Using the new Aldi Jaffa tea bags for a mead?

[Jimblez]

I bought a pack of the Aldi Jaffa flavour teabags. Personally I think there delicious contrary to what my girlfriend seems to think
but would these work in a mead if I used majority of Jaffa tea water to fill a demijohn after I've mixed my honey etc

My thinking is I don't want to maybe overdo the tannins although I'm not sure this wouldnt't matter to much over time. I could back sweeten and it would taste fantastic maybe .. I'm using the lalvin e1118 yeast again thing time as I have had the fastest best results with it. The beer yeast I used last time I found had a particular twang to it and it took a long time to ferment out to 10.5% and I found once I added cinnamon it almost turned to a sort of vinegary tasting sweet mead. Not my best one for sure so I want to try the orange without using to much fruit. I would like it to be clear with a nice acidity and fairly dry. 14% is my aim.

If anyone's tried any pointers in this as I'm going to be preparing this week for next weekend. Some teabags don't but I've read some teabags DO carry over the flavour but these teabags are so Jaffa flavoured I had to maybe try it

 

[Jimblez]

These ones there is also salted caramel

 

[MashBag]

How many are you thinking?

I would max at 3 or 4. Aim for 10%.

Lalvin k1v1116 might get a better fruit expression from the tea.

Consider a nutient, honey is hard work for yeast. Not dap

 

[Jimblez]

I was thinking maybe just use 4 straight up jaffa tea bags but use maybe in 2 litres of water so ive got quite a bit of the flavoured stuff and top up with some sterilised water and the rest of the must/honey... Ill be fermenting in standard 1 Gallon DemiJohn... I have 2 of them so i can try 2 variables of the same thing. Maybe 2 normal bags of black with 2 jaffa in the other.. i also was maybe thinking doing one weaker (around 12%) .. i dont mind a good 10% mead but i do prefer the dryness but i did know it will strip some of the flavour so maybe the 14% is a bit overkill .. I tried with orange juice before i found it super acidic and wasnt overly keen on the drink overall but it was the bitterness pairing with the dryness too making it quite a strange sharp dry kinda hollow orange flavour or 'Thin Tasting' as i hear people say.

I always use Yeast nutrient staggered over the first week, but starting with a good dose also. Ive found the stuff i had (an old pot of Wilco's Super Wine Yeast Compound) absolutely speed things up. Ive got some left probably enough to do this one. I always add the raisins (a chopped Handful or so) and around 1.5kilo of honey.

I am literally using the Aldi stuff (i live nextdoor to one haha) but making sure i use the Grandia (uk Only) stuff and it works fine. Ive done 3 batches since November and used the same stuff everytime but changed the yeast to see what kinda works best for what i like to drink. Im going back to my first attempt recipe but with the orange jaffa tea and no juice. The added fruit makes it way to strong for my liking and between you (the forum) and I, it gets me into trouble over 14% haha! So 12% will probaly be a sensible aim for what i like. i was possibly thinking maybe a little orange peel in the bottom for a touch more zest but this will literally be it for the real fruit.


I'll have a look at the lalvin yeast you have mentioned. Ive already got the champagne yeast here but i might try and grab one of those and use that in the other fermenter. its all bit of an experiment but thats half the reason i love it so much haha.

I guess what im going for is a Traditional Jaffa style mead.

 

[Jimblez]

welllll..... as im an eager beaver and the missus actually just won £150 on the bingo im now off to get my honey haha....

Pictures to come later :)

 

[MashBag]

... . i dont mind a good 10% mead but i do prefer the dryness but i did know it will strip some of the flavour so maybe the 14% is a bit overkill ..

10% will give you better flavour. The tannins will express the dryness. Stronger just means stronger, not a better drink.

 

[Jimblez]

Well it's about 2 hour's later and I've already done it.. The DemiJohns are full and already starting to see that yeast moving up and down.. that stuff works so quickly.. took nearly 8 days before it started to move properly with the beer yeast last time.

