Kombucha

[DiamondDeb]

Thanks for all the info Metga! Very interesting...

[metqa]

Only if you are not brewing correctly would you have problems. The kombucha is very acidic and at room temperature the bacteria that would cause you illness would not survive in the brew itself. It could grow on top if the scoby gets dry, or if the temperature gets too cold or too hot, but then your home would be way uncomfortable in those temps so you would regulate room temp and by proxy the temp of the brew.

You 'd have to never make yogurt or any other cooking or eating for that matter to completely avoid pathogens that could make you sick. Making Kombuca I'd venture is a lot safer than cooking meat in a crockpot. or eating raw eggs. or living with School Aged Children

[wen774]

Thanks Metga! Lots of great info there.

[LaurieRobo]

HolyHottie - it is soooo easy..

Met is right - I have extra but can't send anything until this weekend (babies just fed yesterday w/ new tea and can't be disturbed) LOL

Honestly I got hooked on the commercial GT's, then Jim got hooked and at more than $3 per bottle... and at least 2-4 a day... No way - very expensive habit.

Met - I opened a bottle of pineapple this am and wasn't quite awake and didn't open slowly.... 1/2 a bottle all over the counter - I would cry if it were GT's.... it was super fizzy!!!

As for bad bacteria... Cleanliness is the most important thing and as Met said, the truely acidic environment - I'm not worried. However if I saw something out of the ordinary growing - I would definately toss it!

And my take on the carbs left... I don't worry about the carbs left in fermented food. Kombucha, kefir, yogurt... they all have so many wonderful benefits - I use them as free foods (I'm maintaining). The culture uses the sugar to feed and leaves a by-product that we drink/eat. Plus - I like all my fermented stuff tart - so I ususally end up fermenting longer than the normal person... So I'm not too worried about the sugar left...

[metqa]

Originally Posted by LaurieRobo

HolyHottie - it is soooo easy..

Met is right - I have extra but can't send anything until this weekend (babies just fed yesterday w/ new tea and can't be disturbed) LOL

Honestly I got hooked on the commercial GT's, then Jim got hooked and at more than $3 per bottle... and at least 2-4 a day... No way - very expensive habit.

Met - I opened a bottle of pineapple this am and wasn't quite awake and didn't open slowly.... 1/2 a bottle all over the counter - I would cry if it were GT's.... it was super fizzy!!!

As for bad bacteria... Cleanliness is the most important thing and as Met said, the truely acidic environment - I'm not worried. However if I saw something out of the ordinary growing - I would definately toss it!

And my take on the carbs left... I don't worry about the carbs left in fermented food. Kombucha, kefir, yogurt... they all have so many wonderful benefits - I use them as free foods (I'm maintaining). The culture uses the sugar to feed and leaves a by-product that we drink/eat. Plus - I like all my fermented stuff tart - so I ususally end up fermenting longer than the normal person... So I'm not too worried about the sugar left...

I eat them freely also, also maintaining, but I may have to move down a rung or two soon!

I'm sorry about your pineapple explosion, but yay on the super Fizzy

I just fed my scoby too, so it will be at least a week before I pour off again.

Laurie, Somewhere between one week and two I think I'm getting the perfect flavor to bottle. This one tasted like GT from the get go, so I'm gonna test to see if it even needs a second ferment (I was a little rough in pouring and it fizzed up like beer, so I lost a lot of carbonation from the start ) Not enough for an explosion, though. I can only hope!

[brittone2]

If anyone has an extra baby scoby, please let me know. We tried making our own Kombucha about 2 years ago and it didn't go well. I think I know where we went wrong and would like to try again. DH and I (and both kids) loooove the storebought stuff but it is so expensive. I try to keep it to a 1x a week habit.

DD is almost two and when she sees the bottle she says "BOOcha!!"

[metqa]

Y'know what? I think I'm gonna try to grow a scoby just for giving away. I've already put away my mother and baby for it's cycle but I'm gonna let it go for two weeks like last time, but it seems a nice scoby can grow in just one week.

In the top of a bottle of 2nd ferment brew I just opened, as I went to pour off a little for tasting , something went plop into the cup. Seems it had a gelatinous little psuedo-scoby trying to grow on top! So I'm brewing a small batch of tea and gonna see if this little guy has some potential.

I had thought of doing this anyway. Since don't drink directly from the bottles( I always pour into another cup), I don't ever contaminate the brew and I never drink the last of it since it has yeasty bits and globby things growing and I wondered if I could use this liquid and it's still living culture as starter tea for a new scoby. seems so since it the same as what's left when I pour off the tea from the mother-scoby.

