a member of an other fourm i frequent was talking about this in chat so i asked if he could PM me how its done. so heres what DaQatz of " the hot pepper" fourm has sent me.
soooo who's gona try this. i sure am when i get the nesisary equipment.
i'v got some cheap pu-erh tea that i wouldent mind burning through.
There are actually a fair number of ways to do it. How you go about largely depends on what kind of results you are looking for.
A few notes:
Very small differences can make the Cha Hao taste very different. You can make it taste somewhat like Beer ,Sake ,Champagne ,wine , and I even had one that had bourbon tones to it.
Using black teas tends to make the end product more beer and or sake like. Using green and white tea makes the flavor closer to the wine end. Fermenting it warm produces esters which changes the flavor as well.
You also need to consider your target alcohol %, while I normally aim for a 5 to 10% like beer; tea contains something called theanine which is what has that "calming" effect when you drink tea. However it's psychoactive affects are not limited to that, it also tends to enhance the effect other psychoactive chemicals(Not caffeine though). In this case alcohol, in other words you'll get drunk on less alcohol because of the theanine in the tea. This does help protect you from hang overs though only because you're likely to drink less.
Brewing:
Brewing tea for Cha Hao is not like brewing for a nice cup of tea. First you need to brew it stronger, both time and tea amount. Depending on type use 25% to 50% more tea. The brew time will be closer to 10 minutes for a first steeping. You will want to keep to the normal steeping temps though. Any added herbs/spices should be steeped before the tea at boiling temps if you're making a green, white ,or greener oolong. Also the theanine seems to have more effect when there is less sugar in the end product.
Sugars:
Cha Hao is normally made with sugars rather then grains. The amount you use will depend heavily on the yeast you use, and your target alcohol %. For a starting rule of thumb, 16 oz's of sugar for a gallon of tea for dry. 32 oz's per gallon for sweet. If you're using cane sugar you want to invert it first. This makes the sugar sweeter tasting, and easier to digest for the yeast. If you use honey as your primary sugar you will need to ferment it much longer, because yeast eat it very slowly.
Yeast:
I actually have my own strain of yeast that I caught and cultured for Cha Hao this is likely not an option for you. Wine yeasts work well, though be careful with champagne yeast because it eats more sugar and produces a higher alc %. Bakers yeasts can also be used, it was using a bakers yeast that I managed to get bourbon flavors. Without adding any extra herbs etc... It was just just time and temp control. The beer yeasts work too, but so far the flavors I got were less then remarkable.
Fermentation:
For the initial fermentation an air locked carboy or bucket is fine. Normally this will take 3 to 4 weeks. If you want it carbonated bottle or keg at 3 weeks. If it's dry at this point you'll need to add a small amount of sugar so it will more CO2. Other wise wait till week 4 to bottle ,or move to secondary carboy or bucket for aging. You should wait about 3 months in total before drinking. Aging longer will help the product not hurt it in most cases.
Method:
If you're adding herbs to the tea always add them to non-sugared water at boiling temp.
Steep the tea at it's suggested temp. The time should be more like 10 minutes however. If you steep the tea before sugaring the water use 25% more then for normal drinking. If you steep after sugaring use 50% more tea. Steeping after sugaring will cause the end product to have much less color(The color will extract less, and some will settle out with the yeast), and to have a flavor closer to the fruity side.
If you want to clear the product after fermentation a good way is to "cold crash" it by putting it in the fridge or freeze for awhile. It shouldn't contain enough alcohol to prevent freezing. So be very careful about putting it in a freezer if it's in glass.
Adding a pinch of the extracted tea leaves to the primary fermentor will help as yeast nutrient, but it's uneeded.
A basic recipe
19 litters strong tea.(As described above)
7.5 lbs white sugar
1 oz dry yeast.
1 oz lemon juice.
Mix 2 litters of the tea, the lemon juice ,and the sugar. Bring to a boil and let simmer lightly for 30 minutes. This is to invert the sugars for the yeasts sake. When done re-add the mixture to the rest of the tea stir well. Wait for the tea to drop to 85F"30C" (You should check your yeast for it's suggest "pitching" temps.) In a cup mix your yeast and tea mixture until it dissolves(Hard to do in the bucket/carboy) and then re-add it to the tea. Mix well. Ferment in am air-locked bucket or carboy for 4 weeks preferably at around 65F"19C" degrees. After which move it to your secondary(Bucket ,carboy ,keg ,bottles) Be careful to not mix the "yeast raft" in the bottom of the primary when moving it. because it will produce "off smells" in your Cha Hao. Let it age another 8 weeks in the secondary. At this point you can drink it. If your secondary was carboy, bucket , or key you could also consider bottling.
Pics
This is a white tea, it's carbonated and tastes a lot like champagne.
This one is a green tea, It also had beet juice, and salt added.
It tasted more like a salty sake.
soooo who's gona try this. i sure am when i get the nesisary equipment.
i'v got some cheap pu-erh tea that i wouldent mind burning through.
