mead + green tea + fruit...good?

[phissionkorps]

I tried searching the forums for anyone using Arizona green tea, but only found one or two mentions of using a decent amount of green tea. I was thinking something along the lines of:

3lbs clover honey
2lbs plums or oranges
topping off to 1gal w/ Arizona green tea
1 campden tablet
1116???

I don't really know much about how to pick a proper mead yeast. I'd definitely want this to finish on the sweet side, since I'm always thirstier after a glass of that tea.

 

[tooomanycolors]

if you really want to use tea, brew your own, but honestly tea as the only source of your water doesnt sound very good. yeast wise try D-47/71B or 1118 depending on what you wat

 

[BigKahuna]

I totally agree with Toomanycolors on this. IF you must use Green tea, brew your own. You will be glad you did. Also be careful because the fermentation process tends to exaggerate the bitterness of the tea.

 

[GinKings]

I've heard of Mountain Dew beer, so why not Arizona mead? Arizona Green Tea has corn syrup and honey in it, so it will bump up the gravity. Probably about 15 points (2% ABV). White Labs Sweet Mead yeast might be good. You could use D47 or 71B. They would probably leave it sweeter than the White Labs because they have a lower alcohol tolerance. They might be better choices if you brew your own tea since the OG would be lower.

 

[Freezeblade]

I've heard of Mountain Dew beer, so why not Arizona mead? Arizona Green Tea has corn syrup and honey in it, so it will bump up the gravity. Probably about 15 points (2% ABV). White Labs Sweet Mead yeast might be good. You could use D47 or 71B. They would probably leave it sweeter than the White Labs because they have a lower alcohol tolerance. They might be better choices if you brew your own tea since the OG would be lower.

Why not? probably because the idea of mountain dew beer is really a novalty, and probably dosen't taste that great. I'm with the crowd here about brewing your own tea, I just started a camomile/yerba buena/Ginger tea mead, with high expectations, but I wouldn't think that using Arizona or any type of factory-made pre-brewed tea would taste very good fermented.

 

[phissionkorps]

What would be the big difference between my own tea and Arizona? Whenever I make tea (not often), it's either bitter as hell or tastes like water. Arizona has good flavor, honey/ginseng/corn syrup, and that's it. There aren't any preservatives at all, and AFAIK, it's not from concentrate or anything. I'm not that experienced with this stuff at all, but I seem to be missing why it would be bad and tea I make myself would not, since they're essentially the same.

 

[tooomanycolors]

I say brew your own because it will be better quality, sure add ginsing and corn syrup to it if you want. and if your tea is always bitter or watery, then read the instructions when you make it, if you use boiling water with green tea then you f'ed it up.

But if you wanna use commercial tea no one can stop you, but please do a small batch and dont waste the honey.

 

[BigKahuna]

But if you wanna use commercial tea no one can stop you, but please do a small batch and dont waste the honey.

How about 2 batches...Brew your own tea for 1, use The can of tea for the other...keep everything else the same.

Make sure and post pictures, and keep us all informed.

 

[phissionkorps]

and if your tea is always bitter or watery, then read the instructions when you make it

I think mostly I'm just not much of a tea fan. I drink strong black coffee and it's great, but tea....not so much.

How about 2 batches

Hmm...yeah I'll probably just do that. Sounds like the safest bet.

 

[claphamsa]

Im a huge green tea fan... might be interesting to toss some tea in secondary.. how much do yalls think? a cup to 5 gallons?

 

[tooomanycolors]

use green tea leaves (loose, good quality), with a quick soak in some hot water to open them up then add the leaves in a spice bag (cheesecloth) to the secondary.

 

[claphamsa]

how much? I buy kilos to tea..... very very high quality (its not too bad when you buy in 10 kilo batches)

 

[tooomanycolors]

I think its like 1 teaspoon to a 6-8oz cup of tea, so convert from there, I would go for a little more than less for use in a fermenting beverage

 

[dohj]

is it safe to ferment Green Tea?