SO, the Tea bags.... I used my nose for this to be quite honest. 4 was there in smell but it could have been a bit more orangy so i thought u know what im gonna do 6 Jaffa bags for one and 4 Jaffa (with 1 x black tea) equalling 5 for the other. You can tell the colour difference to it but the one with 6 has an absolutely jaffa smell to it and actually way more orangy then i expected but in a good way and im almost sure this is going to work in my favour.

I made a must for each containing only 1.35kg of honey (Just 3 x 454grm jars of Grandia honey) and i know this may go to over 12%, but i think once i get my Gravity readings in and i can see we are hitting an Fg of around 1.000 we can safely say this will be around 11.5% - 12% ish... If i let it go a bit dryer it likely be no stronger then 12.5%. Going by what Mashbag has said i believe it wont come out the same as im smelling it now but im almost certain to how much of a zesty Jaffa smell it has to it now its gonna be more than enough to change the flavour. Maybe once ive racked into secondary i may add bit of orange peel for a touch more zest but i really dont wanna change the flavour too much as i think it is absolutely amazing. lol, maybe its just me.

I wont lie I am very very excited for this. Hope i dont get a blow off nightmare from the speedy activity. It really has only been in half an hour and already going some. That lalvin yeast is exceptionally quick and i didnt muck about making a starter it just went straight in.. 1 small gripe with lalvin though, after weighing the 5grm pack, it was only 4.2grm so we have 2.1gms of the yeast in each. should be fine still? Would of thought so.

I added a small side of a kids medicine spoon amount of wilcos yeast nutrient in each when i was shaking the bottles up. So this should help give them a good start too. Its old but ive gone through 2 pots of it and it still worked. This was a fresh new one still sealed (but still out of date by 3 years or so) so it stinks when i open it like i remember it being fresh. Again, im sure this will be fine.

And just one other thing... I really did just see people are selling these 60pence tea bags from aldi for over £10 on ebay. Has the world gone mad ??! haha

SG - 1088

 

[MashBag]

I think you will have enough yeast in each.

I personally would have left a bit more headspace. Fingers crossed it won't redecorate the ceiling.

I really do this taste and smell are the way to go, with a recipe like this. I would not ferment it too hot either, slow and gentle will help keep the flavour. 18c imo

 

[Jimblez]

Well 8 hours into fermentation it's already bubbling like a freshly opened lemonade bottle. Amazingly its already starting to smell like alcohol how in the hell is that already possible but thats fine by me.. I threw a handful of chopped raisins in each earlier aswell (because i forgot when i did it up earlier) and gave it a stir because it looked all a bit top yeasty and needed that mix. Seems to have done the Job. Now we play the waiting game.. Updates to come..

Havent had any blow outs yet but alas..the night is young..Already heard lots of loud glugs and bubbling from the airlocks and can hear the hissing from the bubbles upclose. Its' music to my ears.. Damn i do get a bit excited with a new brew haha..

 

[MashBag]

Arr the sweet sound of raisins bring fired through the roof. Very nice

Is it possible you can smell co2, not alc?

Interested to hear the updates.

 

[Jimblez]

Is it possible you can smell co2, not alc?

Very probably Co2 but Its definitely smelling slightly boozy already. This stuff is bubbling like crazy but not much foam at all. It's not reached the demijohn top at all, i gave it a little smell again today and its fermenting fast for sure.. Ive used this yeast once before and found it to be super quick. I was actually suprised how speedy it could be to make mead with the right weather. I cleared my demijohns outside in 1*c temps for 2 nights and it was crystal clear after. We've got some odd cold weather keeps hitting us so if that keeps up i might be ok to do it the same way before summer hits. I live in quite a warm place once it gets sunny. I mean this could be my last brew until sept also so im really hoping it works out best i can get it.

Have to be honest Im not smelling the Jaffa orange anymore

 

[MashBag]

Have to be honest Im not smelling the Jaffa orange anymore

I was worried that might happen

this could be my last brew until sept

 

[Jimblez]

Yep it might be.... So I bought this kit last night .. thought why not I can't do this summer without at least one beer on the go. It gets damn hot here in the southeast in the next coming months

 

[MashBag]

Beer brewing is good till June surely? Assuming you are in the uk and closer to the equator

 

[Jimblez]

Just took a reading. Its almost finished.. Gravity is at. 0.992.. im leaving til tomorrow to finish up and then ill be putting it outside. Also had a little taster its bang on. Not totally sure about that Jaffa flavour but it definitely has body to it. Fermentation stayed at 26*c all the way through. It really has mashed throuigh those sugars and im amazed at the speed tbh.

