is never brewed right away! And the color of the infusion darkens gradually too!

Another significant mistake that the Japanese or Chinese will never make, but which we do all the time. How do we generally use tea? We rinse the kettle, pour tea into it, pour boiling water over it, insist. And we drink, diluting this thick tea a little, until it runs out, sometimes for several days. And then fill it up again. If you prefer just such a drink, then Ivan-tea is not for you. Koporye tea should be brewed in the same way as any good tea, i.e. before drinking. And not for future use, but fresh every time.

In a clean teapot, rinsed with boiling water, lower the infunder (a glass with holes) with tea, fill it with hot water (it is better if the water “boils with a white key” - numerous streams of bubbles rise from the bottom at this moment, but the water is not yet seething, as when boiling; it is better to take spring water, and the kettle is ordinary, not electric) and let it brew for 15-20 minutes, then pour it into cups and enjoy. And immediately fill the kettle a second time, because the second infusion of tea is even tastier and more aromatic than the first . After another 15 minutes, remove the infunder or pour the tea into cups - there is no need for it to stop. And do not brew the same tea a second time the next day! Even if you filled it only once, after a break it will not work out well. If you like sweet tea, put 2 times less sugar than in black tea, otherwise it will become semi-sweet.

And the last piece of advice - when you try an unfamiliar tea for the first time, do not immediately try to compare its taste with something you already know, do not try to understand what it looks like - it is not like anything, it has its own taste, its own and unique. Enjoy this taste.

Ivan-tea at low prices by mail from 1 kg http://ivan-chay.su

I don't think steeping tea leaves in milk is a scam. This process improves the quality of the tea. In China, there are such teas - Oolong ...

Thank you very interesting especially what reduces the pressure will be treated!

Friends, can you tell me the time of collecting Ivan-tea? I read your wonderful recipe, I'm already burning with the desire to make it

During flowering, they are harvested, in our Moscow region it has not yet bloomed, somewhere in a week or two, most likely. Many people start picking earlier (and picking later), but in general - while it blooms.

Thank you so much for so many helpful articles. I cooked it this way today: we collect fireweed leaves, not mine, so I tried to clean them and closer to the forest or in clean glades, let them lie in the shade for 1.5 hours, then twist the leaves with force. I was on the board, twisting the leaves of 15 with both hands and rubbing them. We put everything in an enamel bowl, cover with a lid and heat (greenhouse). Keep at least 3 hours, maximum 16-18-20, it can ferment. It will ferment from the heat. The longer it heats up, the darker it will be. Then through a meat grinder and dry whoever. But, I want to keep vitamins at 50 degrees. This recipe was sent to a friend. I myself got green granules in the dryer. At night, she sent twisted currant leaves to the boiler room. Tomorrow I'll see what happens. I want brown too. I will try your way.

Tell me .. If I understand correctly, you must first, after drying through a meat grinder, and then ferment and then dry?

No, why then through a meat grinder? Meat grinder replaces twisting by hand! If you twisted everything with your hands and already fermented, then just dry it. To make it black - ferment longer and dry at a high temperature, 100 degrees and even a little higher. Otherwise it will be green. Drying gives "blackness".

a long time ago I got my hands on a book about medicinal plants in Russia. Ivan tea was listed there as an herb not studied by science. But from folk knowledge, it was first of all indicated that this is the strongest natural antibiotic, but it only kills harmful microbes. Moreover, finely chopped leaves have
40 times more strength than whole leaves. This is what I remember. Since then, at least a little, but I dry it for the winter, I drink it if I suspect a cold. During epidemics, one of the few in the team did not get sick. Fermented for the first time last year, really liked it. The oven was not at hand, dried in a frying pan. With flowers, the taste is more fragrant and tender.

Thanks guys!! You are cool!!!

This is my second year making this tea. Everyone loves it. I'll tell you how I do it. I pour out the leaves on a sheet spread on the floor and sort out bad leaves, all kinds of blades of grass and insects. I leave it overnight, closing the window so that it does not dry out. In the morning I put it in a large plastic basin with high sides and begin to knead with my hands, as if I was washing on a washboard. I like this technique, my hands do not get tired. I cover with a wet towel and leave until the evening. And in the evening and almost all night I dry it in the ajar gas stove oven over low heat, periodically stirring with my hands. It takes a little over an hour to make one pan. The tea is black, fragrant, with sourness. The second year I also ferment the leaves of forest raspberries, however, I take it with unripe stalks and berries.
Taking this opportunity, I want to talk about blackcurrant. My husband and eldest son were allergic to various May blooms. In 2007, one grandmother-healer, the kingdom of heaven to her, gave me a whole package of dried currant branches with leaves and green berries, collected on the Trinity (!) And recommended drinking it like tea. Since 2008 I have been harvesting myself now. And interestingly, I can’t even remember since when my men themselves forgot about that allergy.
Right now I have raspberries drying, in the apartment - aroma, next in line - fireweed. Yesterday in the forest, it was only one hour, a tick stuck to me. They put immunoglobulin and today I handed it over for research. We'll find out tomorrow evening.

