Our Kachemak Kaporye tea is made from wild, foraged fireweed leaves. After the leaves are gathered we allow them to wilt for 24 hours before we bruise and ferment them for a short period of time. They’re then dried, stored in glass jars and aged to create a delicious, nourishing tea. The short ferment gives the tea a bold flavor and a beautiful amber tint and although the taste is unique, its color and composition are not so different from the black tea blends we’re all familiar with. We first heard reference to “kapor tea” in Beverly Gray’s book, The Boreal Herbal and upon further investigation we learned that making fermented tea out of fireweed leaves is a Russian tradition. We were inspired to make our own version of “kapor tea” out of the fireweed that grows in our yard overlooking Kachemak Bay, and now we drink it almost daily.

For best results we recommend steeping this tea in very hot water for 10-15 minutes. The flavor emerges as the tea begins to cool. If you’re just making a single mug of tea at a time, it’s possible to get a second pour out of one tea bag.