Kombucha is one of the few fermented items that I actually enjoy and therefore consume on a semi-regular basis, except pickles! There are many different brands available and some are definitely better than others.I can't provide any insight regarding the carbs because I haven't gotten as strict as I should be with my carb intake yet nor do I have kombucha on a daily basis.

I have also read alot about brewing your own, but I haven't been able to locate a scoby. Then again, I haven't tried too hard, because I also feel that it is important to do it properly to avoid contamination, big messes etc. Keep debating if it is an investment (time and resources) that I need to make right now.

I haven't answered your questions, but I can confirm that kombucha is awesome for digestive upset!

I have a kombucha scoby fermenting away in the cupboard. It's less sugary the longer you leave it to ferment and more cider vinegar tasting, maybe less carbs?

I have no idea what this is but it sounds yucky.

I LOVE Kombucha !!! I used to make my own, it's quite easy, but my SCOBY suffered a mishap and died. So I stopped brewing for a while and bought it instead. But it is too expensive for me to make buying it a regular habit, but I always get some if I feel a cold coming on, and it takes care of it before the cold materializes. Love the stuff, and I love the taste, almost like beer.

I have been given a SCOBY and it is sitting in a jar in my fridge until I am ready to ferment. It is dormant until I take it out into room temperature and start brewing. There is lots of info online re: the process. I got into a routine that worked for me, but found that I couldn't drink it all before I had to harvest the next batch, I was making too much. In the hot weather sometimes my batch would be ready in 3 days. Winter will be better, or maybe I'll start after all my pickling is done.

Taste it as it's brewing in order to determine when you think it is ready. The shorter the fermenting time, the sweeter it will be, and if you leave it too long, it will turn into vinegar. It stands to reason that there would be less carbs if the kombucha has brewed for a long time, but I am no expert.

Don't be afraid to gibe it a try. All you need is a big glass container, some cheesecloth or a airy dishcloth to cover, green or black tea, and sugar. I would brew my tea in my big soup pot on top of the stove, add a cup of sugar into the hot tea, then let it cool completely to room temp, since you don't want to kill the scoby. Add the scoby with it's liquid liquid to the cooled sweet tea in your glass container, cover it to keep germs out, but allow it to breathe. I kept mine on top of the kitchen counter. When ti would be ready to harvest, I would already have the next pot of tea cooled and ready to go. Ladle out the finished kombucha and bottle in my old washed kombucha bottles and store in the fridge, leaving a cup or two with the scoby in the container, then pour the fresh sweet cooled tea in, cover and let the next batch brew.

When you master that, you can try double fermenting, adding some ginger or fruit to the bottles then keeping them out at room temp to brew some more. Yummy and cheap and so good for you !

Buy raw unflavored Kombucha. I bought a bottle from Whole Foods. Dump it into a glass jar with some cool sweet tea. Close it with a cheese cloth and leave it in a dark and somewhat warm place, like a cupboard that is rarely opened. In two weeks you will have a thin, young SCOBY floating on top. Add more sweet tea. In a week it should be ready - try it. As the SCOBY gets fatter, the tea will ferment faster. I had Obi Wan the SCOBY living in my cupboard for about a year before I had to move.

Lillith32 wrote: »

Buy raw unflavored Kombucha. I bought a bottle from Whole Foods. Dump it into a glass jar with some cool sweet tea. Close it with a cheese cloth and leave it in a dark and somewhat warm place, like a cupboard that is rarely opened. In two weeks you will have a thin, young SCOBY floating on top. Add more sweet tea. In a week it should be ready - try it. As the SCOBY gets fatter, the tea will ferment faster. I had Obi Wan the SCOBY living in my cupboard for about a year before I had to move.

Thanks for these tips!! Makes me much more comfortable then getting one random through the mail!!! I now need to rethink my desire to initiate this process!!!

Pinterest and Reddit are my go-to's for recipes. Making my own pickles and other fermented veggies is on the list of things I need to try, but for some reason haven't got around to yet.

KnitOrMiss wrote: »

I've yet to embrace using reddit for anything... Is it complicated?

Not at all, and there are all kinds of useful groups on there. There are quite a few groups dedicated to Keto, and all the threads are searchable. I use it to harness the power of the hive mind for answering my questions on random topics. I got great advice on everything from fashion, to job hunting, to food storage and prep. r/keto and r/ketorecipes are a good place to start, but if you have any questions on any random topic, type it in and chances are you'll find a subreddit dedicated to it.

I googled kombucha addiction, and most of the serious articles I found deal with recovering alcoholics.

Oh, and this looks like a neat website: https://www.kombuchakamp.com/

I am a fan of this stuff too. I do not make my own because I have neither the time nor the space. I do limit myself to a couple of ounces a day because of carb And sugar content. Did you know that when you buy the TEa, they keep the high end stuff under lock and key? it's true. The stuff under lock and key has a much higher alcohol content to it. the stuff you can buy that is not under lock and key is very much watered down versions of the TEa and has far less alcohol content. my two favorite flavors are: raspberry Chia and mojito Makai. I like the brand GT's kombucha. It is expensive so I usually get myself a couple of bottles wHich last me a couple of weeks. it is definitely an acquired taste! just a note of warning for those who are going to attempt to try to make their own, I have read several articles which indicate that homemade kombucha is one of the leading sources of contamination. That is, the equipment involved in making the Kombucha is usually not cleaned and / or sanitized to the degree it should be and can often make the people drinking the contaminated batch sick so please be careful!

My husband and I drink it - although he drinks it a lot more than I do. We get it at Costco so it comes out to be a dollar or two less per bottle than when you buy them individually. I think it's six to a case... It's on sale for 11$ right now (at least at our store). He works there so it's super convenient for him to pick it up at the end of his shift

Home fermented foods are far safer and better than any commercial bottled stuff and you will never convince me otherwise. That kind of story is started by those who benefit financially.

I had brewed my own kombucha for a long time, until I got too busy to manage it and then my scoby died. I haven't got another one yet. I used to make the big batch (a gallon mason jar) with black tea and organic sugar, then I would use 4-quart jars and flavor them. I used to love most the lemon/ginger (just put about half a lemon in each jar, and an inch of sliced ginger) and tart cherry (add about 2 oz tart cherry juice to each mason jar. Ferment another 5 days beyond the week it takes for the big jar. If you keep the big jar going you are always in kombucha!