The history of forgetting Ivan tea is closely connected with 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 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-makers” brewed and drank back in the 12th century!

Brewed " Blooming Sally» in such a way that it began to REMINDER the taste and color of subtropical tea. It was made like this:

leaves " Ivan-tea"dried, scalded in a tub with boiling water, ground in a trough, then thrown onto baking sheets and dried in a Russian oven. After drying, the leaves were crushed again and the tea was ready.

Most of this tea was harvested 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 pounds of this product were used in Russia. Later it became an IMPORTANT component in Russian exports as well. 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!

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

However, there were also unscrupulous merchants who used "Ivan-chai" to fake Chinese (Beijing) tea. They mixed Ivan-tea leaves with Chinese tea and presented 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 caught in such unseemly acts and put on trial, sometimes even arranging high-profile lawsuits.

However, even such cases could not deprive Koporye tea of popularity, and already in the 19th century it was a POWERFUL COMPETITION to Indian tea.

Great Britain, which owned HUGE tea plantations in India, annually bought tens of thousands of pounds of Koporye tea, preferring Indian - RUSSIAN TEA!

So WHY did such a profitable production of Kopor tea stop in Russia? 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 Company, which traded Indian tea!!! The campaign stirred up a scandal, ALLEGEDLY Russians grind tea with white clay, and it, they say, is harmful to health. And the TRUE reason is that the owners of the East Indian campaign had to REMOVE THE MOST POWERFUL COMPETITOR - RUSSIAN TEA from their own market in England !!!.
(This is the same East India campaign that hooked all of Southeast Asia on opium.)

The company did achieve its goal, the purchase of Russian tea was reduced, and after the revolution in Russia in 1917, when England entered the Entente military bloc, the purchase of tea in Russia STOPD COMPLETELY. Koporye was ruined.

BUT A NEW TIME HAS STARTED!!! :)

And just recently, people REMEMBERED about this healing drink. After a long break, it was reproduced according to old recipes and the Kruzenshtern sailors 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 cheerfulness

In the near future, it is NEEDED to INTRODUCE "Ivan-tea" into people's food, eliminating 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 the processes of excitation 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. Myocardial contraction becomes more intense and rapid. Thanks to this, more blood flows to all organs and tissues and they receive enhanced nutrition. AS A RESULT, a person feels AS LIKE a surge of strength, his mood improves, all senses become more acute.

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

BUT ... CAFFEINE, like other stimulants of the central nervous system, is CONTRAINDICATED in case of increased excitability, insomnia, severe hypertension and atherosclerosis, diseases of the cardiovascular system, and simply in old age.

In the mechanism of action of caffeine, an important role is played by 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 are enhanced in various organs and tissues, including muscle tissue and the central nervous system. But a paper cup of tea or coffee is not considered doping at a distance.

At the same time, caffeine binds to brain receptors, displacing adenosine, which normally reduces excitation processes 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 switch 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, to the morning cup, the daytime, and then the third one, because in the absence of caffeine, the accumulated adenosine occupies all available brain receptors, sharply intensifying the processes of inhibition, fatigue, drowsiness, depression appear, blood pressure decreases and other unpleasant sensations arise.

In addition, tannins contained in tea, and up to 18% of them (the higher the grade, the more of them) bind insoluble compounds and remove calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, metal salts of copper, zinc, nickel and other trace elements from the digestive organs. That is why in the East tea is drunk one hour before meals or two hours after meals, and without any spices and sweets that stimulate the release of calcium-rich saliva and other digestive media rich in enzymes and vitamins.

And "Ivan-tea" blooms from mid-June to the end of August. The flowers open between 6 and 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 "Kipreyny" land. By the way, according to experts, fireweed honey is the sweetest, and if the honey is fresh, it is the most transparent. In addition to nectar, bees remove their bee-bread from Ivan-tea flowers.

Seeds of "Ivan-tea" ripen in August. Ripe seeds with fluff fly out of fruit boxes. Fluff flies over the thickets of "Ivan-Tea" and far around - as if several featherbeds were torn apart. The seeds of "Ivan-tea" are distinguished by amazing volatility - the wind takes them tens of kilometers away. 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 harvested separately).

