They worked!

The pickles are done and after skimming off the foam on the top of the jars and making sure they were covered with brine, they went into the fridge to wait for our last lab to share.  The tea seemed to do the trick.  They were nice and crispy, but a little too much garlic and coriander for our tastes.  I am going  to try a small batch of pickles without the tea to see if they are mushy without them.  They are going into the fridge and will be consumed with delight! (At least by me - I'll have to see if I can get my family to like them more!)