In the XVII century, a new era began in Russia, associated not only with the name of Peter I, but also with the appearance in the Russian culture of a drink from tea leaves.
The Chinese plant is so fond that without it, now imagine life is simply unthinkable.
However, tea traditions are not limited to brewing a black or green drink.
Tea at home can be brewed according to special recipes or made from traditional herbs.
It will turn out no less tasty and healthy.
Tea at home: black or green?
They don’t argue about tastes, so it makes no sense to discuss what is better: black or green tea. Moreover, in fact we are talking about the same plant, the leaves of which underwent varying degrees of fermentation. The same applies to exotic white, red, yellow varieties.
The degree of fermentation determines how the taste and color of the tea turn out. Completely non-fermented or slightly fermented teas convey in a cup their natural taste and aroma in almost unchanged form. These are green, yellow, white varieties in which fermentation is stopped by frying the leaves. The color of the drink is rather pale. Black (as well as red) tea gives a rich, rich color and aroma.
When brewing tea at home, the general rule should be observed: pre-rinse the dishes with boiling water, that is, it is good to warm the walls of the teapot. This is necessary so that the tea leaves give away all their aroma. Now the most important thing: do not let the leaves overheat and at the same time ensure a sufficient temperature regime.
The classic proportion of dry tea and water is a teaspoon per mug and another spoon additionally for the entire teapot. With quick and not quite right brewing, tea is simply poured with boiling water and infused for six to seven minutes.
There is another more correct way:
• half-fill the measured amount of tea with boiling water, cover, cover the teapot spout with a woven napkin. This is necessary in order to preserve the benefits and aroma of essential oils;
• after three minutes, add boiling water, leaving at least a centimeter between the surface of the water and the lid;
• insist a drink: green tea - eight minutes, black - five to six minutes.
In Russia, it is customary to make tea leaves - a thick tea infusion, which is subsequently diluted with water. It’s convenient because it’s quick, easy and a lot: you can drink a large number of people. But in the eastern countries and in England, tea infusion is not bred with water.
Black tea leaves cannot be brewed several times. The maximum that can be done is to “marry” the drink if it has just been prepared and the guests have all drank it. Taste and aroma are weaker. But green varieties calmly tolerate five and even seven-time brewing, each time delighting with a new shade of taste.
You need to drink tea leaves made from black tea during the day. After spending the night in the brewer, the drink will turn from useful to dangerous (the eastern proverb compares it with the poison of a snake). And all because of a special substance - guanine, which, as a result of oxidation, turns into toxic guanidine.
If a film has formed on the surface of the tea, if the tea has clearly stopped (it is especially dangerous to brew it in a thermos and left for a long time), it has overheated, you can’t drink such a drink, you can seriously poison yourself. Guanidine acts on the heart and blood vessels, causes speech disturbance, a pressure jump, affects the liver, lowers calcium in the blood, and provokes the development of gout.
Tea at home: we prepare herbal preparations on our own
In Russia, herbal teas were always held in high esteem, which we still enjoy drinking today. You can prepare them yourself, using the same technologies as for the preparation of Chinese tea: drying, curling, withering, fermentation.
Tea at home is made from the leaves of forest or garden plants, and when brewing it can add berries, fruits and even nuts. Just dry pouring and grass is not enough (it will turn out tasteless). Ideally, you need to go through the whole technological chain to get a truly healthy and tasty drink.
Suitable for harvesting are raspberry leaves, strawberries, lingonberries, blueberries, currants, blueberries, as well as linden blossom, heather, fireweed (Ivan tea), mint, chamomile, etc. You can brew only the petals of plants (rose, jasmine). Tea at home can be prepared entirely from herbal preparations, or added to regular black or green tea when brewing.
Stages of processing.
1. Lay out the raw materials on a dry surface with a thin layer of three to four centimeters and leave them in the shade for five to eight hours. This is the withering stage, which is necessary to prevent brittle leaves.
2. Now the dried leaves need to be twisted a little, rubbing their palms.
3. At the fermentation stage, the raw material is poured into any container (wooden box, yogurt maker, disconnected oven. The point is to create a moist, warm environment. The layer of leaves should not be thicker than five centimeters. To create a moist environment, you can cover the container with a piece of wet cloth. Time fermentation - about ten hours. Ambient temperature - at least 26 degrees. After fermentation, the leaves will become dark.
4. The last stage of harvesting is drying. Prepared raw materials must be placed in the oven at a temperature of about 100 degrees and dried for about an hour, constantly checking readiness.
For the preparation of traditional teas, dried rosehips, viburnum, and frozen berries (strawberries, sea buckthorn, currants, cherries) are used.
Peel of citrus plants is also a wonderful product for making flavored tea at home. They are not used with herbal preparations, but with ordinary black or green tea leaves.