"Ivan-tea" contains:

Flavonoids (quercetin, kaempferol, which has an antispasmodic choleretic and diuretic effect);

Tannins (up to 20% of tannins of the pyrogal group, which have astringent anti-inflammatory and hemostatic effects);

Mucus (up to 15%, which provides emollient and enveloping properties, the ability to relieve inflammation, relieve pain, soothe and relieve cramps);

A small amount of alkaloids (these substances are poisonous in large doses, but in small doses they have wonderful healing properties, can improve metabolism, blood circulation, and the state of the nervous system are good painkillers);

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).

Roots are rich in starch (this is a reserve carbohydrate of plants), polysaccharides (these carbohydrates are involved in immune reactions), organic acids (participate in biochemical reactions, play an important role in maintaining acid-base balance).

In addition, a large number of trace elements stimulating hematopoiesis were found in the leaves of "Ivan-tea" - iron, copper, manganese and other trace elements necessary for metabolism - nickel, titanium, molybdenum, boron.

Not a single plant can boast of such a set of trace elements!

The unique composition determines the variety of healing properties of "Ivan-tea". It is also a mild laxative, emollient, enveloping, wound healing, analgesic, anticonvulsant effect. In its anti-inflammatory properties, "Ivan-tea" surpasses all medicinal plants - it has been scientifically proven that it has the highest coefficient of anti-inflammatory action among plants! :) And in terms of its tranquilizing effect (sedative, reducing the feeling of tension, anxiety, fear)

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

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

Prevention of malignant and benign neoplasms;

Enhances potency;

Effective in diseases of the genitourinary system (powerful prevention of prostitis);

Scars ulcers of the stomach and duodenum;

Increased immunity to respiratory viral infections;

Prevention of caries;

Improves blood composition;

Reduces intoxication of the body;

Removes food and alcohol poisoning;

Restores strength when exhausted;

With stones in the liver, kidneys and diseases of the spleen;

Strengthens hair roots;

Vitamin "C" in "Ivan-tea" is 6.5 times more than in lemon;

Eliminates headache;

Normalizes blood pressure!

A detailed recipe for making Koporsky tea

Withering: the leaves are scattered with a layer no thicker than 5 centimeters for a day or a day, until they become lethargic, while they must be periodically stirred, not allowing the leaves of the upper layer and along the edges to dry out.

Twisting: the leaves are twisted between the palms of the hands into small spindle-shaped sausages about half the size of a sausage until they darken from the juice that has come out.

Fermentation: twisted leaves are placed in a layer of 5 centimeters in an enameled 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, the end of the process is characterized by a change in the grassy smell to a rich floral-fruity one. Too high temperature and overexposure are dangerous - fireweed acquires the smell of low-grade boiled "public" tea.

Drying: fermented leaves are finely cut, spread on sieves or baking sheets covered with parchment, a layer of 1-1.5 centimeters and dried at a temperature of 100 ° C for about an hour, periodically checking readiness by touch.

Well-dried tea has the color of black real tea, rich and stronger than its aroma, the 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 draft, which is moderate during the drying process, is sharply increased. If the temperature is too high and the tea is overexposed in the dryer, an admixture of the smell of "dry paper" appears in the bouquet.

Storage: like real tea, Koporye tea requires tight packaging during storage - best of all in glass jars with polyethylene lids. Commodity standard Koporye tea reaches after about a month of storage, and in the future, its properties, like real tea, improve even more. The dried flowers also make an excellent drink.

How to dry Ivan tea leaves

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

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

Ivan tea recipe from Dmitry Samusev

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

I've tried something different a few times. Then I found out about fermentation but didn't 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. Managed. The secret is figured out.

Everything is very simple. The plant itself contains everything necessary for fermentation. These are its own juices and enzymes. If the leaf is crushed in the hands, then part of the cells will burst, the plant will release 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, a different, pleasant smell appears. For this fermentation process, I leave finely chopped, well-crumpled leaves in a non-metallic dish under oppression (vitamins are preserved with a decrease in contact with air and metal) for 1-2 days at room temperature. If you keep it longer, the tea will ferment like cabbage.

In agriculture, something similar happens in the ensiling of hay, when the cut grass is collected in herds and it turns sour by the forces of its own enzymes. The resulting lactic acid naturally preserves the weed. I wrote this to the fact that any medicinal wild plants can be subjected to fermentation 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” on a very slow fire 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. These are the substances that give the taste, smell and color of tea.