I hope I haven't grossed anybody out. But if nobody wants my extra scoby(if it works), I could always learn from the experience and possibly have backups in case of tragedy.

Wish me luck.

Y'know, I have yet to touch my scoby with my own hands. How weird is that! I wonder what it feels like, but I'm not gonna take a chance with my only one right now. I'll have to touch it in order to cut them apart, but I wanna make sure I have plenty of leftover/extra before I start surgeries!

[brittone2]

Originally Posted by metqa

Y'know what? I think I'm gonna try to grow a scoby just for giving away. I've already put away my mother and baby for it's cycle but I'm gonna let it go for two weeks like last time, but it seems a nice scoby can grow in just one week.

In the top of a bottle of 2nd ferment brew I just opened, as I went to pour off a little for tasting , something went plop into the cup. Seems it had a gelatinous little psuedo-scoby trying to grow on top! So I'm brewing a small batch of tea and gonna see if this little guy has some potential.

I had thought of doing this anyway. Since don't drink directly from the bottles( I always pour into another cup), I don't ever contaminate the brew and I never drink the last of it since it has yeasty bits and globby things growing and I wondered if I could use this liquid and it's still living culture as starter tea for a new scoby. seems so since it the same as what's left when I pour off the tea from the mother-scoby.

I hope I haven't grossed anybody out. But if nobody wants my extra scoby(if it works), I could always learn from the experience and possibly have backups in case of tragedy.

Wish me luck.

Y'know, I have yet to touch my scoby with my own hands. How weird is that! I wonder what it feels like, but I'm not gonna take a chance with my only one right now. I'll have to touch it in order to cut them apart, but I wanna make sure I have plenty of leftover/extra before I start surgeries!

When DS sees the scoby/mother thingie in the bottled stuff (which admittedly is much different than seeing the massive thing when you are brewing at home LOL) he always points to it in the bottle and gets excited for me to drink it...saying..."that's the mother! That's the scoby! Isn't it good???!!" He likes to gross my dad out with it LOL as my mom, DH and I will drink kombucha but my dad will. not.

[LaurieRobo]

Originally Posted by metqa

In the top of a bottle of 2nd ferment brew I just opened, as I went to pour off a little for tasting , something went plop into the cup. Seems it had a gelatinous little psuedo-scoby trying to grow on top! So I'm brewing a small batch of tea and gonna see if this little guy has some potential.


!

Those are scoby shooters

Sometimes, I just grab a bottle to throw in Jim's lunch and forget to strain it first he doesn't really appreciated the shooter in is bottle of Boocha!!!

[metqa]

Originally Posted by brittone2

When DS sees the scoby/mother thingie in the bottled stuff (which admittedly is much different than seeing the massive thing when you are brewing at home LOL) he always points to it in the bottle and gets excited for me to drink it...saying..."that's the mother! That's the scoby! Isn't it good???!!" He likes to gross my dad out with it LOL as my mom, DH and I will drink kombucha but my dad will. not.

Originally Posted by LaurieRobo

Those are scoby shooters

Aw man, I'm out of chilled Kombucha, but I think I need to take a break. Somethings been giving me headaches and I need to make sure I don't have the Kombucha giving me artificial good feelings while I'm trying to track down the culprit. I might just be dehydrated or catching a cold. Or it might be K-caffeine. regardless, It'll be a few hours before a jar is chilled enough to drink and I gotta go to work! No K for me this morning.

[metqa]

Ooo! Ooo! Ooooo! Looks like that scoby shooter is becoming the real deal!
That is only 3 days growth!

If anyone cares to know, this one is growing in :

two quarts of filtered water, 2/3 cup of sugar, 1 family size black tea bag (equal 3 regular), and one regular green tea bag.

I've been using 3 Quarts, 1 cup sugar and 1 family size black and 3 regular green for my brewing tea.

I couldn't stand the wait so I've got another 2nd ferm bottle in the fridge. The taste makes me smile.

I'm still waiting on my continuous brewer, but BF wonders what I'm gonna do with all that brew once I get it. . . . I have some ideas

[SashimiMark]

I'm considering experimenting with this as well. My only problem is I live in a 150 year old house in Worcester, MA and I'm looking forward to 6 months of winter. There's not a single room in my house that is kept warm 24/7. What's the lowest temperature that this thing can grow? And does the temp need to be kept constant?

[metqa]

Originally Posted by SashimiMark

I'm considering experimenting with this as well. My only problem is I live in a 150 year old house in Worcester, MA and I'm looking forward to 6 months of winter. There's not a single room in my house that is kept warm 24/7. What's the lowest temperature that this thing can grow? And does the temp need to be kept constant?

