It has been said that molasses can be added at various rates based on the temperature (ambient) to give a boost to the microbes in the aerobic brew.

What if you don't want to add anything to the compost tea? I've been brewing for about 20 hours (with only Living Earth Organic Compost - a commercial, bagged product - and good water) using a variant of the Dueley Little Texas Tea Maker. So far I haven't developed much foam, and no yeasty smell - it just smells like compost.

The water is holding at a temperature of 70 deg F. Is that too cool for the microbes to multiply significantly, or did I start with poor compost?

Regards,
Patrick Ferrell
Allen, Texas

Foam is not a requirement.

The yeasty smell may or may not develop any time now (after 20 hours).

As far as I know the LETCO compost is one of the best.

70 degrees is a perfect temp for tea. You could, if you wanted to, add an ounce per gallon of molasses. But you don't have to. Any warmer and I would not add any molasses. 50 degrees is typically considered too cool to get much benefit out of tea.