Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

Her strawberry was sooooo good. DS1 is dying for ours to be ready. He really needs to be drinking it. :yes Lots of bowel issues lately. :( Not sure what's up with his belly.

Rach, how do I know if it's ok at 5 days or I need to wait to 7?? Can I tell by looking??

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

just taste it. usually I like a longer brew..but how fast it brews depends upon the temps of your house.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

I'm scared to taste it without fruit. :bag :lol

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

LisaM's no fail KT.

BLACK tea. Nothing else
1 cup WHITE sugar (it's the only time I ever use it)
filtered water
SCOBY
1/2 c KT (or more, 1/2 c is minimum )
wide-mouth gallon jar
Clean dish towel, 100% cotton
Large rubber band

Boil about 4 c water. Stir in 1 c sugar and 2 heaping tablespoons black tea. (I think that's the equivalent of 6 bags but I'm not positive, I buy loose tea.) Cool to room temp. Strain out tea as you pour it into the gallon jar. Put in the SCOBY. Add enough filtered water to bring it to within 2 inches (or so) of the top. Cover with dish towel, secure with rubber band. Put in cabinet for two weeks. A new SCOBY will grow on top. Taste a bit after two weeks. If it's too sweet, let it go another week.

Scoop out the SCOBY. Pour out all but 1/2 c into your bottles. Repeat the recipe for a new batch.

To flavor it, pour finished it into glass bottles. Add a a few spoonfuls of fruit purée. Strawberry is excellent. Let it sit, tightly capped, for awhile, a week or two. It will become carbonated.

Drink chilled.

It is normal to have brown stringy things and sediment. Those are spent yeast cells and are very rich in b vitamins. You can strain it if it icks you out, though.

You do not need to wash your brewing jar if you make your next batch right away. I haven't washed my brewing jars in years. This is called "continuous culture" and strengths your SCOBY.

---------- Post added at 09:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:35 PM ----------

You should never, ever see black spots or anything fuzzy. Brown spots are normal. Green and white tea do not have enough tannins to support the SCOBY. You can use 25% or less of other teas but black tea gives the best results and ensures that most of the sugar will be consumed.

---------- Post added at 09:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:41 PM ----------

It tastes like hard cider. It's good even without fruit. My kids chug it down. I have to hide it if I want any!

---------- Post added at 09:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:43 PM ----------

At 7 days it will still be quite sweet and have sugar in it. You can put a straw into it, put your finger on top of the straw to get some liquid out, then taste it. 14-21 days is how we like it.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

That is really helpful Lisa!

[QUOTE]To flavor it, pour finished it into glass bottles. Add a a few spoonfuls of fruit purée. Strawberry is excellent. Let it sit, tightly capped, for awhile, a week or two. It will become carbonated. [QUOTE]

At this point is it in your fridge or still on the counter?

And how do you store a scoby when you don't have a batch going?

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

[QUOTE=backtobasicsmum;4156710]That is really helpful Lisa!

[QUOTE]To flavor it, pour finished it into glass bottles. Add a a few spoonfuls of fruit purée. Strawberry is excellent. Let it sit, tightly capped, for awhile, a week or two. It will become carbonated. At room temp.

To store or rest a SCOBY put it in a glass jar and cover it with kt. Store in fridge. They keep at least 6 months. It's a good idea to keep a spare in the fridge although I don't anymore. You can start a new batch with just part of a SCOBY, too. You can tear them apart.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

I have stored mine in the dark pantry in a jar with a lid and a little tea and it keeps pretty well.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

Yes, some people keep it at room.temp. I think you have to feed it every now and then if you do that, but it still should keep at least 2 months, I would think. I've neglected mine for over 6 weeks and they were fine.

Btw, kombucha that ferments too long and is too sour to drink is a FANTASTIC marinade. And you can marinade at room temp because nothing harmful will grow in it.

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

ooh good to know! my scoby is like 5" thick....

Re: kombucha 101 thread!
 

Okay, I got a scoby. It is this big gross looking thing. :bag The lady also sent a sample of kombucha she made with grape juice. It smells....weird to me...kind of like wine? But it didn't taste too weird.

So, tomorrow I am going to start my first batch, following Lisa's info.

Zak, how is yours going?

Re: kombucha 101 thread! *tiny update and question post 25*
 

Great!! I just jarred up batch two. The boys really like it! It is pretty "wine-y" to me too. :yes

Re: kombucha 101 thread! *tiny update and question post 25*
 

:lol kombucha SCOBYs look like alien spawn. :lol. It tastes like a cross between hard cider and a wine cooler to me. I drank tons of it while pg because I crave wine when I'm pg.

Btw, Lipton tea is pesticide free even if it's not organic.

Re: kombucha 101 thread! *tiny update and question post 25*
 

:bag So is it alcoholic?

Re: kombucha 101 thread! *tiny update and question post 25*
 

there is like .5% alcohol in it... perfectly safe... even for kids.

Re: kombucha 101 thread! *tiny update and question post 25*
 

Thanks. I'm kind of wimpy about things like that. :giggle

---------- Post added at 10:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:35 AM ----------

Another question :giggle
Is there any pro/con to having a very large scoby? Should I make it smaller so it doesn't take up so much room in my brewing jar?