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

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

Interestingly, brewing Ivan tea does not stain tooth enamel, and in general, well-made Ivan tea is much tastier than Indian or Ceylon tea. By its properties, the Ivan-tea drink 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 environmentally friendly fortified product made with your own hands to your own joy, and to your neighbors' surprise.

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

Then heat under the lid in a frying pan over low heat for 40 minutes. And finally, dry the mass over medium heat with constant stirring.
Ivan-chai, aka Koporsky tea is ready! Happy tea.

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

WELDING METHOD: pour two teaspoons of Ivan-tea with a glass of boiling water, insist, and - drink to your health! And remember: you can brew several times. With repeated brewing, the healing properties remain. And when stored, Ivan-tea improves its qualities within two years due to internal fermentation. Ivan-tea infusion retains its healing and aromatic properties for three whole days. A drink that has a delicate, unobtrusive taste, a delicate aroma of summer herbs and pronounced healing qualities.

Source: anastasia.ru

Under such a little-known name as Koporsky tea, there is an ordinary Ivan-tea. This plant is a real spy from the movies with several passports, because Ivan-tea has several dozen more names, such as fireweed, plakun, and dremuha. In addition to the variety of names and delicate lilac color, Koporye tea also has a huge number of useful properties. That is why we will devote an entire article to this wonderful drink, in which we will tell you how to make tea at home, what recipe to use, and also what are its benefits and harms.

Introduction to history

The first mention of the use of Ivan-tea dates back to the XII century! In those days, the process of its preparation consisted only in the usual brewing of the leaves and flowers of this plant. However, in the 17th century, after the appearance of expensive Chinese tea in Russia, craftsmen learned how to make Koporye tea in such a way that it resembled an overseas curiosity both in color and in taste. For this, they even used a Russian oven to properly dry the leaves.

Everyone liked this drink so much that it became one of the main goods sent for export to various European countries (mainly to England). Demand creates supply. And therefore, they began to harvest Ivan tea in large quantities, the largest supplier of the drink was a small settlement near St. Petersburg, which was called Koporye. The tea was named after him.

By the beginning of the 19th century, Koporye tea in Europe was a powerful competitor even to Indian tea. Which, of course, did not please the government of India. Therefore, perhaps it was they who began to spread the rumor about the dangers of Ivan tea. It is logical to assume that the volume of purchases from Europe after such statements has decreased. The last straw that led to the ruin of Russian producers was the First World War, in which England completely abandoned Russian tea.

After such events, Koporye tea has sunk into oblivion, however, fortunately, recently there has been a revival of old traditions. That is why the already almost forgotten tea with its healing properties again enters the pedestal.

Useful properties of Ivan tea

Koporye tea has truly miraculous properties. The benefits are due to the unique composition in which elements such as iron, copper, nickel, calcium, magnesium and many others can be found.

The presence of "rejuvenating" vitamin C in Ivan-tea exceeds even its level in wild rose. Comparing it with lemon, let's say that it contains 6.5 times less vitamin C than tea.
Koporye tea is the only one that does not contain caffeine, tannin and oxalic acid. This is a very important point, since the presence of these harmful substances depresses the nervous system and removes the most important trace elements from the body.
Fireweed has a sedative and calming effect, normalizes night sleep, reduces general nervousness.
It improves all metabolic processes in the body, including metabolism.
The benefits of tannins, which are part of Ivan-tea, are determined by its high anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties.
Flavonoids in fireweed have a diuretic and choleretic effect.
Great benefits of the drink for the male body. Koporye tea increases potency and improves prostate function.
Mucus and pectin in the composition help the digestion process and get rid of dysbacteriosis, thanks to their enveloping properties. Moreover, it is pectin that contributes to the long-term storage of tea. So, brewed a couple of days ago, Koporye tea retains all its beneficial qualities.
The benefit is also obvious for hypertensive patients, since this drink is able to normalize blood pressure.
Ivan tea accelerates wound healing.
It is a mild pain reliever.
The benefits are undeniable even for babies. This is due to the fact that fireweed can prolong the production of milk in the mother, which has a beneficial effect on the baby's immunity.
This tea is able to remove toxins from the body, thus reducing the harm from life in big cities.
With the systematic use of Koporye tea, the work of the endocrine system is getting better.
The benefits of Ivan-tea are also important in oncological diseases.
Koporye tea stimulates the production of collagen, so that the skin will remain young and supple for longer.
Fights iron deficiency anemia, gastritis and even ulcers.
Treats infertility for both men and women.
It relieves chronic fatigue, bringing the body into tone.
It is an excellent prevention of caries.

Is there any harm or any contraindications for Kopor tea? In addition to the possible individual intolerance to the drink, no other side effects have been identified.

