# "Tea" Wine



## Bobp

Has anyone ever tried making tea wine? I was thinking of trying twinnings Earl Grey tea... I have seen recipes for tea wine I just have never tasted any?? Would I be wasting my time?


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## djrockinsteve

I think St. Allie did. It's not a waste of time but you need lots of tea. Check the recipe section.


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## LJPelletier

I am currently in primary with an iced tea wine using Tetley iced tea concentrate. I have no idea yet whether I'm wasting my time or money yet, but I'm thinking it won't be all that bad.

What do you have to lose, 10lbs of sugar and a handful of tea bags? I'd say go for it.


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## Bobp

I am only set up for 5-6 gallon batches... i was thinking 5 boxes of twinnings earl greys steeped in 5 gallons of boiling water... leave the bags in a nylon strainer ... then use JKs basic tea recipe for the rest... maybe a couple of pounds of minced white raisens... 
I wonder if the caffiene would affect the yeast or the process in any way? Would it be processed out or would you have a caffenated wine?


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## non-grapenut

Sometimes Earl Grey is made with bergamot oil...watch for oil sediment and rack more often, if need be, to ensure the oil doesn't go rancid. Check once/month for top floaters.


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## LJPelletier

Bobp said:


> I am only set up for 5-6 gallon batches... i was thinking 5 boxes of twinnings earl greys steeped in 5 gallons of boiling water... leave the bags in a nylon strainer ... then use JKs basic tea recipe for the rest... maybe a couple of pounds of minced white raisens...
> *I wonder if the caffiene would affect the yeast or the process in any way? *Would it be processed out or would you have a caffenated wine?



Apparently caffeine helps yeast... check out these articles 

http://www.miller-mccune.com/science-environment/caffeine-adds-life-to-yeast-4472/

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2958.2006.05300.x/pdf


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## LJPelletier

I have heard of adding a tea bag into the secondary to provide tannins to fruit wine, but unsure how several boxes of tea bags in primary would affect the yeast either way. If there is a point at which caffeine would harm the yeast, only experiments would really allow us to know.


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## Bobp

Thats interesting...I beleive i will try a batch... Thanks for the response..


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## BobF

I've done two meads with herbal teas for flavoring. The first was 1g with herbal orange, the second was 3g with raspberry.

They both came out VERY good and keep getting better as time passes.


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## mrzazz

I made a 5 gallon batch with 1 large box of tea bags (100). Boiled 1 gallon of water with tea bags for 10 minutes then let sit until cool. Topped with sugar and water to 5 gallon mark (1.090). Fermented dry then added the zest of 2 oranges. Let that sit 1 week. Racked off orange zest. It turned out great.


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## LJPelletier

Good stuff MrZazz


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## gonzo46307

I do the 100 tea bags in boiling water method, but then I do a 6 gallon batch.

I use Luizianne Tea, and keep a 1 gal bottle of Tradewinds Sweet Tea handy to use to top off.

I boil/simmer the teabags in a gallon of water for about an hour...transfer to fermenting bucket, add water to the 5.5 gallon mark, then stir in sugar (I usually use three 4lb bags) to get to the potential alcohol you want. Throw in some EC1118, and let it go for a week (at around 72 deg F).

After a week, rack to secondary and let sit for another 2 weeks. Measure SG, if below .996 stabilize, sorbate, degass, clarify (using whatever method you choose) and top off with the store bought sweet tea, after a couple of weeks, rack off of sediment into fermenting bucket, add 50 teabags until desired color, then sweeten to taste.

I usually use the Tradewinds sweet tea for reference when back-sweetening. I then rack back into 6 gallon carboy, and top off with the sweet tea.

I use the "Wine on Tap" system for this type of "fermentation". The first batch last summer I did 2 bags, and 12 bottles. I just did a batch with 1 bag and 21 bottles. I'll do another batch before spring and get a couple more bags for myself...the bottles from my last batch have been spoken for already. It's very smooth over ice. Here's a pic of the final product...this is a 1.5 ltr bottle from the latest batch.







The beauty with tea, is that you can make it look, taste, however you want...it's a blank slate...do your own thing, experiment!

Peace,
Bob


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## Bobp

Ok well I finally got around to starting my tea wine..
I kind of went with my own idea on things...i printed a recipe from this site and refered to other recipes for "advice"
100 luzians family sized bags
20 Twinnings Earl Grey single sizes
1 lb red rasins
brought to boil in a 4 gallon pot let simmer 1 hour turning the bags over occasionally
made a sugar/ boiling water soution poured it into the primary over the chopped rasins added pot k, energizer, nutrient, acid blend, pectic enzyme @ 1/2 of normal amount i see in recipes, 
started slurry waited 12 hours and pitched the EC118 slurry.. sugar was too high i think SG 1.117 but it is dropping
it seemed slow.. i stirred twice daily, but it's foaming up a cap, and obviously working just not loud and proud.. except for the HUGE amount of fruity odor it's putting off.. the rasins maybe?? not sour or rough at all.. actually tastes pretty good too.. but it's only 3 days in..we shall see..