Tea at home: popular drink options
The most popular are flavored or special drinks. Here are some of the most popular tea options at home.
Mint
Two tablespoons of dried mint, three teaspoons of ordinary tea leaves, four buds of cloves and a pinch of cinnamon (or cinnamon stick). Pour the mixture with a half liter of boiling water, leave for five minutes, then pour into the cups and sweeten honey if desired.
Peppermint tea is good both warm and cold. In the morning it is invigorating, in the evening it relaxes, during the day it improves digestion.
Ginger
Grate a slice of fresh ginger root. In a liter of boiling water you need to throw three tablespoons of ginger, boil it for two minutes, then strain, add lemon sliced into slices, a pinch of black pepper, two mint leaves, leave for five minutes. Strain, pour into cups, if you want - add a little honey.
Ginger tea perfectly restores digestive processes, cleanses the body, improves complexion, thins the blood and prevents colds.
Chamomile
A tablespoon of chamomile should be filled with half a liter of boiling water, set for fifteen minutes. After straining, add honey and drink warm, because chilled chamomile tea loses all its benefits.
And the benefits are considerable. The drink relieves headaches, normalizes digestion, relieves insomnia, helps control appetite, removes excess fluid from the body, strengthens nerves. Chamomile tea is useful for gastritis, liver diseases, diabetes and ulcers.
Apple cinnamon
Cut an apple into slices, put in a tea pot with a tablespoon of black or green tea, a cinnamon stick. Pour boiling water with two glasses, leave for ten minutes and strain.
Such a drink can stop a cold if you drink it during the first hours after the first symptoms of malaise appear.
Sea buckthorn
Defrost a glass of frozen berries of sea buckthorn. Pour boiling water with two glasses, add two tablespoons of the usual tea leaves (black or green), insist for fifteen minutes. Drink warm, sweetened with honey if desired.
Citrus nutmeg
Brew ordinary black tea, adding zest removed from one lemon and juice squeezed from one grapefruit to it. Insist about eight minutes, then strain. Add half a spoonful of grated nutmeg, sweeten with honey or brown sugar.
The drink has powerful anti-inflammatory properties, increases the body's immune forces, and tones well.
Mix fruit and herbal teas at your discretion. Linden blossom, calendula, thyme, coltsfoot, lemongrass, dried berries, eucalyptus, bay leaves, dried slices of pineapple, apple, banana, pear, peel of citrus plants - all this plant abundance goes well with green and black varieties of traditional tea .
Tea at home: unusual recipes
So many traditional and unusual tea recipes have been invented at home that you can drink more and more new drink options almost all year round.
Chinese punch
Tea with the addition of alcohol perfectly warms and cheers you up. the main thing is to stop on time.
Take half a liter of boiling water two tablespoons of black tea, the juice of one lemon and one orange, one tablespoon of brandy and rum (or two tablespoons of one alcoholic beverage). Brew, insist, strain. It can be sweetened with honey or sugar. When pouring, you can use the Chinese secret: raise the kettle high so that the drink has enough time to get enough oxygen before it enters the cup.
Iced tea (ice tea)
Brew plain black tea. At the bottom of the glass put one hundred grams of ice cream, pour the juice of one orange, two tablespoons of lemon juice, pour a small amount of chilled drinking cream, then add cold sweetened tea.
Egg Muscat
Brew black or green tea. While he is insisting, beat the egg with a pinch of nutmeg, and a spoonful of sugar until lush foam is obtained. Pour tea into the bowl, add the egg-nutmeg mixture, mix. If desired, add a spoonful of rum or brandy.
Mineral
Brew black tea according to the basic recipe, adding a clove bud, a cinnamon stick and a slice of fresh ginger to it. Brew mint tea separately. Strain both drinks, combine them. Squeeze two tablespoons of lemon juice. Pour the tea mixture into cups, pouring in half. Pour a spoonful of lemon juice into each serving, add sparkling water (unsalted), and add an ice cube if desired.
Dairy (steppe)
This version of tea at home is one of the recipes used by nomadic tribes. Six tablespoons of black tea will need half a liter of water and two liters of milk. Pour the tea leaves with hot milk and boiling water, boil the mixture on low heat for ten minutes, insist another ten to fifteen minutes. Strain, slightly salt and drink.
Herbal
Brew ivan tea (a glass of water - a spoonful of dried grass). It will take three glasses of the finished drink. Pour it into a pan, add a teaspoon of cardamom, three buds of cloves, a glass of vodka. Bring the mixture to a boil, then insist for ten minutes. Strain, add honey.
The beauty of tea is that it never bothers. Whatever brewing recipe is used, you get a delicious tonic drink.