Harm and Ivan tea are absolutely incompatible concepts, so you can not be afraid to drink it at any age.

You will find some more information about the beneficial properties in the video below.

tea picking

Ivan-chai grows almost on the entire territory of our vast Motherland, so there should be no problems with its search. It is important to collect the plant on your own, in which case you will definitely be sure that it grew away from roads and factories. It is noted that Ivan tea does not absorb harmful substances, but, nevertheless, it is better to protect yourself and collect it exclusively in ecological areas.

When starting the collection, pay attention to the fact that the buds have not fully opened.

The flowering period of this plant is about 2 months from the second half of June to August, at this time it is recommended to collect tea. It is noteworthy that fireweed flowers open early in the morning for only an hour, but even in this short time a large number of bees are attracted. Surprisingly, from just one hectare of Ivan-tea, bees can make up to 1000 kilograms sweetest honey.

Details about the collection of tea are described in the video below.

Recipe

The recipe for making tea at home includes several steps that will require a lot of time resources.

The first step in the recipe is withering. To do this, the pre-washed leaves are laid out on a flat surface (the layer should not exceed 5 centimeters) and left for about a couple of days, constantly turning the leaves over so that the edges of those on top do not dry out. Please note that the entire cooking process should not take place on the floor in the kitchen, the leaves need darkness and coolness.

The next step in the recipe is twisting. To do this, the leaves are scrolled into sausages with the palms, this must be done until, thanks to the juice released from them, the leaves acquire a dark shade. Sometimes, at home, a meat grinder is used at this stage. It helps to save your hands from the appearance of calluses (a standard reaction of unaccustomed skin), and the leaves for sure to release the necessary juice.

The third and most important step in the recipe is fermentation. Making delicious tea without proper fermentation will not work, at best, then it will look like cheap low-grade tea from India. It is necessary to fold the leaves in an enamel bowl, cover them with a wet cloth and put them in a warm place. The temperature regime must be strictly maintained and vary between 26 and 28 degrees. The exposure time can vary from 12 hours to 2 days. As soon as you feel that the smell of tea has turned from herbal to floral, then the fermentation was successful.

And the last point of the recipe is drying. At this stage, it is necessary to lay out the leaves in a thin layer of no more than 1 centimeter on a baking sheet and send them to the oven, heated to 100 degrees, for 1 hour. At the end of drying, the leaves will break when squeezed, but in no case crumble. Properly brewed tea will have a dark color and rich flavor.

It is best to store Koporye tea in a glass, dense closed container.

You can fix the material by watching an interesting video below.

Ivan tea infusions

There are a huge number of recipes for using Koporye tea, both for the treatment of diseases and in cosmetology. Here are a couple of recipes for tinctures based on tea.

Recipe 1:

2 tablespoons of fireweed should be poured with 400 ml of boiling water and left to infuse in a dark place for 6 hours. The resulting mixture is used exclusively for external use in angina or otitis media.

Recipe 2:

This tincture is used for inflammation of the ureter, cystitis and other diseases of the genitourinary system. 1 tablespoon of willow-tea leaves is poured into 200 ml of boiling water and insisted for only 2 hours, after which the mixture must be filtered. The resulting composition is used 3 times a day, 50 ml.

And in the video below you will find a completely unusual use of fireweed.

What is Koporye tea? Not many people know the answer to this question. Ivan tea has been widely used in the practice of traditional healers. Thanks to the leaves and flowers of the plant, you can improve digestion, increase immunity, reduce blood pressure and restore your cheerful mood. In the scientific community, Ivan-tea is called narrow-leaved fireweed, and a drink made from its fermented raw materials is the famous Koporye tea. Contraindications, useful properties, methods of preparation and preparation - all this is in our article.

A healing flower grows very close

From the end of spring, fireweed shoots begin to appear throughout Russia. The plant has a tall stem covered with narrow leaves, and a fluffy inflorescence of purple flowers flaunts on top. The grass has chosen deforestation, clearings, conflagrations, as well as roadsides. It was from Ivan-tea in Rus' that raw materials were harvested from ancient times in order to prepare an incredibly tasty and healthy drink. Traditions are returning, and herbal medicine offers to prepare such an inexpensive, but effective Koporye tea.

History of occurrence

Back in the 12th century, Alexander Nevsky stormed the impregnable fortress of the Teutons, and the small village of Koporie arose on the site of the battle. Local residents noticed bushes of fireweed and brought the art of harvesting and preparing the drink to perfection. Merchants from all around came here to buy valuable tea, which got its name from the area. Later, the fragrant drink acquired other names: Russian and was treated to guests at the time of the founding of Moscow, which is mentioned in ancient Russian chronicles. Great Britain bought Russian tea in thousands of tons, although it already had impressive tea plantations in South Asia. But they started a rumor that unscrupulous merchants add clay to Koporye tea, so the demand for it fell, and Koporye went into oblivion.

