View Single Post
Old 09-12-2011, 07:44 PM   #19
Soliloquy
Rose Garden
 
Why climb a mountain? Because it's there!
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Selkirk Mountains
Posts: 52,860
Soliloquy has a reputation beyond reputeSoliloquy has a reputation beyond reputeSoliloquy has a reputation beyond reputeSoliloquy has a reputation beyond reputeSoliloquy has a reputation beyond reputeSoliloquy has a reputation beyond reputeSoliloquy has a reputation beyond reputeSoliloquy has a reputation beyond reputeSoliloquy has a reputation beyond reputeSoliloquy has a reputation beyond reputeSoliloquy has a reputation beyond repute
Default 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 ----------

Quote:
Originally Posted by zak View Post
I'm scared to taste it without fruit.
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 ----------

Quote:
Originally Posted by zak View Post
Her strawberry was sooooo good. DS1 is dying for ours to be ready. He really needs to be drinking it. 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??
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.

Last edited by Soliloquy; 09-12-2011 at 07:39 PM.
Soliloquy is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 17 Users Say Thank You to Soliloquy For This Useful Post:
backtobasicsmum (09-12-2011), cobluegirl (09-13-2011), CrunchySeaSalt (01-30-2013), easygoinmomma (11-13-2011), Glitterfish (10-09-2012), HadassahSukkot (05-03-2012), happyhousewife (04-05-2013), houseforjoy (09-13-2011), mamaeffie (04-20-2012), marigold (03-05-2015), PaperMomma (01-13-2012), Serendipity (10-01-2012), Stiina (04-28-2012), SweetCaroline (03-29-2012), TraceMama (05-04-2012), zak (09-12-2011)
 
X vBulletin 3.8.3 Debug Information
  • Page Generation 0.04848 seconds
  • Memory Usage 6,994KB
  • Queries Executed 14 (?)
More Information
Template Usage:
  • (1)SHOWTHREAD_SHOWPOST
  • (1)ad_footer_end
  • (1)ad_footer_start
  • (1)ad_header_end
  • (1)ad_header_logo
  • (1)ad_navbar_below
  • (2)bbcode_quote
  • (1)cyb_flashimagebanners
  • (1)footer
  • (1)gobutton
  • (1)header
  • (1)headinclude
  • (19)option
  • (1)post_groan_box
  • (1)post_groan_javascript
  • (1)post_groan_navbar_search
  • (1)post_thanks_box
  • (16)post_thanks_box_bit
  • (1)post_thanks_javascript
  • (1)post_thanks_navbar_search
  • (1)post_thanks_postbit_legacy
  • (1)postbit_legacy
  • (1)postbit_onlinestatus
  • (11)postbit_reputation
  • (1)postbit_wrapper
  • (1)spacer_close
  • (1)spacer_open 

Phrase Groups Available:
  • global
  • postbit
  • reputationlevel
  • showthread
Included Files:
  • ./showpost.php
  • ./global.php
  • ./includes/init.php
  • ./includes/class_core.php
  • ./includes/config.php
  • ./includes/functions.php
  • ./includes/class_hook.php
  • ./includes/functions_notice.php
  • ./mobiquo/smartbanner.php
  • ./includes/functions_bigthree.php
  • ./includes/class_postbit.php
  • ./includes/class_bbcode.php
  • ./includes/functions_reputation.php
  • ./includes/functions_post_thanks.php
  • ./includes/functions_post_groan.php
  • ./includes/functions_misc.php 

Hooks Called:
  • init_startup
  • cache_permissions
  • fetch_postinfo_query
  • fetch_postinfo
  • fetch_threadinfo_query
  • fetch_threadinfo
  • fetch_foruminfo
  • style_fetch
  • cache_templates
  • global_start
  • parse_templates
  • fetch_musername
  • notices_check_start
  • global_setup_complete
  • showpost_start
  • bbcode_fetch_tags
  • bbcode_create
  • postbit_factory
  • showpost_post
  • postbit_display_start
  • post_thanks_function_post_thanks_off_start
  • post_thanks_function_post_thanks_off_end
  • post_thanks_function_fetch_thanks_start
  • post_thanks_function_fetch_thanks_end
  • post_thanks_function_thanked_already_start
  • post_thanks_function_thanked_already_end
  • post_thanks_function_fetch_thanks_bit_start
  • post_thanks_function_show_thanks_date_start
  • post_thanks_function_fetch_thanks_bit_end
  • post_thanks_function_fetch_post_thanks_template_start
  • post_thanks_function_fetch_post_thanks_template_end
  • post_groan_function_post_groan_off_start
  • post_groan_function_post_groan_off_end
  • post_groan_function_fetch_groans_start
  • post_groan_function_fetch_groans_end
  • post_groan_function_groaned_already_start
  • post_groan_function_groaned_already_end
  • reputation_image
  • postbit_imicons
  • bbcode_parse_start
  • bbcode_parse_complete_precache
  • bbcode_parse_complete
  • postbit_display_complete
  • error_fetch
  • showpost_complete