afterburner

Yeah. I sterilized all surfaces with bleach prior to making the tea. Contamination, I'm well aware of.

Thanks for the reminder though. Anyone trying this ::: be sure to stay sterile.

Note: once the Kombucha starts to grow & take over the environment it develops its own immune system Just like a mushroom. In fact, it is a kind of mushroom.

-afterburner

pumpkin2006

Yup, sounds like you know your stuff. Good luck with the stuff, I've never really liked the taste of it so I never got into it.

I think the medicinal properties over it are over stated though. The best I could find on scientific studies was that it aided in your digestive processes.

afterburner

Isn't your digestive process pretty important to your well-being?
Unhealthy roots for our plants mean that our plants don't do very well. Are we any different?

I was reading it helped with liver detoxification too Not exactly a scientific source though.

I guess if you dont like the taste of it theres not much you can do.
Cures hangovers though

-afterburner

afterburner

Just trying it again. 7 days now I believe.

its stronger. But still sweet. Fizzier too.

I was reading on a different site it can take up to 2 weeks if the temperatures fluxuate a lot. And Im having trouble keeping a constant temp. Keeps going from 69 to 86 depending on my HPS lights. Okay for clones, but not kombucha.

Winter makes things difficult Guess I'll wait another week

Looks like I should check the pH

-afterburner

afterburner

Home brew Kombucha is way better than store-bought.

Just poured myself a glass and damn its good stuff
Slightly sweet, tangy. Nicely carbonated. <sip> little bit of a vinegar bite

Just checked the pH. Exactly 3.0
Now. I gotta find some suitable bottles. and start another batch!

-afterburner

afterburner

That kombucha was so good I drank the whole gallon

now I'm making two batches!

I peeled the new scoby off the top of the mama scoby. (using latex gloves) Plopped it in the 2nd jar. Put the mama in the first. Dumped ~ 10% of the kombucha from the last batch into each jar. And away we go!

Tasty stuff

-burner

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afterburner

well I made 3 new batches last night. I figure I may as well update this thread so I remember when I started them.

I couldnt peel the new scoby off easily for some reason this time. So I just ploped it on that plate, sliced it in half with a clean knife, wearing gloves of course. Everything was well cleaned.

I decided to play around w/ the amount of sugar. One site says 320 grams or about 1.6 cups per gallon. Another site says 1 cup. My friend says 1 cup. I've always been using 1.6 cups cuz thats what I read. A different site said 50-80 grams of sugar per liter and that just about works out 1 to 1 1/2 cups per gallon.


So two batches have 1.6 cups and one batch has 1 cup. I brewed the tea extra strong this time cuz thats what I did the first time and it came out really good. The last batch was a little weaker. but still good.

I think I'm gonna use this thread as my 'bucha journal.
Anyyyway.

Whoa crap that was cool. My computer's Xserver just crashed. Cuz I'm trying to run this 3d desktop on a crappy video card in linux.
But I just told firefox to restore my session and my post was still here I was all prepared to re-type it. Still had to re-attach the pic though. Bummer

The 3d stuff is endless fun. Exellent useless way to use up system resources. Heh I'll upload a screenshot of my desktop Now if I could just figure out how to keep it from crashing

-burner

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hygs

I have a sun tea container that has a 5 inch thick layer of culture. I don't know how many months it's been sitting w/o evidence of contamination. Tasty drink, and it helped ease nausea. I just couldn't keep up w/ it though. Be careful about overdoing it as it's suspected that it caused acidosis in a couple of deaths. It's recommended that you also drink water to reduce the risk of acidosis.

Another interesting fermented drink is kefir. Kind of tastes like a yogurt/buttermilk blend. Related are japanese water crystals, which are a type of kefir culture that's used to ferment a sugar water/fruit mixture. Taste is similar to kombucha, but varies depending on the fruit used. They also ferment quickly, but a little easier to prepare.

Related, as far as being a fermented consumable, is cheesemaking. If you like cheeses, it's possible to make some very good cheeses at home. It can be cost competitive w/ store bought when you make some of the more costly types. Blues and semisoft (brie,camembert) come out very nicely. Fankhouser's cheese page is a good resource. Fankhauser's Cheese Page

When it comes to fermented beverages, let's not forget beer. Homebrew is great. I don't know how people drink bud light. It doesn't even taste like beer. I've also brewed some nice Sake. Northern brewer is a good resource. The Northern Brewer Homebrew Forum :: Index

afterburner

Yeah. I've read that too. They say you should brew it to a 3.0 pH to also prevent that danger. (Beer's pH is about 3.0)

Also its better to drink it for a few days, and then take a break for a week, or so I've heard. Not as a continual sort of supplement thing... I think if you listen to your body, it pretty much gets tired of it because there will be times I just dont feel like drinking it My friend says he cant drink it anymore, too vinegary

My last batched reached 2.5 pH in like 10 days Yet my first batch took over two weeks to make it to 3.0. I think the cultures were more active and I had stronger starter soltuion the 2nd batches.

I've had kiefir, Remember liking it. Never occurred to me to think about making it.
Beer, sake Well... All well and good but thats kinda the opposite of kombucha. As far as health giving effects

-burner

hygs

Actually, alcohol is good for you in moderation. It's better to have a drink a day, vs. not drinking at all. In the event of a heart attack or stroke, a beer will do the same as asperin. Thins the blood and gets more blood to your heart/brain. However, two beers a day is too much.