The composition of Ivan tea

Almost 70 microelements were collected in the fireweed, among them the maximum amount of manganese, iron, copper, a little less - calcium, titanium, potassium, boron, molybdenum, boron and nickel.

Also in the composition of the medicinal plant there are many useful compounds:

tannins have a hemostatic and anti-inflammatory effect;
alkaloids stabilize the state of the circulatory and nervous system, act like an anesthetic and are involved in metabolism;
flavonoids are known for their urinary and choleretic properties;
pectin removes harmful substances to the outside;
chlorophyll localizes malignant cells, stimulates rapid wound healing;
vitamin A takes part in the growth of epithelial cells;
B vitamins are important for the activation of biochemical reactions, regulate the normalization of the nervous system;
fireweed contains a huge amount of vitamin C, but it is mostly destroyed when the leaves are brewed with boiling water.

Useful properties of Kopor tea

If you regularly drink a drink from angust-leaved fireweed, you can permanently get rid of headaches, migraines, and normalize sleep. Tea will be a salvation for tired people, it will invigorate and give strength. It is worth noting that the plant does not contain caffeine, so the beneficial components of Ivan-tea act gently and gently. Koporye tea is recommended in the following cases:

During the period of rampant viral infections. Ivan-tea strengthens the walls of blood vessels, prevents influenza and SARS. At elevated body temperature, they not only take the drink inside, but also make compresses on the forehead from it to bring the temperature back to normal. Hot tea is drunk to thin sputum with a dry cough.
A strong solution of tea rinses the mouth with stomatitis, with bleeding gums and diseases of the oral cavity. Thanks to tannin, damaged gum tissue regenerates faster. When rinsing, pathogenic bacteria are washed out, so the antibacterial effect is immediately noticeable.
It is useful to drink healing tea during lactation. It promotes the production of milk, strengthens the ducts, saturates the milk with all useful components. Koporye tea manifests itself as a folk remedy for dysbacteriosis. The baby receives all the healing substances with milk, so he has reduced gas formation and colic.
In case of anxiety and depression, it alleviates the condition of patients, normalizes the nervous system after stress, improves performance in the treatment of mental disorders, and makes life easier with epileptic diseases.
It is used to treat inflammation of the respiratory and genitourinary systems, due to its unsurpassed anti-inflammatory properties.
Tea helps to recover from anemia, because it contains a large amount of minerals and trace elements.

To quickly fall asleep, it is enough to drink a glass of herbal tea in the evening and combine it with a relaxing massage of the temporal region. So, fatigue and irritation are quickly removed, and sleep will bring relaxation and peace. The recipe for harvesting Koporye tea will be told to the reader later.

Time to stock up on raw materials

Collection time starts from July and lasts until September. The leaves are collected very carefully, it is advisable to choose and not sweep all the plants in a row. After flowering, it makes no sense to harvest fireweed, it becomes unsuitable for processing. Start collecting in the morning on a sunny day so that the material remains dry. There are several ways to collect:

Together with the leaves and peduncle, break off the upper part of the plants (this method is chosen when they are not fermenting).
Cut off green leaves, but do not touch the inflorescences (for subsequent fermentation). With this method, the plants are selectively plucked, so the stems with flowers remain, on which the seeds will ripen.
In the first half of May, the upper parts of the stems are cut off; with such a collection, tea is the most vitamin.

Attention! Only the leaves are harvested for fermentation, the flowers are harvested and dried separately, adding to the finished tea for flavor.

Secrets of cooking at home

Making Koporye tea at home is not a difficult process at all. The most important thing when harvesting medicinal raw materials is to properly ferment, during such a process, insoluble substances are converted into a soluble form, which makes it easy for the body to assimilate all the natural gifts of fireweed. These substances give the tea a unique taste, but you need to act in stages in order to get the most healthy drink from the raw materials.

Withering - the initial stage

To extract the liquid from the leaves, they are withered. Inspect and discard damaged leaves. Washing is not necessary so as not to wash off the substances involved in fermentation. Raw materials are laid out on a linen cloth in a thin layer of five centimeters in the room, not forgetting to stir up the leaves regularly. The sun's rays should not penetrate the leaves, so as not to overdry them. Also, you can’t dry it on the street, you will get a completely different result, and the tea will be of poor quality. Withering on average takes about 12 hours. The readiness of the leaves is checked by squeezing them in half, if they are still crunchy, then they are not ready for further processing. If you take raw materials in a lump, it should not crumble.

