I have ordered a kombucha starter SCOBY (Simbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast) and am going to try making kombucha. A friend on Facebook posted about getting one of the kombucha kits and going to try making some, and I thought I might like to give it a whirl, too. I have had the commercial bottles of flavored kombucha before, and liked it, but it is pretty expensive stuff to buy, so I have not had it more than a few times. Another problem with commercial kombucha, would be that it is pasteurized after making it; so just like kefir, sauerkraut, yogurt, and other naturally fermented foods, the pasteurization kills all of the good probiotics and all you get is the taste. Amazon has a good variety of kombucha making kits, but I didn’t want to try spending so much money and then find out that I didn’t like homemade kombucha, or just was not able to make it correctly. It made more sense just to start off with the cheap starter that just gives me the SCOBY and some starter kombucha. If that turns out good, and I like making it, then I can think about getting the whole starter kit with the bottles, funnels, etc. What do you use when you make kombucha, @Kate Ellery ? You are the only one on the forum that I can remember talking about making it, and I would be happy to have any input you want to share.
I simply ferment it and bottle it ….I usually test a small amount for taste and to get as close to the recommend “stage” as possible which is 4.5 or under (I use a tester I got from a brew shop) but you can also reply on taste. I don’t flavour mine I use a scoby when making mine and test after 4 days when it’s warm / hot weather and it’s more like a week in cooler weather I have a really good book I got for $2 in a charity shop ..what a pity it’s so heavy or I’d gladly post it to you , think it has 300 + pages I will take a photo latter @Yvonne Smith
If you can give me the name and the author, I might be able to find it on Amazon , @Kate Ellery ! I think that I have some pH test strips from my keto days, they should work for the kombucha , too.
Many instructions will say only use black tea I use a mixture of black and a fruit flavoured tea ( teabags ) I use 1/2 cup of white sugar to 12 cups of tea . I used to bring water to boil on stove top , now I boil the kettle twice and tip over sugar /stir to dissolve add tea bags give a gentle stir put lid on saucepan .. remove after about 15 min ….remove tea bags then leave to cool before bottling ( I don't have a glass dish large enough that why I use the saucepan )
Photo of the book …nah I told a fib I paid $3 for it in charity shop not $2 Looks as of its a US printed book it’s got really good info in it from making to flavouring your brews @Yvonne Smith
Back of book photo …..when I bought the book I thought someone had spilled tea on it as it looked stained ….but that pattern is all the way through the book so it’s been printed like that
I found the book on Amazon, @Kate Ellery , but it is $13 for the kindle version, and over twice that for printed; so I am going to read some of the free books first and then see how l like kombucha before I spend that much money on a book. Edit to add: I found a used one on Amazon and ordered it, should have it later this week ! My SCOBY arrived today, so I made the sweet tea, and have the first batch sitting and fermenting. This SCOBY was supposed to make a half gallon the first time, and then a gallon after that. Interestingly, I discovered that you can also make coffee kombucha. You have to transfer over the SCOBY, and then keep it just for coffee kombucha. Now, I am wondering if some of the herbal coffee like Teeccino could also be used for this ? (More reading and youtube videos coming up).
I think I was fifty before I tried yogurt because eating some slimy stuff full of bacteria just didn't sound like a good idea to me. As it turns out, I like yogurt, but not the kinds that are recommended as the healthier yogurts. The Greek stuff is nasty, and the Icelandic stuff is even nastier. I'm more of a Yoplait or Dannon kind of yogurt eater. I haven't worked my way up (down) to kombucha yet. It looks like it would be nasty, and it sounds like it would be nasty.
@Yvonne Smith I found some said use herbal teas and others said no ….I think book I posted the photo of said use herbal teas can be used …..I seen the same book for $81 on eBay think the price on the back of the book was $24.95 US price . It’s going to the over the old 105 F outside today .. ( what we call a stinker day ) so I’ll maybe look at book and maybe take a photo or two of pages for you .
Awesome ! I saved the link, ,and I see that it also talks about coffee kombucha as well as kombucha made from Teeccino; so I will be reading more about that as well. It is supposed to be about a week before I can taste my first batch, and since it is still fairly cool out here, it might take a little longer for it to be fermented enough. Thank you SO much, Kate ! !
We went to the store today, so I got several of the different flavored bottles of kombucha to try and see which flavors that I like. I think that apple will be the first one that I try after my kombucha is ready for the second ferment; but today I am drinking a guava flavored one and it is pretty delicious. Bobby tried a small drink and he said he is going to stick with plain iced tea this summer and leave the kombucha to me. Back when my kids were little, I read somewhere about mixing up ACV and honey and adding water. I used to make that and add some koolaid flavoring, and we called it “Joy Juice” after the Lil Abner comic strip drink called “Kickapoo Joy Juice” (which was NOT vinegar and honey); so my kids grew up enjoying a kind of sour-tasting drink in the summer, and sometimes as a hot drink in the cold Idaho winters. It seems like the kombucha just fits in with the same kind of sour flavor.
My kombucha is doing okay, as far as I can tell, and it is making a new baby SCOBY on the top. The old one is still floating at the bottom. I tasted a little with the straw technique, and gave Bobby a taste, too. He grumbled that i was turning him into a guinea pig; but I told him that I had tasted it first before giving him the taste. It does not look like he is going to be a kombucha person. My new baby SCOBY…..
Think you will need to go outside to open your bottles of brew ……( when its bottled / ready to drink ) cause I think it may be pretty gassy by the look of the bubbles @Yvonne Smith When I first made it ..I redecorated our ceiling by the sink with kombucha while attempting to open a bottle ……so one hint Throw a tea towel over the top of your bottle while opening it ….just as security or take it outside to open