Tea Wine
Ingredients
- 8 teaspoons of dry tea leaves.
- 1 pound of raisins
- 2 lemons
- 3 lbs. sugar
- 3/4 tsp. pectic enzyme
- 3/4 tsp. yeast nutrient
- "all purpose" wine yeast
Bring one quart of water to the boil. Remove from heat and add the tea leaves. Let the tea steep for ten minutes, then strain into the primary fermenting vessel. Discard the spent tea leaves. Boil half the sugar in half a gallon of water for a minute or two. When it is cool, add it to the tea. Run the raisins through a meat grinder, or find some other way to chop them, and add them to the fermenting vessel. Juice the lemons and add the juice to the mixture. Then slice the lemons and add them, too. (It is better to add only the yellow part of the lemon rind. The white can be bitter, Stir in the yeast nutrient and the pectic enzyme. These may not be necessary. It never hurts to add them but it can hurt to leave them out should you need them. add them to be safe. let it sit overnight. Then pitch the yeast. After a week or ten days strain through cloth into the jug or carboy. Boil the rest of the sugar in the rest of the water. When it is cool, add it to the carboy. Make the volume up with water. It may take a while to finish fermenting. However, it has always cleared nicely and rapidly when done. Other than chopping the raisins, this is an easy wine to make.