If there is no time to deal with the leaves, you can make the process easier. They take an old thick sheet and spread a ball of leaves over it, then twist it tightly so that the fabric absorbs excess moisture.

Preparing raw materials for fermentation

Now it is necessary to destroy the structure of the leaves so that the juice stands out. If it appears too little, then the fermentation will be poor, and the tea will not show the best characteristics. You can choose the most suitable preparation method:

Manually twist the raw material. They take a few leaves and pump them in the palms until the leaves begin to darken from the released juice. You should get sausages, up to 1 cm thick and about 10 cm long. After the sausages are cut, to subsequently turn into small-leaf tea.
Leaves kneading. For 20 minutes, the leaves are kneaded in a deep bowl, like dough. Thus, the structure of the leaves is destroyed, as a result of which the raw material for large-leaf tea comes out.
Twisting the leaves with a meat grinder, this is how granulated tea is produced.

leaf fermentation

Before you start making Koporye tea at home, you need to ferment the leaves. The prepared raw materials are placed in a 10 cm layer in a plastic or ceramic container, covered with a damp linen cloth on top and set aside for fermentation in a dark place. Temperatures do not exceed 22-26 degrees Celsius. The mass begins to heat up, which is enough to start the fermentation process. If the room is cool, it is better to cover the container with blankets. At the end of the process, the mass will change color from green to brownish and acquire a fruity-floral aroma. The process lasts from 6 to 36 hours, depending on tea preferences, because some people like a drink with a light floral aroma (3-6 hours), while others like a tart tea with almost no smell (20-36 hours).

Drying after fermentation

Cover the baking sheets with parchment paper and lay out the finished mass in 1 centimeter. The oven door is slightly opened and dried at a temperature of 100 degrees for about two hours, then the heat is reduced and finally dried. And how to brew Koporye tea? We will talk about this further.

How to drink tea

How to drink Koporye tea? Recommended twice a day, but you can and when you want. Do not throw away the tea leaves, if the tea has just been drunk, it will still come in handy. From one serving you can still get five servings of fragrant tea. You just need to add boiling water to the tea leaves. Each of the portions of the healing properties are preserved. Tea is delicious even when it is cold, and it is better not to add sugar to it, but to feel the taste of nature itself. For sweetness, tea can be supplemented with dried fruits, honey or halva.

The easiest way to prepare Koporye tea: for 0.5 liters of boiling water, it is enough to take 2 teaspoons of fireweed. First, the kettle is poured by a third, wait a few minutes and top up with boiling water. To enhance the taste of Koporye tea, you can add a few dried leaves of mint, strawberry or blackcurrant. It is not necessary to wrap the teapot, and after 10 minutes you can already taste real Koporye tea.

But in addition to all the useful properties listed above, Koporye tea also has contraindications. True, there are not so many of them, but they must be taken into account.

Koporye tea: contraindications

If you drink the drink constantly for a month, then there may be interruptions in the work of the gastrointestinal tract. Koporye tea has contraindications for problems with blood clotting (thrombophlebitis or varicose veins). With caution, they suggest giving a drink to children under 2 years old, but such a statement has no basis, on the contrary, if it is taken in doses, then there will only be benefits.

The joy of taste

When you can taste the first portion of Koporye tea, do not try to compare its taste with other famous teas. The drink is unparalleled, it is not like anything else, it has its own magical aroma and a range of unique harmonies of taste. It's time to give yourself real pleasure and at the same time improve your health with a cup of Koporye tea!

Dark pink inflorescences of willow-tea, due to their pleasant aroma and unique natural composition, are very popular in folk medicine.

Decoctions and infusions of the plant relieve many ailments, including some forms of oncology, so the popularity of medicinal herbs continues to grow. They call it differently - fireweed, bread box, mother liquor, hider, plakun.

Below we will touch on Koporye tea, its benefits and harm to the body. Although the harm is much less than the benefit.

healing power

Fireweed flowers contain several times more vitamin C than many other herbal preparations. Therefore, medicinal drugs prepared on their basis are used for the prevention and treatment of colds, viral infections and various inflammatory processes. The effect of recovery from such ailments is also enhanced by the presence of organic acids, beneficial trace elements, carotenoids, flavonoids, and tannins in the flowers of willow-tea.

Iron, which is part of the medicinal herb, increases the level of hemoglobin and normalizes the activity of the circulatory system.

Since ancient times, fireweed has been called the “male grass”, because its use has a positive effect on the functioning of the prostate gland. Tea prepared on the basis of flowers and other components of the plant prolongs the period of sexual activity, increases potency, and enhances erection.

