Thank you for joining us today!
Before I begin, a disclaimer: this is not a recipe.
Fireweed Tea—also called Ivan Chai—is all over the Internet. One quick search can bring up all kinds of results to help you make it, to give you its history and origins and benefits.
That’s not what we’re doing, here.
This is simply a method. My method. We’re just chatting over the kitchen table. I’m not giving out any guarantees, I’m just letting you know how I do this.
Fireweed is the typical choice for this process, and has a long cultural history as a tea. But you could hypothetically try this with any edible (key word!) herb or wild green, though I suggest that you focus on leaves that are on the juicier side. Resinous leaves like rosemary, thyme, and sage probably don’t have enough moisture to ferment. But hey, I could be wrong!
So far I have tried this method with lemon balm, Rubus leaves (raspberry, salmonberry, blackberry), and even cat’s ear flowers. They each worked in their own way to deepen and expand the flavor of each plant. If you try this with another plant, let me know how it goes!
So sit down, have a cuppa, and let’s chat.
Here’s the method…
On a dry, warm day, harvest your fireweed. You want to look for stands in unpolluted places (no dog potty-spots, septic drain fields, or busy roadsides!) and the plants should either be in flower or just about to flower. Take care to only harvest what you need and leave the rest to regrow for next year.
Leave the stalks to wilt—but not dry out—in a warm spot out of the direct sun. I leave them on our covered patio table, for example. This helps to make them easier to work with, and usually takes less than an hour on a warm day.
Remove the leaves from the stalks using either your fingers or clippers. Discard any leaves that are brown, dirty, or dried out. Collect the nice leaves (and any flowers, too!) into a pile, and set the stalks and not-so-nice leaves aside for compost or to throw back into the woods.
Grab a nonreactive bowl or container with plenty of space in the bottom. Glass, ceramic, or enameled metal is best. Now, take a bundle of 5-6 leaves at a time and roll them firmly in your palms, squishing them, forming a ball. Set this ball in the bottom of the bowl.
Repeat until all of the leaves are rolled and placed in the bowl. Don’t pack them in tight; you want there to be plenty of airflow between them to prevent mold growth.
So…this is where I tend to disagree with other online recipes.
I’ve seen folks say to cover the bowl with an airtight lid, but when I was starting out this ended in moldy disaster for me, every time. I’ve since learned that this is because the process being employed here is aerobic fermentation, which requires oxygen. The main point of covering the bowl at all is simply to keep bugs out. So…
Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel or another breathable lid that would keep bugs from entering but still allow airflow. Set the bowl in a warm, dark place. I use our laundry room, which has our water heater in it and always maintains a cozy 70 or so degrees.
Leave the tea to ferment. This could take anywhere from 2-3 days, depending on how warm the place is where the bowl is sitting. What you’re looking for is that the leaves will oxidize (darken), and the scent will change from a green, grassy scent to more of a fruity smell. (If using leaves other than fireweed, you’ll have to use your own judgment on this.)
When it’s fermented to the point when you want to stop the process, remove the leaves from the bowl, pull them apart enough to loosen them, and then fully dry them. I use a dehydrator, but you could also use your oven on a very low setting or set them in a warm place out of direct sun for a few days.
Once fully dried, you can brew up a batch and see what you think! As long as it’s dried to the point of crispness it should store very well in an airtight container for as long as you like.
And that’s it!
There are plenty of ways to enjoy Fireweed Tea. I prefer it unsweetened, sometimes mixed with other herbs, and with a slice of lemon. But you can try adding whatever you like to it, and it’s terrific as a refreshing iced beverage, too! It is uncaffeinated but naturally energizing, has a complex, astringent, floral flavor, and is chock full of health benefits.
I hope you enjoy!
Before you go, one more thing:
Believe me, I’ve made my fair share of mistakes learning how to do this. And you might, too. But anything worth doing is worth failing at until you get it right.
So give it a try, and let me know if you do!
Thank you for reading!
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This is amazing! I haven’t noticed any fireweed in my area but I think my brother used to grow some lemon balm... I’ll have to see what I can find and give this a shot!