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## hobbyiswine

I took a gallon of sweet tea into work today for a luncheon. Made me think...hmmm......I bet I can make wine from this?!?! I did a quick search and found this thread. Going to try and experiment with a 3 gallon batch. Will not get it started for a week or so.


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## Bobp

Good luck let us know how it goes... I think mine is going to be ok..i was worried.. but it's going ok now.. i beleive i'll be racking to a secondary in a couple of days.. I used the Luzians because thats the tea we drink atn home so we would be more likely to enjoy it.. and i just plain enjoy the earl greys..


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## hobbyiswine

Anyone ever use or hear of anyone adding acid blend to tea wine? Was thinking that the acid for a tea wine would be low and wondered if it might need a few tsp of acid blend but this is just guessing. Anyone have any experience with this?


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## GerardVineyard

Is this something that needs to be aged or is it a wine that could be drank young? If I start some now, would it be ready to go by summer?


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## djrockinsteve

Guessing here but I doubt it would improve with age. Basically it's flavored water.


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## Bobp

I'm hoping it turns out to be a front porch drinker this summer... not to mention we have a few months between now and then..But there is so little information on it..i do not really know.. It does not taste bad right now... and smells fruity??
I intend upon the wine telling me when it's ready so to speak... once it clears.. and all looks good, i'l probably back sweeten, if needed, sorbate and bottle..

I did add acid blend because i was thinking the same way... no natural acid...


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## hobbyiswine

*My tea wine recipe*

Here is what I am thinking for my tea wine recipe. Any insight would be great!
3 gallon batch.

2 gallons tea
3 tsp yeast nutrient
1 tsp pectic enzyme
sugar to bump up SG if needed
Top off to 3.5 gallon mark with water
Add slurry of yeast (have red star but any other suggestions?)


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## Bobp

Looks ok to me.. mine is fermenting slowly..but is still fermeting..i am worried about H2S..but so far no signs.. temp is 74-80... i might suggest watching it daily.. and when it gets to about 1/2 of where you think it heading.. give it a energizer and nutrient boost.. if it's moving slow.. but you may or should wait for one of the more experienced guys to reply.. good luck and let us know how it goes..


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## hobbyiswine

I started it yesterday and had bubbles in about 1 hr. I ended up using EC1118 yeast. Smelling good! I made the simple syrup with the full 4lb bag of sugar and the starting SG was 1.100 on the button.


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## hobbyiswine

48 hour update. This thing is going crazy!  looks like the primary is boiling! Have the lid on loose. Had quite a bit of foam yesterday but today just a billion CO2 bubbles. SG is down to 1.066.


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## hobbyiswine

*Day 6 Update*

I added 1 tsp of energizer on day 4. The ferment was still going crazy but wanted to give it a little extra kick, plus I just like experimenting. The SG is down to 1.011 today. Temp is 74F. I plan to rack it into the secondary tomorrow or the next day when it gets down to 1.000.


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## hobbyiswine

The tea wine I created has been clearing for a couple weeks. It needed to be racked a couple of times but cleared well with the sparkolloid.


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## Bobp

Update... the tea wine i have going is doing ok.. i made it too strong, i beleive i'll cut out a couple gallons and replace with boiled water... and take the couple of gallons and cut it with something else...AC is at 13+ ( i'd have to check the book to be exact).... What do you think?


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## Bobp

Update..The tea wine is turning out very well... It has been racked 6 times, and seems like it's going to clear up ok... it's always going to be dark with the # of tea bags i used... it's very strong, the AC is a bit too high, for my tatstes anyway's, and at the time before last racking i added some frozen white grape juice with boiled water as an F pac... and it tastes really good.... i beleive i'll bottle it in a couple of months.... Very lillet in the way of lees at the last racking too... i may bentonite it just for giggles at the next racking.... 
Is anyone aware of how to test for caffine content?


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## cindy

I'm making a 1 gallon batch of tea wine I am using constant comments tea its flavored with 
orange,cinnamon and clove I'm using 3 pounds of honey and cinnamon sticks.
I'm using a basic 1 gallon mead recipe but instead of adding plain water I'll be adding the tea and cinnamon sticks...


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## Duster

This Spring I started a 3 gallon batch of Skeeter Tea.
As you may have guessed, Basically sweet sun tea with lemon into the primary with some nutrient, energizer and Cotes de Blanc yeast. I have racked a couple times, degassed, and stabilized it. she is now in the closet with mother nature doing her thing.Now that I think of it, I probably should check on this one.


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## roadpupp

I love to drink "Arnold palmers" half teal and lemonade. Sounds similar? If so, I might try this!


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## intoxicating

I made a batch of tea wine using Lapsong Souchong and brown sugar. Used a little cane and malt syrup to back sweeten at bottling, and came up with a very different wine that half of my friends loved and half hated. My son said it tasted "like barbecue sauce and FUN".

Go for it, and tell us how it comes out.


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## RoyParker

I'm doing a batch using Gonzo's recipe and it seems to have fermented very slow.

