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I started a few months ago. I have 2 extra mushrooms, if you’d pay for postage around $10 U.S. I’ll send them to you. It’s remarkably easy. Biiiig glass jar, boil enough water to fill it, put in 1 cup organic sugar, stir to dissolve, steep 4 bags of tea, pour in jar, add scoby (mushroom) and a cup of starter. Wait 7-10 days. Bottle. wait one day. Refrigerate.
here’s a document of mine that i often share in different forums. i love kombucha. green tea is my favorite. you should never have to pay for one. the kombucha tribe on tribe.net could be a resource for you to get one, or just follow the recipe below on how to make your own from a store bought bottle.
COMPILED KOMBUCHA INFORMATION By Sabine.
With the understanding that everyone has their favorite way, and individual experiences and information may be contradictory (as with everything in life), I would like to share what’s been working for me and what I have accumulated on this topic. You may want to do your own research and find what information resonates with you best.
FAVORITE RECIPE (i especially like it since the measurements are easy to remember): 1 gallon filtered water 5 tea bags organic black or green 1 1/3 cup refined white sugar 1 1/3 cup kombucha from previous batch or 4 T. pasteurized apple cider vinegar (it needs an acidic environment and unpasteurized will compete with your culture)
boil water with lid on pot (keeps your water from evaporating off)in a nonaluminum and let water boil hard for 5 minutes to kill any bacteria present
turn off heat, add sugar, and stir with a clean utensil (boiling the sugar will make it carmelize)
add tea bags and steep uncovered for 10 minutes (a timer is usually helpful especially if you’re a multi-tasker)
remove tea bags let tea cool uncovered to at least 100 degrees—usually a couple of hours
pour into glass or porcelain container—no metal pots or lead glazes (some say as tall as it is wide—i use a fish bowl and some other glass pitchers i found at the thrift store)
add previous tea and mushrooom (sometimes it will float and sometimes it will sink)
cover with a cloth, paper towel or coffee filter and a rubber band it (don’t use cheese cloth, the fruit flies can still get through and lay maggot babies on your culture) kombucha needs to breathe so don’t put a lid on it
store in a warm place (it likes 70-90 degrees) out of direct sunlight—i like to put mine in the cupboard
you can write the date on it with a dry erase marker or on the paper towel. start sampling after 7 days and each day thereafter until you reach a sour slightly sweet moment—i use a plastic measuring cup to dip into it—(some like it more sour than others). i’ve had it take up to 12 days in a san francisco winter. if you let it go long enough it will turn very sour like vinegar. it will reach it’s peak faster in warmer seasons and slower in cooler ones. if you live in a very hot climate you may want to start checking ripeness earlier than day 7. i know people that have put theirs in a cooler with a heating pad to speed up the process.
kombucha is not a fungus. it is very similiar to a vinegar mother, but it has it’s own unique yeast/bacteria configuration. it will corrode metals like vinegar will. some say not to touch the mushroom with metal. others say that this is not the worry, but that prolonged contact with metal will cause leaching.
decant ready batch and store in bottles that don’t have metal lids. you can store in the fridge or not (i personally don’t). they will develop a little jelly baby on top if not in fridge (for the daring—they go down smooth like oysters). i think it stays fizzier stored outside the fridge. if you leave for several days or weeks in a tightly sealed flip top bottle, you will get more fizz like champagne (no jelly baby if it’s tight)!
the brown stringy stuff is dead yeast cells—harmless but some like to filter it off
wash your hands before handling mushroom separate your culture with the new baby. you can use either for your next batch
mushrooms can also be cut into pieces to start new batches
HOW TO GROW A BABY WITHOUT A MOTHER MUSHROOM 1 quart of filtered water boiled 5 minutes with lid on add 1/3 cup white sugar and stir steep 2 tea bags (black or green) for 10 min. let cool add 1/3 quart (11 oz.) unpasteurized (raw) store bought plain kombucha tea cover with a paper towel, cloth, or coffee filter—rubber band it wait. the longer you wait the thicker it gets. To begin your first batch you may want to use some store bought brew or vinegar instead of the brew this recipe makes since it can get funky tasting after it sits so long making a thick culture
RECOMMENDATIONS: don’t use flavored, herbal, essential oil or flower enhanced tea. it is said to change your culture and can inhibit its growth. if you want to use herbs, it is best to mix infusions in after decanting, same goes for juices. decaffeinated tea is not recommended because caffeine is essential for the health of the mushroom. Just plain black or green tea of any variety works best.
