strange tea transformation

[Grumio]

My non-alc bev of choice is unsweetened cold tea: about a quarter cup each of dried peppermint & green tea (standard Chinese green tea with jasmine) to make a gallon.

A little while ago I was away for 10 days or so & had left about a quart of the tea in the fridge. When I got back, I figured, well, the tea won't have gone bad, will it? & poured a glass. It had turned viscous -- it was almost as thick as maple syrup! It didn't smell funny, & of course I had to taste it - taste was the same, but the mouthfeel was so creepy I spit it out.

Anyone have any idea what was going on? I looked (not very thoroughly) in McGee & didn't find any likely suspects... Does this happen with other kinds of tea?

[greyeaglem]

Usually it just gets moldy, but I have had what you described happen. I don't know what causes it. Can't remember if I was using jasmine tea when it happened. It wouldn't be safe or good to drink.

[jbd]

Was the tea made with hot water or was it a "sun" tea?

If it was a "sun" i.e. made with cool water then it may have been a process caused be either a bacteria or a fungus. Which one I don't recall, but it is, IIRC, referred to in its earlier stages as being ropey tea.

[Grumio]

I steep it in hot water. But I sometimes leave it on the stove for a good while before diluting it & putting it in the fridge, so the sun tea bug could have gotten in then...

[jbd]

Leaving it out and exposed to air may be allowing it to pick up other molds, fungus etc. The ropey sun tea problem is directly related to something on the tea leaves as a natural part of their existance; fungus,mold or bacteria, which is killed by the hot water used for steeping.

[Luc_H]

Most definitely a fungal or yeast contamination.

Fungal spores are not destroyed by boiling water.

A good advice would be to steep your tea then refrigerate ASAP. Better to consume within 3 days or so..

Luc H.

[Grumio]

Interesting. I drink this stuff at a pretty good clip, so it's quite rare for the situation to develop. I had thought it might be some sort of chemical reaction of the teas themselves. Tea yeast... who knew....

[oolongtea]

hi ..

Sometimes it may happen due to power failure bacause you are not at home and ten days is not a small time, so may be some reaction took place else chinese tea are the best qualities of tea & Jasmine pearl is one of the best. So there is nothing as such to change the brand. For more information regarding tea please visit my site mytealogic.com