TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk
Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
I think it has to be black tea. But all processed tea contains other chemicals to clean the tea for human consumption and treat it , which might not be so good for CPs.
Green tea is low in tannins. Black tea is made by crushing the fresh tea leaves and oxidizing (usually called fermenting but it is not a fermentation process) for several hours and then dried. The leaves turn black from the tannins. Uncrushed leaves yield...green tea.
There should be no additives with good quality tea. Decaffinated is a different matter.
I don't know if pine needles etc are high in tannins.
I think the experimentations by other forum members indicate "peat tea" seems to yield the most noticable results. Do a forum search on "peat tea".
Speaking of clarification I should mention the tannins in black tea are formed during the oxidation process.
And it appears that peat bogs can contain tannic acids - not from the Sphagnum itself but rather trees surrounding or in the bog areas. In the case of Volo Bog in Illinois, these come from the needles of the Tamarack or American Larch trees ("THE Larch... THE Larch..." for Monty Python fans). Whether or not all pine needles contain tannic acids I could not say.
I believe there is a whole family of closely related tannins.... they may all work equally well. However, it seems like the ideal source would be from the indigenous flora that normally makes up the organic matter in the CP's native environment
probably more complex then any one individual chemical or trace nutrient
Green tea is low in tannins. Black tea is made by crushing the fresh tea leaves and oxidizing (usually called fermenting but it is not a fermentation process) for several hours and then dried. The leaves turn black from the tannins. Uncrushed leaves yield...green tea.
There should be no additives with good quality tea. Decaffinated is a different matter.
I don't know if pine needles etc are high in tannins.
I think the experimentations by other forum members indicate "peat tea" seems to yield the most noticable results. Do a forum search on "peat tea".
The only difficulty I find with brewing peat tea, is once you are done, the peat has been leached and it's not so useful anymore for the cps. What do you do with that sort of peat then?
Up North of where I live, in S.purpurea ssp. purpurea country, there are lakes and rivers where the water is literally stained brown from Tannins released from Tamarack trees, mostly, might be a good ingredient in such a "tea" if you had access to them
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.