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Question of the Day: What is your primary source of drinking water?
Kombucha - Are you making it? Tips & Tricks / Suggestions
ShaunSA
Derailment Squad
Kombuwhat? :wtf:
ShaunSA
Derailment Squad
So basically vrot black tea
Hosehead
Executive Member
Tastes absolutely vile. / Projectile vomits
So basically vrot black tea
Beer is just as vrot...
The important part of keeping the scoby happy is to use only glass containers and rinse them out with vinegar after washing to neutralize the alkaline deposits left behind by soap. Use filtered water, and ensure you have about 10% starter tea for each new batch.
The slightly acidic nature of kombucha means it is unlikely for any mould to set in, but if your scoby gets black spots or white hairy growth then it is best to turf the whole lot and get a new scoby. Never happened to me, even after 2 years of brewing.
Don't use ceramic or plastic for brewing kombucha, the acidity can leach out some very unwholesome compounds.
In summer it takes about a week to brew, in winter it can take 3 weeks.
I don't care so much for carbonation but mine usually has a very fine fizz.
biometrics
Honorary Master
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A friend used to make it and sell it to me. Absolutely delicious when cold.
Dave
Honorary Master
Sounds delightful...
Deaths from prescribed medicine is also at epidemic proportions:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/a...number-one-cause-preventable-death-in-us.aspx
The deaths related to kombucha mainly centers around two sisters who brewed it in a ceramic container and died of lead poisoning. Which is why you brew it in glass.
Anyway, recent research shows that better gut health can lead to a better frame of mind:
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/healthy_aging/healthy_body/the-brain-gut-connection
HavocXphere
Honorary Master
Tried it once. Bit of a pain to make, smells quite strong if in confined spaces, tastes quite meh and didn't see any health benefit.
Quite on top of my health game but ya no...this isn't for me. I'll rather eat more salad & some probiotics.
Quite on top of my health game but ya no...this isn't for me. I'll rather eat more salad & some probiotics.
Guess it's a speciality item with claimed health benefits.
The ingredients are cheap but making big batches is quite a bit of work:
Boil the water, add tea bags & allow to steep for 20 minutes. Remove bags, stir in the sugar, & somehow cool it down to room temperature. Wash the glass containers (finding large ones without a tap is a challenge), rinse with vinegar, let drain for a few minutes, add the starter & scoby, cover with a cloth & elastic band & leave for a week. In winter the brew time is 3 weeks.
If you want to produce in quantity then you'd need room to keep it all while it brews. It takes me 25 minutes to boil 6 liters of water in a stock pot and an hour to cool it with ice.
The small glass bottles are not cheap. If the kombucha stands in the shop for more than a week then it can become too tart to drink.
I have three batches in glass jars brewing at the time. They all have staggered levels of brewing maturity.
I add the kombucha to the juice from my juice extractor, only about 100 ml to 700 ml juice. The sour taste helps to disguise the bitterness of the cabbage.
I must also add that I make mine without the tea.
I have never done second stage fermenting with it.
I add the kombucha to the juice from my juice extractor, only about 100 ml to 700 ml juice. The sour taste helps to disguise the bitterness of the cabbage.
I must also add that I make mine without the tea.
I have never done second stage fermenting with it.
Kombucha is likely to put your body into detox so its best to start slow, like a quarter cup every other day. When there are no detox symptoms for a few days then try taking a quarter cup every day, and later half a cup a day and so on. Be sure to drink enough water so your body can flush out any toxins that the kombucha knocks loose.
The detox effect means it isn't safe to start using Kombucha while pregnant, but some mothers who are no longer in detox say it was fine to continue during pregnancy. Some, like my wife, couln't stand even the smell of it while pregnant and it's best to listen to your body on that. She & my children now share it, equally.
There is about a 1.5% alcohol content, depending on many factors, but it doesn't affect me & I can get woozy after a half glass of wine.
The yeast in kombucha convert the sugar into glucose, and the bacteria convert the glucose into alcohol, beneficial acids & many other sorts of good things. If you leave it too long the alcohol is converted into vinegar but that takes a few weeks. I'm on a banting diet and I notice if my blood sugar spikes and dives, but kombucha does none of that to me.
Swirl the kombucha in the bottle a bit before serving otherwise you get a strong brew for the first half and a weak brew when you get to the rest. The yeast which falls to the bottom can also be mixed in, it's tasteless & likely provides nutrients like brewer's yeast does.
The kombucha will grow a new scoby on top which feels like a tough gelatinous layer -- if you're up to it then you can eat it, it tastes like kombucha, else just discard it. Cutting the scoby is an exercise in frustration, rather use your nails to break the edge and then just tear it apart. I read somewhere that the scoby has collagen in it which explains the consistency.
The detox effect means it isn't safe to start using Kombucha while pregnant, but some mothers who are no longer in detox say it was fine to continue during pregnancy. Some, like my wife, couln't stand even the smell of it while pregnant and it's best to listen to your body on that. She & my children now share it, equally.
There is about a 1.5% alcohol content, depending on many factors, but it doesn't affect me & I can get woozy after a half glass of wine.
The yeast in kombucha convert the sugar into glucose, and the bacteria convert the glucose into alcohol, beneficial acids & many other sorts of good things. If you leave it too long the alcohol is converted into vinegar but that takes a few weeks. I'm on a banting diet and I notice if my blood sugar spikes and dives, but kombucha does none of that to me.
Swirl the kombucha in the bottle a bit before serving otherwise you get a strong brew for the first half and a weak brew when you get to the rest. The yeast which falls to the bottom can also be mixed in, it's tasteless & likely provides nutrients like brewer's yeast does.
The kombucha will grow a new scoby on top which feels like a tough gelatinous layer -- if you're up to it then you can eat it, it tastes like kombucha, else just discard it. Cutting the scoby is an exercise in frustration, rather use your nails to break the edge and then just tear it apart. I read somewhere that the scoby has collagen in it which explains the consistency.
Bought a scoby online. So it's already brewing, will be 7 days tomorrow - in all glass
But weather has been cold and wet last couple of days, so trust will take a little longer
So anyone that does 2nd fermenting for fizz?
Some extensive help for keeping kombucha balanced, helping it to fizz, etc:
http://users.bestweb.net/~om/kombucha_balance/
Mine only started fizzing after a few batches and now sometimes I get a head of foam, beer style, when I bottle the brew. I haven't been able to wait for a second ferment and it tastes perfectly yummy as it is.
http://users.bestweb.net/~om/kombucha_balance/
Mine only started fizzing after a few batches and now sometimes I get a head of foam, beer style, when I bottle the brew. I haven't been able to wait for a second ferment and it tastes perfectly yummy as it is.
Awesome, thanks!