Using Tea in a brew

[FrayAdjacent]

At work, one of the perks we have is a tray full of different kinds of tea. One is a vanilla tea.

I'm wondering, has anyone brewed up a quantity of any kind of tea and used it as part of their must? I think maybe a sack mead with some vanilla tea might turn out quite tasty...

Any input?

 

[LightningInABottle]

I used constant comment orange tea for a brew and it came out very nice. I brewed the tea, removed the bags and dumped it in to top off my primary.

 

[FrayAdjacent]

I'm thinking about getting a percolator to make some wassail... figured I could use it for brewing some tea in larger quantities than my one-cup boiler, and brewing with it may be cleaner than using a sauce pan.

Sounds like tea could be a good addition for some flavor. Tea usually does do well with honey in it, so why not?

 

[fatbloke]

No, not usually a flavouring item per se.

firstly, make sure that just because the "product" says "Tea" on the pack, make sure that it actually contains Tea.

Some of the so called "flavoured tea's" are actually "herbal infusions" and don't contain any "proper" tea at all.

Plus, the problem with these "herbal infusion" type products, is that they often claim to have all sorts of properties and they don't, just a weak, watery taste that might have a hint of something in them.

The actual use of "proper tea" in meads is to provide a source of tannin. "Proper tea" has plenty of that. If I make an older recipe that uses tea, I'll either brew the tea (boiling water, don't forget) at 2 teabag per 1/2 pint of water (and I mean proper teabags designed for making the tea in a pot, not those piss weak "1 cup" teabags) or 2 teaspoon of loose tea per 1/2 pint of water, to ensure a nice strong tea with plenty of tannin (oh and that 1/2 pint is enough for 1 gallon).

@ FrayAdjacent, if you wanted some vanilla flavour, or at least a hint on it in a sack mead, then you'd be better placed using a whole, or part, vanilla pod, that has been cut to expose the tiny seeds in the pod. Or at least some "proper vanilla extract". Don't forget, if you did use a pod, alcohol is a very effective way of extracting vanilla flavour. Proper/natural vanilla extract is made from steeping pods in alcohol.

regards

fatbloke

 

[biochemedic]

Many meads do benefit from tannin (especially melomels), but not all really *need* it. I've found that when I make a new kind of melomel I'll try a teeny pinch of tannin powder in a wine thief sample when I check things after primary...if the tannin really makes it "pop," I'll add some when I rack. (I do the same thing with acid blend.) More mature recipes, such as my procedure for cyser, will just get it up front (but I still add the acid blend after primary, or sometimes at bottling).

Black tea is one source of tannin, but tannin powder is maybe a bit more predictable...

As an aside, if you're looking for any kind of tea, I found a great source recently when I was looking for some Lapsong souschong for a smoked beer project: Link They are pretty good at indicating exactly what is in each of their different tea blends.