Fireweed Tea!!! Now that's more like it!!! 馃榿 Also known as Ivan Chai and has a long and fascinating history, including trade wars in the 1800's.
This second batch turned out much, much better than the first. It's dark and looks like the black tea it is. It tastes and smells exactly like the tea I tried to drink with my Mum eons ago except this one has no caffeine, is less bitter and cost me nothing except about an hour of my time, mostly to roll the leaves and dehydrate it.
The process if you live near a clear-cut... 馃檮 (i.e. Most of North America...):
Look for the purple flowering plants with long skinny leaves (zoom in to see where I stripped the leaves). This amount came from about 4-5 branches which yields enough for about 30 cups. Harvest an amount to try out. I timed it, takes about 44 seconds to gather the leaves. Hold the top of the branch below the flowers with one hand and wrap the other around the shaft and swipe down to about 8 inches from the bottom, leaving the bottom leaves intact. They slide right off.
Lay them out somewhere to wilt for 12-16 hours.
Roll them 4-5 leaves at a time between your hands bruising them really well. Juices will release and a citrusy scent will be apparent when it's enough. Unwind the formed ball to get maximum exposure for fermentation and plop them into a mason jar or some other airtight glass container.
Leave them 3-5 days, opening and tossing them around a couple times a day. Smell the difference after each day, it's extraordinary the change in aroma.
Dehydrate. I used the oven on the lowest heat and had to keep monitoring it because you don't want too much heat. A dehydrator is best but I don't have one. 馃槉 90-110 F is about right so leave the oven door open if you use the oven, it still works. Make sure they're completely dry and store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
At this point, you can brew a cup! A teaspoon or so depending on how you like it. Steep for 15 minutes.
Curing in an airtight container for 2-4 months is said to improve the flavour. I have 2 more batches on the go already so I'll know eventually how curing changes the flavour but for now it's pretty darn tasty. For tea. 馃槈
If you know a tea drinker who would like to try this out, please don't hesitate to share this! It really is the easiest thing I've ever made. I still can't believe it tastes exactly like tea.
This is what they look like in flower (July/August):
This is what they look like around the end of August as they're about to spread their seed:
Click this link for more information on the benefits and give it a try!
Thank you for taking the time to read about this awesome tea.
