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Thai Iced Mead anyone?

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Dmntd

NewBee
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Apr 18, 2005
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Got to thinking last night about a metheglin made from thai spiced tea (Thai red leaf tea & star anise seed) and honey.

I'd want to serve this as you would the tea; 2/3 galss of mead over cruched ice, with evaporated milk floated on top to fill the glass.

It would need to be very sweet to work right.

Any: thoughts, comments, suggestions?

Anthony
 

Fortuna_Wolf

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Oct 24, 2004
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I have a jar full of loose thai tea. I love the stuff, but its chock full of food colouring. Soooo much food colouring. The tea dust on my tea spoon can leave a huge orange stain on anything it gets onto. I think the recipe is actually 50% tea, 10% spices, 40% red orange #540.

Anyhow, Its not just anise. There are other spices in it, I think, including vanilla, orange, cloves, and cinnamon. But, hell if I know. It tastes to me like it also has chicory.

I would try mixing up your own "thai tea" blend out of plain BOP tea (assam?) and maybe a touch of lapsang souchong. Then experiment with the spices. This way you won't get any food colouring.

Also, if you plan to serve it like thai tea, definitely make it cloyingly sweet so that it can be watered down. Maybe use a champage yeast and get it to 18% ABV with 5% sugar?
 

Dmntd

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Apr 18, 2005
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18% ABV with 4% - 5% sugar is what I was thinking too.

The thai tea I use is a premium blend of;

Thai red leaf tea
start anise seed
vanilla & cinnamon &
annato, a natural red color.
It's about $18.00 a pound.

I've used the stuff thats $3.99 a pound, it cheap because they use black tea not red leaf tea, and they use man made colors.

I live 10 minutes from Thai town in Los Angeles, thats where I shop for fish and when cooking thai food.
 

Greenblood

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Oct 6, 2004
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This sounds realy different. I am interested to hear how it goes, and hope you keep us posted. There seems to be a mad tea mead party going on around here, and while I have not yet experimented with teas myself, I think that I may need to do so in the near future. I look forward to reading more about this experiment of yours.

Greenblood
 

Brewbear

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May 10, 2005
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I love Thai tea. Never looked for it in thai town..DUHHHH!! Where abouts do you buy it at? I work in Burbank/Glendale area so Thai town is close enough. What brand do you get?
Ted
 

Oskaar

Got Mead Partner
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Dec 26, 2004
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Mmmm, Thai Iced Tea and Sweet/Hot Thai Sausages. Drool.

Cheers,

Oskaar
 

JamesP

Senior Member
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Dec 3, 2003
654
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Brisbane Australia
Greenblood said:
....There seems to be a mad tea mead party going on around here....

Only Mazers with buck-teeth, white fluffy ears, a crazy look in their eye, and a top-hat need apply (with apologies to "Alice in Wonderland") :D
 

Brewbear

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May 10, 2005
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Thai sausages.MMMMmmmmm!!!!
How about yucateca sausages ( made with habanero chiles) *gulp*

Ted
 

Dmntd

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Apr 18, 2005
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Brewbear said:
Where abouts do you buy it at? What brand do you get?
Ted

Hey Ted,

One market I've found it at is on Hollywood Blvd. across from Sizzler. Couldn't tell you the name as I don't read Thai, and only speak food. There's another thai market on Fountain just east of Western, they have it sometimes as well. A 4oz package cost $4.00 - $5.00. If it's more for less, get someone to read the package and tell you whats in it.

I have a link for an online market that has the good Thai tea on my other computer, I'll post it later.

Anthony
 

Dmntd

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Apr 18, 2005
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Desided to take a crack at it from scratch. Have collected half a dozen recipe's for thai ice tea, ordered the tea and whole spices this afternoon. Will brew a pot of each recipe, deside which I like and brew it up on mead day.
 

Michael_Ng

Premium Patron
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Dec 9, 2004
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www.kwmeads.com
Oskaar said:
Mmmm, Thai Iced Tea and Sweet/Hot Thai Sausages. Drool.


Silly question... What do the Thai Sausages look like???

I only ask since my parents are from Thailand, I've been there 4 times, I shop in a Thai grocery for specality items once in awhile, and I've never seen one... ;D

Michael
 

Oskaar

Got Mead Partner
Administrator
Dec 26, 2004
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They looked like straight kielbasa, medium brown to dark brown, flecks of red peppers, with a very shiny skin when cooked. They were sweet/hot and kind of fatty. A girl I used to date made them for dinner along with some other specialities. May not have been authentic or indiginous "Thai" sausages, but she didn't say they weren't. Concidentally, I met her at a Thai restaurant where she was a waitress.

Cheers,

Oskaar
 

Dmntd

NewBee
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Apr 18, 2005
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The tea & spice, are placed in bags then boiled in the water for two hours, topping up the brew pot at 1 hour then again at the end of the boil, this makes the strong spiced tea used for thai iced tea. Once this cools the honey is blended in. Using D47 (providing it stops at 14% ABV) should leave it around 8 Brix, 15 Brix is about average for the thai iced tea I've tested (no ice, no 1/2 & 1/2), so I plan on making about 2 gallons more then will fit in the fermentor and using that to top up after racking in the hopes it will both sweeten and reinforce the spiced tea flavor.

Anthony
 

MsWillow

NewBee
Registered Member
Aug 25, 2005
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Interesting. I've been pondering brewing up a chai sweet mead, using jasmine green tea, black tea, cardamon, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, vanilla and galangal. I'd have to use a beer (well, as it's going to be cooler by the time I start, lager) yeast, so the alcohol won't be excessive. Any thoughts?
 

Dmntd

NewBee
Registered Member
Apr 18, 2005
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Hello Ms Willow,

I guess a lot depends on exactly how you plan to serve it.

My intention is to server this mead in the same manner the thai iced tea is servered. After the first fermentation this mead taste more like fruit puinch then thai iced tea, so adding fresh "overly" sweet thai iced tea (must) was needed to start the second fermentation. come the end of secondary sweetening my still be needed.

Anthony
 
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