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home brewed kombucha

I was just wondering if there was anyone who brewed their own kombucha that could give me some advice. where do you get the cultures?, what kinda of tea do you prefer?, and any other tips that might be helpful. Thanks!

Comments

  • Hey Marjorie, I brew my own. I got my mushroom from a friend who had an extra. I believe you can get your mushrooms (dried) at any health food store though. I have been using organic white tea and that’s nice, but next time I might try something different, we’ll see.

    If you like the fizzy, vinager taste let it brew about 8-10 days (too strong for me), I like it about 7, maybe 8. My last batch was too vinagery for me, so I bottled it up and now use it in place of apple cider vinager. My next batch will be nicer tasting if I brew it the amount I like it. The longer you brew it, the more healthful it is, but harder to drink.

    You can also use it in smoothies or other drinks if you’re having trouble getting used to it. I was, but then, I started liking it…like a soda or pop. I use organic sugar (honey is very finnicky and doesn’t really work, I wish).

    If you have any trouble with Candida though, you need to avoid this.

    During the cooler months, I put my big jar of Kombucha, over my heat vent in my room, so that keeps it a little warmer. Summer…probably doesn’t matter as much (this is when it’s brewing).

    Hope this helps!

     

  • Am I the only one who finds this stuff gross I just can’t seem to get pass the slime at the bottom of a the bottles in stores. Should I just suck it up and chug it? is it worth it?

  • SuzicalSuzical Raw Newbie

    emmie21 – I love kombucha but always strain out the slime. I’ve caught a mouthful once or twice and it was not pleasant!

    Marjorie – I have been making my own kombucha for years. I love it and usually have about four jars brewing at any given time. Here’s how I was taught:

    1 gallon of water – bring to semi-boil (you don’t have to wait for rolling boil). Add 5 black tea bags and 1 cup of white sugar – stir and take off heat and leave to steep and cool.

    Once cool, add to clean gallon jar with kombucha starter in the bottom. Cover with paper towel and rubber band and wait for the magic.

    Now, I live in SoFlo, so it is HOT and I like my tea fizzy and vinegary, so I leave it for 14 days in my indirect sunlight kitchen. It bubbles away, doing its thing – its totally scared me on occasion, as it will belch and resettle, making me jump out of my skin!

    Delicious! If you ever raw juice fast, this is the most helpful item to also drink – quenches the appetite and makes you feel totally great.

  • Hey there! I brew my own too. There is an organization, http://www.kombu.de/source.htm,that you can get free cultures from. I got mine from someone in my city, so I can’t actually vouch for their services though.

    Do any of you think that your homebrewed KT is too sweet? Maybe I just have a taste for the vinegar, but I just want to be sure that the sugar has been used up in the fermentation process, and I’m not just drinking a lot of sugar water. I usually let my kombucha brew for at least 14 days…

  • SuzicalSuzical Raw Newbie

    shrk_byte – I start sampling mine about 7 days in – at that point I can actually taste the tea and sugar – which I do not like.

    I sometimes go beyond the 14 days as well, depending on the weather, to get the fizz and tart just right.

    Thanks for the website – I didn’t know it was there.

  • kminty3kminty3 Raw Newbie

    I’ve been brewing mine too but for the last two batches my scobi didn’t grow a baby.. does that means something is wrong?

  • RawKRawK Raw Newbie

    kminty3—are you sure the baby isn’t just attached to the mother? a lot of times they will just stay attached and grow a thicker mother, unless you actually go in and tear them apart.

    side note: i was explaining this to one of my meat eating coworkers and she said that it sounded so cruel the way i was “tearing the baby scoby from its mother.” just slightly ironic.

    i work at a health food store and we do not sell the scoby to make kombucha—many of the coops in my city do not either. your best bet is craigslist, ebay or some other online source—make sure you get a baby from an organic mother, fermented in only organic teas and sugars, sent along with a cup or two of starter booch.

  • all of this tea lingo sounds so fun. It makes me want to join the party:)

  • How do you identify the baby from the mother? How do they attach to the mother?

  • RawKRawK Raw Newbie

    the baby will form on top at the surface. in my experience, the mother usually rose to the top sometime during fermentation and loosely attached itself to the baby to make a thicker scoby. as i said before, you can remove this top layer (baby) easily and give it to someone else to start their own batch of kombucha.

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