Kombucha - Anyone Else Here a Fan?
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There are plenty of FB groups in support of this. Most will give you a SCOBY for free, or mail one, if you pay shipping. There are also instructions for creating one from plain kombucha and different things...0
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I've been curious about this stuff for awhile. It sounds like it would be good, and I already make yogurt. Can't be that much harder. Any recommendations on a brand to try to see if I like it before I jump into the brewing my own thing?
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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!0
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No, @ladipoet, no one should drink home brewed Kombucha that has gone bad. The whole batch should be thrown out, along with the contaminated scoby, and no new batch should be made with the remains. The brewing container should then be cleaned thoroughly.
But while making batch after batch of Kombucha, one should never sanitize the brewing vessel in between batches. The bacteria and yeast growing in the scoby and present in the brewing container is essential to the production of the next batch of Kombucha. So after harvesting the completed batch, the vessel should not be sanitized or even washed. The next batch should simply be made right in the same unwashed vessel. Provided it is covered at all times, and no dirt can enter the container, this provides optimal fermentation conditions.
I personally have a little tip when handling the scoby. I wash my hands then rinse them with plain white vinegar before handling the scoby with my bare hands. As long as you use good hygiene there should be little risk of contaminating the kombucha. No extraordinary measures need to be taken. After all, the whole reason we are brewing and drinking Kombucha is to introduce bacteria into our systems. It can't be sanitized or pasteurized or we don't get the benefits of the probiotics !0 -
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
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Kitnthecat wrote: »No, @ladipoet, no one should drink home brewed Kombucha that has gone bad. The whole batch should be thrown out, along with the contaminated scoby, and no new batch should be made with the remains. The brewing container should then be cleaned thoroughly.
But while making batch after batch of Kombucha, one should never sanitize the brewing vessel in between batches. The bacteria and yeast growing in the scoby and present in the brewing container is essential to the production of the next batch of Kombucha. So after harvesting the completed batch, the vessel should not be sanitized or even washed. The next batch should simply be made right in the same unwashed vessel. Provided it is covered at all times, and no dirt can enter the container, this provides optimal fermentation conditions.
I personally have a little tip when handling the scoby. I wash my hands then rinse them with plain white vinegar before handling the scoby with my bare hands. As long as you use good hygiene there should be little risk of contaminating the kombucha. No extraordinary measures need to be taken. After all, the whole reason we are brewing and drinking Kombucha is to introduce bacteria into our systems. It can't be sanitized or pasteurized or we don't get the benefits of the probiotics !
Very interesting and good to know. Thank you for sharing!0 -
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.0
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I'm surprised that I like it - since I can't stand things like pickles, vinegar, saukraut. I've been reading about getting more fermented foods and probiotics. Where I am, kombucha is kind of pricey - so I buy it rarely and only drink half a bottle at a time. I don't have the patience or space to make my own0
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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!0
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sweetteadrinker2 wrote: »I've been curious about this stuff for awhile. It sounds like it would be good, and I already make yogurt. Can't be that much harder. Any recommendations on a brand to try to see if I like it before I jump into the brewing my own thing?
Synergy is the brand I've tried and heard about most I can get it at my local walmart in the smoothie/juice section for about $3.50 per 16 oz. Bottle.0 -
I made Kombucha for a few years. Was curious to try freezing the scoby. I was being over run by them. So I carefully wrapped it up and froze it. OF course I forgot to mark it. How could I forget what it was. Then one day I took out nice chicken breast for dinner and thawed it. Went to cut it to strips for stirfry. OOPS It was like cutting shoe leather and smelled a bit different than chicken. YES it was the kombucha.
Some one told me to make a big tub of the kombucha and soak my body in it since I had so much of it. So I put three scobies in an extra watering tank for the horse and added a bunch of water and a few tea bags sugar. Lightly covered it and promptly forgot all about the thing. And THING it became. It grew to the size of the tank and about 75 pounds. And THEN I became afraid of it. I could not lift it out of the tank.IT is slippery slimy. No handles to grab. It was about 10 inches thick. So again I left it hoping it would dry out. BUT IT RAINED and I am talking a down pour refreshing this beast. After the chicken cutting episode I could not bring myself to stick a knife into it. Finally I admitted defeat and asked my hubby to help me tip the tank over and turn this thing out. It was years before he let me live this down.0 -
LOL!!!0
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MissMaggieElizabeth wrote: »I made Kombucha for a few years. Was curious to try freezing the scoby. I was being over run by them. So I carefully wrapped it up and froze it. OF course I forgot to mark it. How could I forget what it was. Then one day I took out nice chicken breast for dinner and thawed it. Went to cut it to strips for stirfry. OOPS It was like cutting shoe leather and smelled a bit different than chicken. YES it was the kombucha.
Some one told me to make a big tub of the kombucha and soak my body in it since I had so much of it. So I put three scobies in an extra watering tank for the horse and added a bunch of water and a few tea bags sugar. Lightly covered it and promptly forgot all about the thing. And THING it became. It grew to the size of the tank and about 75 pounds. And THEN I became afraid of it. I could not lift it out of the tank.IT is slippery slimy. No handles to grab. It was about 10 inches thick. So again I left it hoping it would dry out. BUT IT RAINED and I am talking a down pour refreshing this beast. After the chicken cutting episode I could not bring myself to stick a knife into it. Finally I admitted defeat and asked my hubby to help me tip the tank over and turn this thing out. It was years before he let me live this down.
LOL - a little late now, but I've been told you can Jerky it and it is excellent for your health! I'm kind of scared, now. I can kill plants, but science experiments? My thumb is green there... LOL0 -
MissMaggieElizabeth wrote: »I made Kombucha for a few years. Was curious to try freezing the scoby. I was being over run by them. So I carefully wrapped it up and froze it. OF course I forgot to mark it. How could I forget what it was. Then one day I took out nice chicken breast for dinner and thawed it. Went to cut it to strips for stirfry. OOPS It was like cutting shoe leather and smelled a bit different than chicken. YES it was the kombucha.
Some one told me to make a big tub of the kombucha and soak my body in it since I had so much of it. So I put three scobies in an extra watering tank for the horse and added a bunch of water and a few tea bags sugar. Lightly covered it and promptly forgot all about the thing. And THING it became. It grew to the size of the tank and about 75 pounds. And THEN I became afraid of it. I could not lift it out of the tank.IT is slippery slimy. No handles to grab. It was about 10 inches thick. So again I left it hoping it would dry out. BUT IT RAINED and I am talking a down pour refreshing this beast. After the chicken cutting episode I could not bring myself to stick a knife into it. Finally I admitted defeat and asked my hubby to help me tip the tank over and turn this thing out. It was years before he let me live this down.
Omg, I was unreasonably entertained by that. Thank you for that.
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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!
I had to look twice. This sounds exactly like me! I brewed for a couple of years and just got out of it in the last 8 months or so when I got too busy in grad school. My scoby still looks intact and healthy sitting in a glass container in my basement, albeit about 4 inches thick! Lemon/ginger is also my favorite. I just found that I couldn't drink all that I was making and no one else in my family cares for it.
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I have enjoyed kombucha for years and started making my own in 2008. But when I began eating low carb, I was concerned about the carb content from all the sugar used in the fermenting process. People say that the sugar is eaten up by the scoby but I wasn't so sure, so I haven't had any kombucha for quite some time. I do like it and it is very good for you.0