Hey Sashimi! Good to see ya!

20 - 30 celcius is the range. I think that's about 68-84 or somewheres about. Constant is better cause the bacteria and yeast are both competing for sugar. If it gets out of temperature range, one of em (can't remember which) has a better advantage and the brew turns into something else. Let's see. . . I think because yeast need warmer temps, the bacteria keeps growing and it makes more . . .um . . . . something and . . . well it does,Okay! so ya gotta keep it balanced. You might be a candidate for a heat pad. Just don't cookit Like I tried to.

[SashimiMark]

It's supposed to get down to the teens this week, which means at some point, the room that the brew is in will get down to the 30s. Maybe this is something I need to try during the warmer months.

[metqa]

Originally Posted by SashimiMark

It's supposed to get down to the teens this week, which means at some point, the room that the brew is in will get down to the 30s. Maybe this is something I need to try during the warmer months.

Wow, Man! How do you survive? wait, Don't tell me . . .Electric Blankets?
I'm from Illinois and Electric blankets and Bunny suits were the way to go. I think you got it worse in MA.

[SashimiMark]

Money is pretty tight right now, so I only heat the rooms that have people in them. But there's no single room in the house that is occupied 24/7. I suppose I could move the brew to whatever room is being heated, but I think I read you're not supposed to disturb it, plus I'm sure I'd forget.

[MsSeattleSlim]

Maybe you could put it in the oven, with the pilot light on (if it's gas), or the lightbulb on if it's electric. That should keep it about warm enough.

You would have to move it if you want to use your oven!

[SashimiMark]

Unfortunately I have gas-on-gas, with my stove also being the method of heating half my house.

[MsSeattleSlim]

Okay, I gotta say that I don't even know what that means!

Maybe you would be better off waiting until warmer weather.

I live in a mild climate, but when I was heating with wood (way back in the day) on very cold nights the water froze in our water glasses beside the bed. In Seattle, you might get 5 nights that cold in a whole year, or you might get none! So I seriously don't relate to east coast weather. !

[metqa]

You need to make a hot box. Get yourself a styrofoam cooler big enough to hold your kombucha jar, and bigger if you can find. Get a simple a simple heating pad with adjustable knob( low med high) The cooler should be big enough to hold your jar, the heating pad and a couple of towels.

I'm thinking here . . . OKay. To test the temp, take your jar and fill with water, wrap it in one towel, and put a thermometer in the water. Wrap your heating pad around the jar and towel, and put the whole shebang into the cooler, top of the jar up (of course). Stuff the area around the neck of the cooler with more towels.

Okay, I'm thinking that if you got a cheap stytofoam cooler and a tall enough jar, you could even cut a breathing hole in the top, the size of the jar mouth, and stuff the cooler and then put the lid on to keep the maximum heat in.

Okay, so then you turn the pad on and leave it over night and check the temperature. If you can get it up at least 30 degrees ( to 60 degrees F or more) your in business. What do you think?

ETA: My heating pad, just placed on the bottom with no insulation box ,raised the temperature more than 10 degrees, from around 75 to almost 90(way too hot BTW) , and that was on the LOW setting. Just thinking with an enclosed environment and insulation it could probably get pretty warm on high.

[LaurieRobo]

Originally Posted by SashimiMark

Money is pretty tight right now, so I only heat the rooms that have people in them. But there's no single room in the house that is occupied 24/7. I suppose I could move the brew to whatever room is being heated, but I think I read you're not supposed to disturb it, plus I'm sure I'd forget.

Hey Mark...

The hot box is a good idea i just use styrofoam and a couple bottles of hot water.. too cheap for the electric heater. Water bottles stay hot for a long time in a cooler...

However, our house doesn't get quite as cold, but does - I used the cabinet over the fridge (warmer from the fridge). When it is very cold - it put bottles of HOT tap water and change them out ever 8 hours or so.

Cold will only make the brew take a longer time - it may even be better? The only thing that I would make sure is to use plenty of starter or distilled white vinegar to make sure it starts out acidic enough to inhibit mold growth.

[SashimiMark]

Hmm. I do have 2 Styrofoam coolers. I get one each time I order grass-fed beef online. Definitely something to think about.

[cindy_cfids]

I'm intrigued with this and will probably start when I can have a new project. I'm curious is the mother used once or over & over? Do the babies have to be separated? Is the mother left in a continuous brewer, does the container get full of mothers & babies & do they both reproduce??

