Tea Brew Craft: Sour + Raspberry + Lapsang

The lab here at Firsd Tea has developed a few flavor combinations that are on the right track. We invite you to experiment and find the right ratios for your next success

 

INGREDIENTS

SOUR: We used a Belgian-inspired sour, but try with a lambic, saison, or gose.

RASPBERRY PUREE: AFP’s Raspberry Puree for our bench test.

LAPSANG SOUCHONG: this is a smoky black tea

 

RESULTS

This combination rings true as it starts off with the familiar framboise but knocks it up a level. The smokiness and faint chocolatey aspect of the black tea really opens up a new experience.

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BENCH TEST

1. Cold steep 0.7 grams of lapsang souchong tea 6 oz sour for 20 minutes
2. Strain/remove tea leaves
3. Add raspberry puree at a 5:1 beer/puree ratio

 

DO & DON’T

DO: to scale up, use about 1 lb lapsang souchong per BBL.

DON’T: use the tea in the boil. This will overcook the leaves and create an overly bitter and astringent mess. Use tea leaves as you would dry hop or as you do with other adjuncts. Tea is high in antioxidants as are hops used for dry hopping.

DON’T: steep the tea leaves in water and then try to use the tea liquor in your process. It will (likely) be over-steeped and bitter, or too weak to notice in the final product.

DO: let the tea steep longer than you think it should. The effects of serving a chilled, carbonated final pour will dull the tea taste and aroma.