use organic tea since tea leaves accumulate flouride in their leaves
i’ve found that 10 minutes is a good steeping time. oversteeping creates a bitter taste from tannins and understeeping doesn’t provide enough caffiene to make a happy environment for the mushroom
too much sugar can cause your brew to ferment too fast and become alcoholic. too little sugar will starve your culture. if you want a less sweet brew, it is better to let it ferment longer rather than reduce the sugar content.
i lost my culture to mold when i first started and i was using organic unrefined sugar. also my brew was very cloudy and not that fizzy. after researching, i found that unrefined sugar will increase your chances of mold (though some people continue to have success with it). when i switched to refined sugar, my brew improved. though refined white sugar may seem unhealthy, it is said to have the most available form of sucrose which kombucha likes. white sugar has also been noted to produce higher levels of glucronic acid (glucronic acid is what your liver produces to bind with toxins so your body doesn’t absorb them…particularly useful in this culture where our livers are overtaxed with heavy metals, pollutants, stress, and the like).
don’t use honey since it has antibacterial properties which can potentially harm your culture since kombucha is made of yeast and bacteria. any sweeteners other than white sugar are not recommended.
make sure there is no soap residue on your containers, hands, or utensils. sometimes i just rinse containers in hot water instead of washing. some people caution not to wash in the dishwasher because of detergent residue.
trick for fruit flies: put some vinegar in a bottle take a piece of thin cardboard and roll it to make a funnel shape and stick it into the top of the bottle. flies go in and they can’t get out.
PRECAUTIONS: MOLD! toss it out, all of it, and start over. said to be extremely toxic. you will know it’s mold—fuzzy pink, white, or green circles like on bread. sometimes when a baby is growing it looks funky like it could be molding by the way it forms. take a closer look. if it’s not fuzzy, it’s fine.
Acidosis: i recently read a story of a woman who died from drinking too much acidic kombucha. traditionally it is drunk when it reaches a slightly sour, slightly sweet taste, aka: when it tastes delicious. if you like it more sour, it may be wise to drink less.
kombucha has a strong action on the liver and gallbladder. kombucha is a great digestion aid when taken with meals and helps stimulate the gallbladder to produce acid for digestion. it is particularly is helpful in aiding the digestion of fats. drinking too much kombucha can give some individuals gas. in chinese medicine this is called “liver wind”. solution: drink less. i also read somewhere that americans drink more kombucha then is necessary. i would gladly drink it all day, if i could without dismay. two wine glasses full a day is about right for me. a whole wine bottle…that’s another story.
kombucha is very effective in helping the body eliminate toxins expecially heavy metals. this can be particularly helpful when eating fish because of the levels of mercury in the oceans.
Some people need to start out slowly such as drinking 1/4 cup in the morning, then morning and evening, and work their way up to 4-8 oz. a day which is considered a theraputic dose. to avoid stomach upset from acidity (take with meals) or other symptoms generally created from detoxifying.
kombucha still contains caffeine after fermentation. drink plenty of water to rehydrate and to help carry out toxins it will be removing from your body. from what i have discovered upon research, kombucha cultures will digest sugar but not the caffeine, however, some say the caffeine in green tea will reduce by 25% after fermentation. i’ve successfully gotten the jitters from drinking too much black tea brew in one sitting. green tea is a preference for many since it has antioxidants and other attributes that black tea doesn’t. black tea gives an apple cider tasting brew and green tea a limeish flavor.
a lot of this information is from the website, http://w3.trib.com/kombu/FAQ/index.shtml , which is a great resource especially for beginners. there are many others you can find by typing kombucha into your browser.
another helpful site for caffiene requirements is: http://www.bluemarble.de/Norbert/kombucha/Nutri…
interesting story on kombucha in Russia where it protected the people in two highly polluted districts from cancer : http://w3.gorge.net/chriss/kombucha.htm what it looks like mold vs. happily forming: http://happyherbalist.com/pictures.htm
kombucha in Chinese medicine: (don
Oh man, I have been to classes that teach you how to make this! They even sold the scobe there, which is the bacteria you need to start the fermentation. I wish I would have kept all the info! I know you need two sterile glass jugs, sugar, and black tea. But the quantities and measurements is beyond me. It was so cool learning about the process, because even-though there is sugar involved, there isn’t a trace of it in the end product because the scobe actually eats it along with the caffeine in the black tea. By the bacteria eating the sugar and tea it produces all those great enzymes and electrolytes…all those great cutures that are supposedly good for you! Very interesting, huh!!!