[metqa]

Originally Posted by cindy_cfids

I'm intrigued with this and will probably start when I can have a new project. I'm curious is the mother used once or over & over? Do the babies have to be separated? Is the mother left in a continuous brewer, does the container get full of mothers & babies & do they both reproduce??

Whoa!

The baby grows on top of the mother, so unless you separate them the mother will be used again and again.

There is no need to separate them unless they start to take up too much room.

They need oxygen and fresh air, so the mother may not be the happiest on the bottom.

The mother doesn't "reproduce" as much as hold all the living creatures that make a whole new scoby. Analogy. the cellulose pad is the house for the bacteria and yeast. They all kinda float through the brew. but they go out and start building a new house on the top where the fresh air is. The "new house" is your baby Scoby. It now has tenants which can go out and make another new house. the Scoby Slum Lords!

In a continuous brewer, Ideally you'd leave the scoby inside without touching it until it gets too big. Is that correct Laurie? It will keep building new scobys on top with each infusion of fresh tea. When it gets too big you could take it out, cut off the mothers and replace the youngest scoby and keep going.

You could take each scoby and start a new jar of brew or share them with your friends or make shoes with it (hey that's what I heard!)

[metqa]

Originally Posted by SashimiMark

Hmm. I do have 2 Styrofoam coolers. I get one each time I order grass-fed beef online. Definitely something to think about.

Do It! Do It! Do It! I wanna See Pictures!!!!


(I'm such a brat )

[LaurieRobo]

Originally Posted by metqa

In a continuous brewer, Ideally you'd leave the scoby inside without touching it until it gets too big. Is that correct Laurie? It will keep building new scobys on top with each infusion of fresh tea. When it gets too big you could take it out, cut off the mothers and replace the youngest scoby and keep going.

You could take each scoby and start a new jar of brew or share them with your friends or make shoes with it (hey that's what I heard!)

Yes that is correct... I had to remove one GIANT mass of scoby's from my continuous brewer - it was scary


Mark - if you get brave and want to try it out - I am in shrewsbury every other saturday morning - I can hook you up with a scoby!

[SashimiMark]

Heh. Hadn't even noticed you are in MA. I contacted someone in Northboro yesterday about getting a scoby, but haven't heard back yet. I'll let you know, but thanks in advance for the offer.

[metqa]

Wow! My Continuous Brewer is On It's Way!

I just got a UPS email that said its shipping out today, and I should get it Monday! The jar and the 6 bottles I ordered weighs 23lb!

I'm glad I'm not scheduled to work Monday so I can be home to get it. WhooHoo!

I guess I'd better figure out the math for the larger container formula and have some tea ready for the transfer. Oh my Goodness I'm so Excited and I just can't Hide it!

I know, I know, I know, I know, I want
Kom-BU-cha!
Kom-BU-cha!

[cindy_cfids]

I've never drank kombucha, from what I've read it's what get's most people started. I don't get out often, so will need to buy sugar before starting. I have found videos on utube that shows how to brew. I've found scoby's on ebay! I have a one gallon glass jar and am trying to not get to financially involved. Although having a source of vinegar would be great even if I didn't like the tea. I swear by vinegar for everything (cleaning, killing poison ivy, curing poison ivy and killing fungus and bacteria) I have read about the health benefits of drinking apple cider vinegar but it MUST contain the mother for the benefits. So I'm betting this has the same benefits. I'm so excited lol thank you all for your help.

[metqa]

cindy_cfids

Well y'all, IT'S HERE!!!!!

It came at around 6:30 ( I've been waiting since 9am just to be sure)

It's a huge box, but 23lbs wasn't really that heavy. I went out with an umbrella to meet the delivery guy. He was nice, said he was running late cause of rain.

This thing is HUGE. Look at it on the left compared to my 1 gallon jar on the right.

And the bottles. I had no idea they'd be THIS BIG! Look at them compared to my little 16 oz Fuze bottle on the left. These are almost as big as Davinci's Bottles!!! And I bought SIX of these things. What on earth possessed me?! Oh yeah, only $4 buck a piece. (Well it's more once you calculate the shipping but still $5 a bottle for these beauties is sweet plus the smaller size, which was also more expensive apiece, were out of stock) And they are brown. I expected them to be clear. They look just like wine bottles, hehe. Maybe I'll take some Kombucha home in one for thanksgiving, homebrew! yEAH! That would really freak them all out.

I think that's what I'll do , since I still have to pour of the Give-A-Scoby brew, I'll pour it into one of these BIG jars and let it second ferment. He he he. Well, I gotta go put it together now. Later All!