 

[MashBag]

10 days is about right, particularly at 26c.

Is will certainly get a chill outside.

It shouldn't be this cold at the end of April

 

[Jimblez]

I know right.. I mean its actually stopped at this point so i make this 7.5 day ferment. Thats pretty fast in my eyes tbh, ive only done this like 4-5 times now but that is by far the fastest, the beer yeast took 4 weeks lol and had vinegar flavour. Won't lie ive already had first 2 clear inches off the top off both the demijohns lol.. its fantastic. not sure where the jaffa is in the flavour yet but its not promiment but there is defintely a light crispy white winey fruity flavour and its actually somewhat fruity. I would say already this is the best one ive done yet!.. still outside for another day or so... and yes the weather is good for clearing but its terrible for going out right now.

for what i wanted to make this is almost bang on barr the Jaffa flavour but it is 110% leaning towards the drink i wanted to make.. next time i gotta add more jaffa type flavour thing.. racking my brain or a couple of days what else i could use (aside from ther jelly out of a jaffa cake, this had crossed my mind )

 

[MashBag]

Won't lie ive already had first 2 clear inches off the top off both the demijohns lol.. its fantastic

get rid of that air gap, else you won't enjoy the rest!

 

[Jimblez]

well it cleared finally and ive bottled up 4 x 750cl only with screw caps because it was all i had at hand. I also bottled my 6% Hammers of Thor but i had a serious bottle issue, i managed to collect around 35 x 500ml beer bottles (not enough i need 10 more) which i added around 3grams of sugar to each and filled using my new bottle wand, damn that thing is easy when attached to the FV tap. Anyway the mead was as clear as i could be, tastes very crisps when its cold, i sampled a little of it yesterday but the main thing i noticed was there is actually some what a flavour of orange just and i mean 'Just' coming thru. I think maybe a different flavouring with the teabags would boost it somewhat. I'm still toying with the idea of the jelly from actual jaffa cakes lol.

I ran out of vessels for my drinks so i had to do a bit of moving about i now have 1 demi john filled right to the top (no air gap so solved that issue) of the mead, i had to mix some of the other, leaving one demi john free. It now has 5 gallons of beer waiting to go into a secondary to be carbed im feeling ive somehow done to much haha. Im gonna have to ring around and try and see if any friends have some bottles spare but at the moment. Ive bottled 35 beers, 3 large bottles of Mead. It's starting to really smell like a brewery in here.

 

[old dog new tricks]

well it cleared finally and ive bottled up 4 x 750cl only with screw caps because it was all i had at hand. I also bottled my 6% Hammers of Thor but i had a serious bottle issue, i managed to collect around 35 x 500ml beer bottles (not enough i need 10 more) which i added around 3grams of sugar to each and filled using my new bottle wand, damn that thing is easy when attached to the FV tap. Anyway the mead was as clear as i could be, tastes very crisps when its cold, i sampled a little of it yesterday but the main thing i noticed was there is actually some what a flavour of orange just and i mean 'Just' coming thru. I think maybe a different flavouring with the teabags would boost it somewhat. I'm still toying with the idea of the jelly from actual jaffa cakes lol.

I ran out of vessels for my drinks so i had to do a bit of moving about i now have 1 demi john filled right to the top (no air gap so solved that issue) of the mead, i had to mix some of the other, leaving one demi john free. It now has 5 gallons of beer waiting to go into a secondary to be carbed im feeling ive somehow done to much haha. Im gonna have to ring around and try and see if any friends have some bottles spare but at the moment. Ive bottled 35 beers, 3 large bottles of Mead. It's starting to really smell like a brewery in here.

lol feel you on the smell my other half walks in says uhuh I smell Milton then says what have you made this time!