Chakra essence, I found some kits online that allow you to make it at home. Thanks for letting me know about the sugar; when I first read about putting (ugh) a cup of white sugar in the starter, I wasn’t sure I wanted to try it. Glad to know it’s not in the final product.
Where do yo buy Kombucha tea? I have never heard of it.
locust girl you totally rock! i love all this kombucha info, i searched all over the internet and took a free 7 day course ect ect and you in one post made it all very clear to me! ive found and ordered my glass containers and look forward to start brewing soon, i was stuck on my scoby though and wasnt looking forward to paying big bucks for one….now i can try to grow one myself! thanks so much!!! i also appreciate all the info on how much to drink as i felt in the beginning i drank sooooo much but now im happy with 32 oz a day…for a while there i had to make myself stop at 64 oz a day and could find no info on how much was to much! thank you!!
oh one more question, to start my own scoby, can i use G.T.’S plain kombucha (not with the juice flavors)?
jeshuabrown, id love to buy one of your cultures as a back up to producing my own…
Thank you, Locust girl. What great info!
Here is a website on how to make and buy the equipment to make Kombucha tea. http://www.happyherbalist.com/analysis_of_kombu…
a pleasure to assist… wow, a 7 day course on kombucha! you must have learned quite a bit. g.t.’s plain is great for a starter (it’s actually the only one i have used myself). any raw plain should work.
I have seen people giving the komubucha blobs for free on craigslist. My bf has a big one but right now it is in Wisconsin and not where we are now in california. Once he gets the Blob back here, he gives away some “sons of blob” to people.
locust girl, sadly , no i didnt learn a ton but it was a nice intro with supposed help through a blog and website…unfortunately i found all kinds of vconflicting info on the blog and no direct answers to my questions from the producer of the course…...alls good though and i feel confident to start my brew once my containers get here….got my heat mat and my tea and sugar and my plain kombucha to start my own scoby with….thanks again
Queen fluff, so how do you like this fair state(CA)? Ive dreven through where you live….warm in the summer…ok HOT in the summer but the fruit and veggies cant be beat!! if you get “blob” out west let me know, i may have spawned my own by then but its alwyas good to have back ups!!!
hey omshanti—
there is no snow here so I love it! I won’t care if I ever see snow again! So much sun too – I think my body forgot what sun was like. I’ll let you know when “blob” gets here! :)
Hey Queen fluff, enjoy the sun it is nice isnt it? after a year or so here you will appreciate rain as well, its so infrequent that it makes a nice change!
my blob is “brewing” (put it all together last night) so we shall see if my green thumb applies to fungal growth!
so my scoby grower has been perculating for 5 plus days…..nothing there is some whitish cloudy stuff on the bottom of my mson jar but when i tip the tea teh stuff doesnt seem to move like is attatched to the sides or my masnon jar is simply scarred or scratched on the bottom…HELP what am i doing wrong?
does anyone have a scoby i can buy? or am i jsut overreacting?
ok there is definitley something happening in the bottom of the jar….white and cloudy and uniformly spread over the bottom….am i still on track locust girl?
Hi omshanti!
My bf just told me that the “white stuff” is nothing to worry about! Very normal “blobbie” behavior! :) You can clean out the whit stuff if you want but there is really nothing to worry about if you leave it there.If it bugs you, I would just scoop it out.
ack, i threw it all out in disgust this morning…shoot, im gonna try with a established blob….i dont think my greenthumb applied well tothe blob growing! teehee oh well, im not known for my infinate patience at least outside of my job! ;)
when I actually make this (don’t have a blob yet) does anyone add fruit or anything to make it more like synergy? I drink that stuff daily!
i was told to add the flavors during the second fermintation, that being when you remove tea from blob container and let sit until your desired fizzy tartness is acheived! ive been drinking it like crazy too..i bought it by the case which is a small savings…my fave is divine grape!