Summer and the collection of Ivan-tea | 10% to beautycreativity

One day we went to the forest for another portion of Ivan tea. The weather was great all day - the sun shone bright in the morning, but by noon clouds appeared that covered the whole sky for an hour. But these were not rain clouds, although they always complement the composition of any photo very well. There is a lot of willow-tea in the forest, and it grows in large colonies in clearings and forest edges.

Every time I go to the forest for ivan tea or other herbs (medicinal), the mood becomes wonderful. It's so nice in the forest, the clean air is like a balm. It is pleasant to collect ivan-tea, there is a lot of it in the forest in clearings and edges. But one day it was in this place that I met wolves. They came out of the forest, but they didn't smell my scent because the wind was blowing from them.

First, one wolf appeared from a small birch forest, followed by a second, third and fourth. And the wolves were only 60-80 meters away from me. It was interesting to watch them, but at the same time it became somehow scary from their number. Although I had a weapon with me (both firearms and cold - I don't go into the forest without it), but when there are so many wolves, somehow it becomes uncomfortable.

It's one thing to have one animal, but there are so many of them at once... I made a noise in the bushes of ivan-tea (and it is more than 2 meters high), and then shot into the air. At first, the wolves looked at me with interest. But after the shot, they instantly jumped into this shallow forest and disappeared into the thicket. They ran in one direction, and I ran in the other, to the car. It was already evening, and for some reason I didn't want to stay in the forest.

As you can see in the photos, now, in July, there are a lot of oregano in the forest. Every year I also collect this wonderful herb to drink my homemade ivan tea with it. In the middle of July, in general, many different herbs grow in the forest, ranging from the same oregano and willow-tea and ending with thyme, sage and St. John's wort. To this set you can add a variety of berries - from strawberries and raspberries to wild cherries.

We also collect a lot of mushrooms in our forests - from porcini mushrooms (boletus), podberezovikov and aspen to champignons, buttermilk, cheese, ginger and honey mushrooms. But this is not a complete list of mushrooms, something I probably missed? Our forests, as you can see in the photo, are mixed. Pines and firs, birches, alders and oaks grow here. But most of all our forests in the middle of the steppe consist of birch - a kind of neighborhood.

Here is a great example of how oregano grows in the forest, where there is a lot of it. It is found in whole glades, and during flowering there are so many different insects that come to feast on the nectar of oregano flowers. Interestingly, during this period of summer time, many different butterflies come to oregano. Both large and small. And the color of the butterflies is also different...

Here in the glades where oregano grows, you can see a lot of butterflies - from black and burgundy to white, yellow and all kinds of spotted. Well, for a photographer who loves the genre of macro photography, this is a real paradise. And in front of us in the photo is a summer and beautiful landscape, where the sun shines so strongly and brightly that such unreal and fantastic pictures are obtained. The beauty of nature.

All the photos are directly related to the topic of my thoughts, because I went to the forest. And these are just beautiful photos about our amazing nature of the Southern Urals. Well, since beauty is the basis of any creativity, it means that it is ideal to admire the local photos by reading a post about our forest and the beauty of amazing nature.

The process of making fermented ivan tea consists of several stages, which I will briefly describe here. This is the collection of leaves of willow-tea (narrow-leaved cypress), wilting of leaves, rolling of leaves (or twisting in a meat grinder, as in my photo, or another moment of preparation and fermentation of leaves - freezing), fermentation of leaves, drying, storage and brewing of your homemade tea. But it is about all these stages that I will have a separate post, because a lot of material has been received, both photos and text. And I wouldn't want to overload posts in this way. Community members need to easily and naturally read the entire text and view photos.

To sum up. What are the magical and healing properties of Ivan tea?
• Improves blood composition;
• Reduces intoxication of the body;
• Facilitates food and alcohol poisoning;
• Increases immunity;
• Restores strength when exhausted;
• For 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;
• Has astringent and anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic properties;
• A natural sedative for stress, nervous overstrain;
• Hypertension, atherosclerosis and anemia;
• For gout and salt metabolism disorders;
• Heals ulcers of the gastrointestinal tract;
• For stones in the liver, kidneys and diseases of the spleen;
• With internal bleeding, painful menstruation;
• Reduces intoxication in cancer;
• Helps to get rid of prostatitis and prostate adenoma;
• Strengthens the potency;
• Effective in diseases of the genitourinary system (powerful prevention of prostatitis);
• Cicatricial ulcers of the stomach and duodenum;
• Increased immunity to respiratory viral infections;
• Prevention of caries.

SUMMER AND ANOTHER WALK TO THE FOREST FOR IVAN TEA

Tea from cypress has been drunk in Russia since ancient times. In the heat, he quenched thirst, warmed in the cold, healed the sick and gave strength to the tired. Most of this tea was made in the village of Koporye near St. Petersburg. Therefore, the drink, and later Ivan-tea itself, began to be called Kopor tea. Hundreds of pounds of ivan tea from Koporye remained inside the state, and most of it was exported. Abroad, Kopor tea was as famous as Persian carpets, Chinese silk and Damascus steel. In a word, he personified Russia, was its trademark. A curious fact is that Great Britain sold Indian tea from its vast plantations, but she preferred to drink Kopor tea herself, annually buying it in Russia by tens of thousands of pounds. Why is that? Maybe because the sophisticated English found Russian tea tastier and healthier than the exciting and tart Indian drink? But the popularity of the Koporye product gradually turned out to be so great that it began to undermine the financial power of the East India Tea Company.

The owners of the company could no longer tolerate such a strong competitor in the tea market. And, in the end, the Indian planters got their way: the trade in Copor tea in England was suspended. Gradually, Europeans got more and more used to the Asian product. And the World War I that began soon, then the October Revolution, the civil massacre and the economic blockade of Russia completed their dirty work: the production of Russian tea in Koporye was practically destroyed. Gradually, even the mention of him began to disappear from people's memories. By and large, since then, this wonderful, healing, unique tea has never been produced or drunk in Russia. And now the huge national wealth remains practically ownerless. But still, in the 90s of the last century, the revival of the former glory of Ivan tea began. There are more and more manufacturers-enthusiasts of this native Russian drink. More and more people are mastering old recipes and independently preparing ivan tea for themselves and their loved ones.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
-original photo;
-first publication;
-camera Sony 16.2.
(Translated via DeepL Translator from Russian)