Best types of tea bags for mead

[thrstyunderwater]

I'm wanting to do Jack Keller's chocolate mead recipe

20 lbs honey
20 oz Hershey's Cocoa Powder
6 teabags infused in 1 cup hot water (original recipe called for 3)
7 tsp yeast nutrient
3/4 tsp yeast energizer (my addition)
3 tblsp acid blend (my addition)
Water to make 6 gallons total
2 sachets Red Star Premier Curvee Wine Yeast

and have no idea what type of tea to use. There are a ton of different types out there, and I know this is important for tannins. Any opinions would be welcomed.

 

[commonsenseman]

I'd use Black Tea.

 

[MedsenFey]

Why on earth do you want to add tea? The usual reason for adding tea to mead is to provide tannins. Cocoa is LOADED with tannins and you don't need to add more. It will likely be bitter enough. Also, acid makes tannins taste more bitter. Adding 3 TBsp of acid blend is a huge amount and it might be enough to interfere with the fermentation by dropping the pH too low. You might be better off waiting until fermentation is done and then adding acid if you find it needs some to perk up the flavor, and adding it in small amounts.

This recipe calls for a high gravity and uses Premier Cuvee (EC-1118) which means you will get a very high alcohol that will also make the bitterness more prominent. Are you sure you want a 17-18% ABV chocolate batch?

I'm not a fan of cocoa powder - the stuff makes a god-awful mess. Cocoa nibs are much, much nicer to work with for a chocolate mead.

One other thing I'll share is that vanilla accentuates the chocolate flavor.

I hope you get a great result.

Medsen

 

[thrstyunderwater]

Man I was all ready to use tea. Now I have to think about it all. I've already ordered the cocoa, it's organic hippy stuff and not Herseys. I have a 7.5 gallon carboy so I'm hoping that 1.5 gallon headspace will keep me safe.

 

[mccann51]

I'd listen to Medsen and avoid the tea.

For future reference, though, black tea is what you'll want for adding tannin. Obviously, a quality black tea is gonna give you better results than a Lipton black tea.

 

[thrstyunderwater]

Medsen, how much, what kind, and how would you incorporate the vanilla?

 

[MedsenFey]

You can do it any number of ways. For chocolate batches I find 1/2 of a vanilla bean per gallon works (split and scraped) but you can always add more if it suits your tastes. For a 5-gallon batch, 1 Tbsp of good vanilla extra will work, but again, you can add more or less to suit you individual taste. I believe the vanilla should not be obvious in the presentation, but should just be in the background to support the chocolate. YMMV.

And as for the fermenter, more is better. 1.5 gallons in a 7.5 gallon carboy isn't enough because yeast go crazy on cocoa powder. If you only leave 1.5 gallons of space, do yourself a favor and use a blow-off tube. I once had and airlock clog because of the chocolate glop that stuck in it. It blew. It spewed. An explosion in a chocolate factory is not something you want to have to clean up.

 

[thrstyunderwater]

What does everyone think about using Lavin 1116 instead of 1118? Any other yeast that really just jumps out when you read this recipe?

Also with blowoffs, what if I leave 2 gallons headspace and then add another half gallon of water after the primary fermentation slows down?

 

[thrstyunderwater]

Mead update:

I made a starter out of 2 Lavin 1118 packets and pitched it a few hours later. I used my my 7.5 gallon carboy for a 6 gallon because I did use 20 ounces of cacao powder. The head never got over 1.5 inches tall.

Just thought I'd let everyone know I didn't have a crazy head off of a mead with 20lbs honey and 20 ounces of cacao. Maybe it was the yeast type, or the fact I used a high quality organic cacao. Who knows.