Raspberry jam is not only expensive and tasty, but also extremely useful product that is used to treat colds. However, the berry is not the only thing that can be obtained from raspberry bushes. Therefore, today we will tell you about how raspberry leaves are used and how useful they are, as well as understand how to brew them.
- How useful raspberry leaves
- When, how and where to collect
- How to dry raspberry leaves
- Fermentation of raspberry leaves
- How and where to store dried leaves
- Shelf life
- Recipes tasty and healthy tea
How useful raspberry leaves
Tea with raspberry leaves has such beneficial features: it not only helps to cope with cold symptoms, but also has an anti-inflammatory effect, like aspirin; has an expectorant effect and increases immunity resistance to viral diseases.
Used to treat all diseases of the respiratory tract, as well as to stop bleeding. In this case, both tea and infusion are used, which can be rinsed out of the mouth. 
It is worth saying that raspberry tea is recommended to be used by people whose work is connected with harmful production, since such a tool removes poisons and toxins from the body.
The astringent properties of raspberries help tablets to deal with liquid stools as well as tablets, and if you have a sufficiently large amount of raw materials, then you can take a bath with raspberry leaves, which will help to get rid of many female diseases.
In cosmetology, crushed green plates are used to create effective masks. Raspberry helps to get rid of teenage eels, and also removes inflammation. More on their basis is preparing a decoction, which is used for rinsing hair. This tool helps against hair loss and accelerates their growth.
Raspberry greens are not only used for making tea, so this raw material is very valuable. Next we will talk about when to collect raspberry leaves for tea and other needs.
When, how and where to collect
To get quality material, you need to collect greens in the first 2-3 weeks of June. At this time, the leaves have the greatest value, since the plant directs all its forces to the development of the green part, and not to the formation of fruits. 
Should choose bright intact plates. It is better to give preference to leaves that are near the top of the bush, because they receive the most light. Also note the presence of insects or fungus. We do not need such greens, as its use can lead to poisoning.
It is worth telling about when it is necessary to collect raspberry leaves for drying for the winter. The collection period for further storage is not limited to the first weeks of summer, but it is better to collect raw materials before flowering. If you collect in the process of flowering, then you at least harm the plant, and at most, you will receive products of not the best quality and leave yourself without the lion's share of the crop.
It is necessary to collect in the morning, when there is no dew on the bushes, and the sun is still not very hot. It should be understood that if the plant already suffers from weather conditions or lack of nutrients, the absence of several leaves can finish it off.
How to dry raspberry leaves
After collection, they must be rinsed under running water and spread on a woven fabric under a canopy in a single layer. The canopy should be well ventilated and fully protect the leaves from sunlight. 
Also do not forget that raw materials are needed turn over regularlyso that it does not bloom.
Fermentation of raspberry leaves
Before describing the fermentation of raspberry leaves, it is worth figuring out what this process is and why it is needed.
So, fermentation in this case, it is a process of organic decomposition under the action of enzymes. Fermentation is carried out to obtain a high-quality product from tea leaves. Simply put, fermentation is the oxidation of production under the action of oxygen, in which enzymes participate.
More or less figured out, now let's talk about the sequence of actions that will help us make real tea.
- The first option (time consuming). Take the pure green raspberries and grind in the palms so that it darkens and curls into a "sausage". This action should be carried out with all the leaves from which you want to get tea.
- The second option ("mechanized"). We take the same washed green leaves and skip through a meat grinder. In this case, it is better to use an old mechanical machine, since the electric one will twist everything into a homogeneous mass and no tea will work out anymore. It is important to use the largest grate so that the leaves are not very crushed.
Of course, you can come up with a lot of other options that will also prepare raw materials, but the ones proposed above are the most common.If you are using the first option, then after grinding it is necessary to pour everything into a large container and put it under a press. If the second option was used, then simply pour it into the bowl and press it with your hand.
Next, you need to cover the bowl with a damp cotton cloth and send it all to a warm place for further fermentation.
For everything to go as it should, you should regularly check the moisture content of the fabric, and if it is dry, re-wet it. 
It is worth remembering that the optimum temperature for fermentation is 22-26 ° C, not more, but not less.In the case of lowering or raising the temperature, the fermentation will stop or will go wrong.
The finished mass should have a greenish-brown color and give a fruity smell. After fermentation, the raw materials are laid out in a thin layer on a baking sheet and dried in the oven for about 2 hours. The optimum temperature is 100 ° C.
Now tell you about what kind of fermentation is:
- Lightweight If the tea is fermented from 3 to 6 hours, its taste will be soft and light, but the aroma will be too strong.
- Average. After 10-16 hours, the taste qualities change: the taste becomes tart and sourness appears. The aroma becomes less "acidic".
- Deep After 20-36 hours, only a faint aroma remains, and the taste becomes more tart.
How and where to store dried leaves
Dried leaves (not tea) are stored at room temperature in places with low humidity. Fully dried leaves are crushed and placed in linen or paper bags.
If you made tea, then you need to store it, like any other tea, in a dry, dark place.
Shelf life
When storing a product in suitable conditions, its shelf life is 24 months.
Recipes tasty and healthy tea
It's time to talk about the variety of options for tea from raspberry leaves, as well as how to prepare them. 
To begin with, to get a tasty and healthy drink it’s enough to take 1 tsp brewing on a standard cup in 150-200 ml.
Traditionally, raspberry can be brewed in a pair with fruits or raspberry jam. So you not only improve the taste of the drink, but also make it more useful, and most importantly, refuse to use sugar, which will only reduce the usefulness of tea.
If you have a currant growing in your garden, then you can add a bit of its greenery to get fortified tea. Lingonberry leaves are also suitable if it grows in your area.
In addition, raspberry tea goes well with mint and melissa.And if you need to be beaten from a cold, then feel free to add lemon.
Despite all the positive qualities and benefits, raspberry leaves have not only medicinal properties, but also contraindications, namely:
- intolerance to both fruits and raspberry leaves;
- severe constipation (the problem will only worsen due to the binding properties of raspberries);
- gout;
- increased acidity of the stomach (raspberry contains a large amount of acid);
- kidney disease;
- stomach ulcer;
- asthma.
It is also not recommended to drink tea during pregnancy in the 1st and 2nd trimester, so as not to have problems with the fetus.In conclusion, it is worth saying that raspberry leaf tea brings undoubted benefits to our body, but harm is not excluded. It should be understood that any tea has a diuretic function in one degree or another, so do not get carried away with tea drinking, if you have problems with the excretory system. Do not ignore contraindications, otherwise the treatment will end with the emergence of new "sores".
