Ivan Chai With Mint

The most distinctive thing about fireweed is its gorgeous pink to purple colored flowers, which grow in a spike shape in sunny pockets all over the Northwest.  Flowers have four petals, and resemble the flowers of other evening primrose plant relatives.

In Russia, its leaves were traditionally used as a tea, before the introduction of tea from China starting in the 17th Century, it was greatly valued and was exported in large quantities to Western Europe as Koporye Tea (Копорский чай), Russian Tea or Ivan - Chai.

Fireweed leaves can undergo fermentation, much like real tea, or flavored with herbs: thyme, mint, linden etc.  Today, koporye tea or Ivan Chai is still commonly sold and consumed in Russia, though it is not nearly as popular as it was in Pre-Soviet Russia.