Kombucha
KBGirts
Posts: 882 Member
Has anyone ever made their own kombucha? I am going to start my very first batch this evening. Just curious if anyone had experience with this.
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No experience here, but in to see what others say! I hope to buy a kit and get started. How are you starting your batch Kb? Did you buy a starter or try and grow one of your own?0
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I haven't tried it myself, but I'm very interested to hear how your turns out! Supposedly it has loads of health benefits.0
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My first batch is sitting in a gallon jar now. Love the stuff but not the $3 per bottle price tag! I will let you know how I like it. I did buy all my supplies through Amazon. And used some simple directions I found online.0
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I started my first batch Wednesday. I got my scoby from a friend at work who has started making it. You can buy them online though. These are the websites I used to learn how to do it. I think I am going to write my own blog about it at some point.... after I master it and start experimenting with flavors.
http://thecrunchymoose.com/kombucha/
http://mountainroseblog.com/brew-kombucha-part-1/0 -
Sarahsteve7kids wrote: »My first batch is sitting in a gallon jar now. Love the stuff but not the $3 per bottle price tag! I will let you know how I like it. I did buy all my supplies through Amazon. And used some simple directions I found online.
Also, I believe the store bought brands are pasteurized, so perhaps not as beneficial.
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Sarahsteve7kids wrote: »My first batch is sitting in a gallon jar now. Love the stuff but not the $3 per bottle price tag! I will let you know how I like it. I did buy all my supplies through Amazon. And used some simple directions I found online.
Also, I believe the store bought brands are pasteurized, so perhaps not as beneficial.
Wow I wasn't even aware of that! I bought raw so I THINK it means it is okay?My scooby was $1.50 and came to me in the mail packaged in what must have cost 3x the price of the product. Haha! Looked perfect. I'm learning it isn't very expensive or tough to be healthy, just takes a bit more time occasionally! Can't wait to hear how yours turns out!
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Is anyone using a continuous-brew method or are you all doing batches?0
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Oh my YES! Hence my username LOL. I just switched to a continuous brewer and only wish I had sooner. I've brewed my own for about 5 years and batch brewing is fine but it's easy to get lazy and not feel like cleaning everything, etc. With the continuous brewer once you get it started up you just fill each bottle with buch from a spikot (spelling?!) and then top off with tea/sugar. The new batch is done in 2 DAYS!!!! so no waiting around for more. Apparently this method gives you the full potential of vitamins, minerals and probiotics because some do not show until later in the maturity of the SCOBY.
Basically if you are think about doing it DO IT! It's a fun little hobby which is easy and healthy! My favorite online sources are Kombucha Kamp (my hand made ceramic continuous brewer is from there) or Kombucha Brooklyn where I got my first kit/scoby.0 -
Sarahsteve7kids wrote: »Sarahsteve7kids wrote: »My first batch is sitting in a gallon jar now. Love the stuff but not the $3 per bottle price tag! I will let you know how I like it. I did buy all my supplies through Amazon. And used some simple directions I found online.
Also, I believe the store bought brands are pasteurized, so perhaps not as beneficial.
Wow I wasn't even aware of that! I bought raw so I THINK it means it is okay?My scooby was $1.50 and came to me in the mail packaged in what must have cost 3x the price of the product. Haha! Looked perfect. I'm learning it isn't very expensive or tough to be healthy, just takes a bit more time occasionally! Can't wait to hear how yours turns out!
If you make sure the store bought brand says RAW you're fine. GT's is definately raw and is the most available anyway. That being said it save you a ton of money in the long run when you make your own, but I still grab a GT's every now and then, and when traveling.0 -
Cool! I'll look into the continuous brewer. Sounds easy!
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I used to make Kombucha and will begin again soon. Coincidentally, the person to whom I gave a piece of my scoby years ago, has now given me back a baby from the same scoby to start again. My scoby died so I wish to keep this one going. It's in a holding pattern right now in a jar in the fridge.
I used to make batches. When my Kombucha was ready to harvest, I would have some cooled sweetened tea ready to go after I'd pour the Kombucha into glass bottles or jars. Put the bottles then in the fridge to keep without brewing longer. Or I would double ferment at that stage, by adding fruit or juice to the jars. I would not wash out my big glass jar that I used for brewing, but keep the scoby and some starter Kombucha in the jar before I added in the fresh tea. Then cover with a clean breathable towel and let it brew. I would drink the newly harvested Kombucha while the next batch was brewing.
The only drawback was that in the summer heat I could not keep up with drinking it as soon as it was ready. It brews so quickly in the heat. I just heard the other day that the size of opening at the top of the jar may slow or speed the brewing process. A wider top, which mine has, means that it will take less time to ferment.0 -
I use continuous brew. It's so much easier than wrestling with gallon jars.
KombuchaCat said: "you just fill each bottle with buch from a spikot (spelling?!) and then top off with tea/sugar"
Not sure what you mean by this, but I just brew kombucha food and add it to the continuous-brew crock once a week or so. (Kombucha food involves brewing strong tea from cheap teabags and adding white sugar to the hot brew, then letting it cool to room temperature. My kombucha seems to thrive on this.)
One caveat -- keep your continuous brew system (or your batch system, as well) away from fruit -- especially apples and bananas! -- and drains (like the kitchen sink), to prevent mold contamination. Also keep at least six feet separation (more is better) between kombucha and any other fermenting foods, like sauerkraut or water kefir, to avoid cross-contamination.
I can keep my continuous brew container on the kitchen counter because it is ceramic and thus keeps the contents in the dark.0 -
I make my own Kombucha, but since I use sugar, I am curious if anyone has a more paleo option? I am told honey doesn't work because it can kill your scoby or something like that?0
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I use sugar, since it gets digested by the scoby before I harvest it. Mine is very sour when I harvest. I haven't had a lot of success yet on the second ferment -- I don't care for the taste of soured fruit-flavored kombucha. (It's sparkly but sour because the kombucha keeps digesting the sugar in the juice.)
My kombucha culture is very vigorous! The vinegar I decanted off my continuous brew system, after a month or so of neglect, is already growing a new scoby in the jar. I guess that's why you're supposed to refrigerate it after brewing, but I'm planning to give the new scoby away to a friend who wants to start brewing kombucha. (Edit to add: I've been told by several people *never* to refrigerate the scoby. Also, keep it out of the sun, and keep your brewing kombucha away from fruit, especially apples and bananas, and away from drains like the kitchen sink, to avoid mold problems, as I mentioned above.)
And yes, you're right, the antibacterial properties of honey (they use it in South American hospitals to treat burns and infections, I read while researching honey!) make it a poor choice of sweetener.
I have killed a number of scobys over the years, proving the advice of "experts" who told me in the beginning that cheap Lipton tea and cheap white cane sugar make the best kombucha food. The oils in flavored teas can damage the scoby. Green tea works, if you prefer that flavor. Herbal teas do not work, as the scoby needs the caffeine to survive. (Huh, kind of like I do...)0 -
p.s. one of my teens likes to stir some honey into a glass full of kombucha. She doesn't brew it that way, just drinks it right away. She's still getting probiotics and vitamins that way.0
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For those of you who drink buch, have you noticed any benefits that you can definitely attribute to the drink?0
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I didn't need to take Vitamin D supplements anymore. (I actually OD'd on vitamin D... It was really uncomfortable. We worked it out to be the kombucha and water kefir we were brewing -- that was the only change.)SkinnyKerinny wrote: »For those of you who drink buch, have you noticed any benefits that you can definitely attribute to the drink?
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