kombucha advice and starter wanted

[Taratara]

Hi all! I am looking to break my GTs habit by brewing my own kombucha. Has anyone else done this? Any advice? Do I have to use sugar? Does anyone have a kombucha mother who's got some babies I can give some alkaline lovin' to?!! Many thanks. -Tara

[ShapeShifter]

Hi all! I am looking to break my GTs habit by brewing my own kombucha. Has anyone else done this? Any advice? Do I have to use sugar? Does anyone have a kombucha mother who's got some babies I can give some alkaline lovin' to?!! Many thanks. -Tara

Here's some tips:

1/2 gallon wont be worth your time. go with at least a gallon or two. you can get a crock pot/water jug holder (ceramic) that is 2 gallons at a thrift store for a few bucks.

yes, you want a few layers of cheese cloth over the top to prevent bugs and dust to get in, but free flowing air to pass thru.

I use 3/4 cup white unrefined organic sugar. I dont recomend any others as they can react funny, especially honey. Use green or black tea to begin until you get the hang of it. as you get more experienced you can add some Guayaki organic yerba mate, and other herbs to the mix, but go easy, and dont' use oily herbs... the cultures are fragile.

You can make a concentrated tea mix to mix with the sugar, ie you dont need to brew 2 gallons of tea, you can brew strong then dilute.

decent instructions here: https://www.kombuchatea.co.uk/beyond...cha-recipe.asp

hope this helps.

Steven

[ingo]

Kombucha is a bacterial culture of various organisms that colaborate to break down sugars and caffeine (and using oxygen), and leave certain gut beneficial side products ...so that's what you need to feed it, preferably in the right proportions. (~1 cup sugar to 1 gal black tea using ~ 4 tea bags).

A few more tips:

1) never get the culture directly in touch with any type of metal, since that will contaminate the culture. ( use wooden spoons, glass or ceramic pots to brew)

2) It takes between 2-4 weeks to brew a batch, depending on outside temperatures. Do taste testing, to see when you want to harvest.

3) Make sure there is no type of discoloration on the culture (eg red or black), since that is an indication that it has been contaminated with other bacteria. If that ever happens, you can wash the culture with luke warm water until it is clean again. Some brown residue can be normal from the tea.

4) For the same reason (to prevent contamination), make sure that you wash the brewing container with boiling water, and let it dry completely before using it to brew.

5) To start a new batch, either use 1 cup of brewed Kombucha, or ~60ml of vinegar as a starter, otherwise it will take a long time.

Every batch should produce a "baby." So, there should always some around to share, since there are quite a few people home-brewing. Just make sure that it looks nicely tan colored, and is not contaminated.

My batches are being baby-sat at the moment since I am out of the country, so I don't know what the state of them is, but if you are still in need of a baby, I might have one on January 11, when I pass through town (Sebastopol) to pick up my last bits.

Yours,
Ingo

[ShapeShifter]

AH, AND THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO STERILIZE EVERYTHING. MAKE SURE YOU WASH EVERYTHING THOROUGHLY, YOUR HANDS, EQUIPMENT, BOIL YOUR WATER, TEA, HERBS SUGAR. ANY LIVING ORGANISM CAN CONTAMINATE AND DESTROY YOUR WHOLE BATCH. VERY IMPORTANT! Cheers -- Steven