Autumn is that special time of the year when it feels just right to spend evenings with your family. That is why one of the most popular autumn rituals in Russian families is tea drinking. For many people homeliness and coziness is closely associated with Russian samovar, strong, flavorful tea and fresh luscious pastries. Nowadays stores offer a wide range of green, black, white and fruit teas from all over the world, but we would like to tell you about traditional Russian drink – Ivan Tea.
Ivan Tea was first mentioned in 12-13 centuries, but then it was known by the name of a small town near Saint Petersburg – Koporye Tea. Later on Ivan Tea became very popular in European countries and was just as widely spread as famous Indian tea. Sadly, in 18th century Ivan Tea was unfairly forgotten and only recently has it started winning its popularity back.
Ivan Tea has a distinctive taste and a number of beneficial health properties. It contains several times more vitamin C than rose hip, which makes it an indispensable remedy for colds and spring vitamin deficiency due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Ivan Tea also has a sedative effect and promotes sound sleep.
Even now people in villages harvest willow herb and use several methods for tea making. They simply dry the leaves out, or grind them in a meat grinder and leave for several days to ferment at a room temperature. But Ivan Tea preparation is a technologically difficult process, so it is better to drink only tea harvested at the right time and processed in the proper way.
In our store you will find several varieties of willow herb tea. This Ivan Tea was properly fermented, thereby it has a completely different color than the dried leaves of Fireweed, and most importantly, reveals its extraordinary fruit and caramel range of taste. Good Ivan Tea is brewed in the process of the so-called cold fermentation which allows it to accumulate nutrients, and its taste is subtly changing for the better. It can be drunk both hot and cold. When brewed Ivan Tea can be mixed with different herbs such as oregano, mint and yarrow.
Enjoy your tea and stay healthy!
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