Natural substances such as magnesium, flavonoids and B vitamins are indispensable for various disorders of the nervous system, because they have a sedative and hypnotic property. As a result, a cup of evening tea removes excessive excitability, alleviates headaches, and promotes a good night's rest.

Mucus, pectins and other beneficial trace elements of fireweed restore and, to a large extent, improve the functioning of the digestive organs. In particular, due to its healing properties, flower infusion removes heartburn and dysbacteriosis, eliminates constipation, promotes the treatment of inflammatory processes, and is also used as a choleretic agent and speeds up metabolism.

The use of Ivan-tea flowers has a diuretic effect, stabilizing the water balance in the body, resulting in a mild decrease in blood pressure.

The herb gained particular popularity after its high-molecular components were discovered, which have the ability to suppress cancer cells. The unique properties of hangrol and other strong antioxidants make it possible to use flower tea in the treatment of various oncological diseases.

Carotenoids and the rich content of tanning mixtures in fireweed flowers endow them with wound healing properties. At the same time, the presence of alkaloids, magnesium, mucus and other medicinal components acts on the body as a mild analgesic.

Regular use of flower tea slows down skin aging. This happens due to the presence in the plant of substances that accelerate the synthesis of collagen.

Who is contraindicated drink

Infusions and tea prepared on the basis of medicinal herb flowers (Kopor tea) should be taken with caution by people suffering from allergies, as well as those who have individual intolerance to the components of this plant. Continuous and heavy use of the drink can cause diarrhea and other disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.

The property of Ivan tea to lower blood pressure leads to the fact that drinks made on its basis are not recommended to get involved in hypotension.

From the fireweed flowers, which have undergone a special fermentation, a medicinal drink is prepared, which is called "Koporsky tea". Raw materials are collected early in the morning, cutting off only the brushes of inflorescences.

At home, they should be laid out on the floor, twisted into a roll and covered with moistened burlap. The next day, the grass is dried in the oven and rubbed with hands. Store ready-made tea in bags of coarse paper.

The healing properties of this drink are so strong that the daily dose of raw materials should not exceed 5 grams, and tea leaves can be used several times. True, its useful qualities with repeated use weaken a little.

Is Koporye tea Verdun?

Will there be any noticeable harm if you use Koporye tea for a long time? How such harm from the use of this tea (Koporsky tea) was not noticed. There will be noticeable harm only if Koporye tea is regularly given to children under 2 years old (but, in this case, the harm is very doubtful).

Koporye tea can harm people suffering from pronounced gastrointestinal diseases. But, the harm in this case is noticeable if you use Koporye tea in excess for several months.

Harm can be done to people with thrombosis, varicose veins and poor blood clotting.
For the rest, Koporye tea is a drink whose benefits are obvious.

Herbal Tea Recipes

The antitumor properties of fireweed make it possible to prepare many useful drugs on its basis. For one of them, you need to take a tablespoon of the collection (flowers and leaves), pour 250 grams of boiling water, keep warm, and then take a tablespoon four times a day.
Koporye tea, to which a pinch of salt is added, is considered an effective means for losing weight. Drink it should be 150 grams 30 minutes before meals. The properties of the drink also allow you to quickly "remove" the second chin.
For daily cosmetic procedures, pour a spoonful of Ivan-tea flowers with a glass of boiling water. With the help of this infusion, steam baths are prepared. Useful and flower masks. To do this, 10 ml of Ivan-tea vodka tincture is mixed with oatmeal and a small amount of salt. Put it on the face. The duration of the procedure is 10 minutes.
Fireweed flower juice helps to cope with atrial fibrillation. It should be taken during the flowering season ten minutes before meals, three times a day for a tablespoon. A two-week break is required after a two-month course.
It has unique properties and fireweed oil. To prepare it, a glass of freshly picked flowers is poured with 200 g of vegetable oil and insisted in a sealed container in the sun for three weeks. Such a drug is effective for cuts, rashes, burns and other skin problems.

It is not without reason that beekeepers try to place hives near the growth of willow-tea. The nectar collected from the flowers of the plant has a special healing property, therefore, in small doses and with the permission of a doctor, it is often recommended even to diabetics.

The use of one spoon of the product with tea and bread five times a day is effective in the treatment of leukemia.
Pain during menstruation decreases after half an hour, if a teaspoon of honey is diluted in a glass of water and drunk.
The same product helps well with cystitis, childhood rheumatic heart disease and serves as a strong immunostimulating agent.
Tea with fireweed honey will help you get rid of colds faster in the winter.