Doesn't seem like it wants to go past 1.010.

Any suggestions?


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## non-grapenut

hobbyiswine said:


> Anyone ever use or hear of anyone adding acid blend to tea wine? Was thinking that the acid for a tea wine would be low and wondered if it might need a few tsp of acid blend but this is just guessing. Anyone have any experience with this?



Tea is acidic already. No need for acid blend.


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## RoyParker

Just read back through my notes on the batch of tea wine and I found my mistake....

And a rookie mistake it was.

When it was time to rack from the bucket primary to the glass secondary I did exactly that...
I racked the wine off the lees and washed them down the drain!

No wonder my fermentation has been moving so slow!

Don't think there is enough active lively yeast left to finish it off.

That is why the proper step was to stir the yeast back into suspension and then move everything over to the secondary.

I do have a half packet of yeast left from a earlier experiment, I guess I will pitch that in the morning and see if it will then finish dry so I can move to the next step!

I guess that is what I like about this obsession... there is always something to learn and always take good notes. (Also pay attention to what step you are on when making them notes!)


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## non-grapenut

RoyParker said:


> Just read back through my notes on the batch of tea wine and I found my mistake....
> 
> And a rookie mistake it was.
> 
> When it was time to rack from the bucket primary to the glass secondary I did exactly that...
> I racked the wine off the lees and washed them down the drain!
> 
> No wonder my fermentation has been moving so slow!
> 
> Don't think there is enough active lively yeast left to finish it off.
> 
> That is why the proper step was to stir the yeast back into suspension and then move everything over to the secondary.
> 
> I do have a half packet of yeast left from a earlier experiment, I guess I will pitch that in the morning and see if it will then finish dry so I can move to the next step!
> 
> I guess that is what I like about this obsession... there is always something to learn and always take good notes. (Also pay attention to what step you are on when making them notes!)



Put some more yeast energizer and nutrient in. Check the sweetness too. If dry, add a can of defrosted lemonade (check label that there's no sorbate in it) and all should be fine.


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## RoyParker

It did finish nicely with the extra yeast addition.

Racked right away when done to get off all the extra yeast left.


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## Alexandra Reese

Bobp said:


> Has anyone ever tried making tea wine? I was thinking of trying twinnings Earl Grey tea... I have seen recipes for tea wine I just have never tasted any?? Would I be wasting my time?



I am in Primary for my second batch of Mint Tea wine the first batch came out alright I used about 15 walmart brand Mint tea in 3 cups of water for the first batch and let it work for 20 days it was ok the mint was strong but the color does go a bit pale 

The batch I have now is about 25 tea bags brewed in 6 cups of water with 1/2 cup honey and 3 cups sugar and is working now and again it went pale but seems to be ok so far


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## wpt-me

Did a raspberry herbal tea wine using 32 teabags of Celestial Raspberry. Added a bag of 24 oz. frozen raspberries.
Came out very nice.

Bill


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## Alexandra Reese

Bill sounds like something I want to try for sure I am surprised though with mine I have it still in ferment but there appear to be zero activity no more bubbles so I am going to crash it and check it did not go bad


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## wpt-me

Alexandra How long have you been fermenting your must? Do you have a hydrometer ?
I put mine into secondary at S.G. .996. Bulk aged for almost a year.

Bill


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## winemanden

We made a Tea wine for the standard wine competition in our club a few years back. Everyone used the same recipe but choice of tea was left to individuals. If my memory serves me right it was only 10 Tea bags brewed for ten minutes 1 litre of grape juice + sugar to make a UK gallon of semisweet wine. Wasn't exceptional but a drinkable wine. My CEO was quite chuffed about it as she won it.


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## Mismost

I make a Dollar Store Tea Wine. Part of my Cheapass Winery Series, comes in about 40 cents a bottle.

boil a whole box of cheap tea bags and let cool over night. I like to use a simple sugar and water to 5 gallons and 1.07ish with ec1118 just because I have a bunch of it.

makes a drinkable whiteish wine that's tolerable on it own.... The taste grows on you. But, we like as a mixer with fruit juices or the crystal life flavors and makes a good base for what we call a trashcan Sangria.... The last batch of which really cranked up a Christmas party!


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## BernardSmith

winemanden said:


> We made a Tea wine for the standard wine competition in our club a few years back. Everyone used the same recipe but choice of tea was left to individuals. If my memory serves me right it was only 10 Tea bags brewed for ten minutes 1 litre of grape juice + sugar to make a UK gallon of semisweet wine. Wasn't exceptional but a drinkable wine. My CEO was quite chuffed about it as she won it.



But British tea bags make tea. US teabags make.... I dunno what... but it ain't tea.


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## Kivanc

Bobp said:


> Has anyone ever tried making tea wine? I was thinking of trying twinnings Earl Grey tea... I have seen recipes for tea wine I just have never tasted any?? Would I be wasting my time?


No, it isn’t waste of time. You will be satisfied. I’ll be making from apricot tea. You can try cherry stalk herbal tea as well as I think it will be more consistent in taste.


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