HOW TO MAKE KOMBUCHA! (part 2) 

Awww, thank you so much - you are so kind! So glad that you've had such great results with kombucha and shrub - so cool that it helped your kiddo with strep (it does taste great in hot water, doesn't it?!). Keep me posted on your brewing adventures!!!

Well, thank you!!!

Happy brewing! And let me know if you have any questions!

Well thank you!!!! Let me know if you have any questions!

Kendra Lee how do you clean or sanitize the jars and containers?

Good luck with your brewing!

It makes me so happy to read this! Glad you have had excellent success with this method. And let me tell you - try jun. I have actually paused on my kombucha brewing for now because jun is so much easier to brew (it likes cooler temps and ferments in about half the time) and I LOVE the taste of it!

Oh for real! My hands were getting completely ripped up from doing that!

Oh that just makes my heart smile - thank you so much! Please let me know if you have any brewing questions along the way. I did play around with growing SCOBYs last year, but actually stopped brewing kombucha because I just preferred the flavor of jun (and jun brews twice as fast as kombucha and my fridge was overflowing!). I did have some decent luck with growing them from GTs and Health Ade kombucha.

Excellent, thank you! I haven't actually watched any other kombucha videos on here cuz I didn't want to compare myself to others (cuz I'm not a pro video editor and don't have the fanciest set-up - ugh I wish I had a team!), so that's really so sweet to hear! Happy brewing, so excited for you!

THANK YOU, DIANA!!! That is so kind of you to say! I hope you have great success with brewing!

Kendra Lee How do you clean/sanitize your jars ?

Aw you are so kind, thank you so much! I certainly have my system down and can get it done quite quickly! Do you make your own kombucha?!

Kendra Lee I've been buying them but I want to start making my own . Yesterday I purchased my gallon jug and bottles . Hopefully I'll get started soon . I'm having a problem finding the plain kombucha for the scoby. Getting expensive !! Hugs

Look on the Kombucha Kamp website - the same people who wrote The Big Book of Kombucha run this site and they sell SCOBYs. I would highly recommend them! I recently bought a SCOBY for jun (similar to kombucha, but uses honey and green tea) from them and they are legit. (You can certainly grow a SCOBY from a bottle of kombucha, but I do prefer using a chunk of SCOBY and starter liquid.) Good luck!!!

Oh excellent! That is the best book I have found for brewing both kombucha and jun. Thanks so much for watching, and HAPPY BREWING!

Thank you so much!!! Kombucha Kamp is great, right?! Keep me posted on your brewing progress. And also, once you have mastered kombucha, I'd highly recommend brewing jun - I feel slightly guilty for my kombucha SCOBY and vessel because I neglect it now that I've started with jun - totally in love with the taste of jun!!!

Kendra Lee I was just going to watch your video on Jun!

You bet!

Thanks so much for watching! And happy brewing!

Thanks!!!

So glad to hear you are having great kombucha success! So interesting about keeping the raspberries and blueberries for pancakes - neat idea!!! I think I maybe have done kiwi once or twice, but don't remember it being amazing (I know that GTs uses kiwi juice to sweeten their brew, though). One of my fave flavors for fall is pomegranate! I like to take out the little pods from the pomegranate, blend them, then squeeze the juice out through a nut-milk bag. I use the juice from one pomegranate for each gallon of kombucha or jun, so good!

So glad you found this helpful! Let me know if you have any other brewing questions!

Oh, you will get to the three gallon stage quickly!!! I'd suggest checking out thrift stores for the glass vessel with a spigot if it's not currently in your budget (but absolutely replace the spigot that comes with it for a stainless steel one). That stainless steel tea ball is AMAZING! When I saw your comment, I thought what an excellent investment that was - I think I bought mine about four years ago! Happy brewing!!!

Awesome! Let me know if you have any questions about brewing. The first couple cycles can be kind of weird and underwhelming, but that's normal. Once you get things really going, you'll get some awesome kombucha, I promise!!! (And if you want to get into an even more delicious project, check out jun - I only brew this now and it is sooooo delicious. I stopped with kombucha because I can have 2 gallons of jun finished every 5 days, so I was just overwhelmed with my fermented drinks!!!)

Kendra Lee Yesss, thank you!🤓 I totally will... i can imagine it may get overwhelming at some point. - Ive been replaying your Jun video as well.. I can’t believe the Jun concoction even existed in life lol, it looks like it will be delicate and out of this world tasting :) thinking about flavoring them like how you have too... what kind of honey do you use? And have you tried creamed honey before?

So sorry for the delayed reply - I'm just seeing this now (RU-vid has a weird way of showing comments in the creator studio platform). I hope your jun is fabulous! I tend to use local raw honey, but also buy bottles of raw honey at Costco (at the Costco I go to near Madison, WI, they sell a regional honey that is apparently from Wisconsin or Michigan or somewhere around here). So yup, always raw honey and I try to get something local. I have never used creamed honey for it. I'd be scared that it wouldn't mix in well with the liquid. I add my honey to lukewarm tea, so it might dissolve a bit, but would definitely be more challenging than regular honey. Let me know if you've tried it! (I do love creamed honey, gosh, a spoonful of that sounds delicious right now!)

Thank you for watching!

Thank you! I've never actually grown my own scoby from kombucha I've purchased, but I've heard it works. I would suggest getting a bottle of plain GTs or Health Ade (Health Ade would be my number one choice, but it isn't available everywhere) and putting that in a jar and let it sit at room temp for awhile. Maybe add in some plain sweet tea and see what happens. As I've said, I've never done it myself, but I reckon that's what the process would be. A new layer should form on top and then you could use all of that and the liquid as starter for a bit batch of kombucha.

No questions are stupid questions, especially when it comes to brewing! I'm so glad you found my video helpful and OMG SCOBY-DOO - what an excellent name! How is your brew going so far? I've never heard of kombuchaorganic!

Kendra Lee I will have a taste tomorrow and then I will let you know 😬 I think kombuchaorganic is situated in UK, not sure though (bought it through amazon) It works like a charm and the new layer of scobydoo started to form just after 3-4 days. I live in Gran Canaria, Spain and I guess the hot weather here causes scobydoo to thrive 😄

Oh España, how cool!!! Definitely keep an eye on your jun - I keep my apartment around 70 - 72 and can easily have two gallons ready for flavoring every four or five days (I actually just had to put two gallons in separate containers today to turn to vinegar because it was already overfermented after 3 1/2 days, omg). So if it is really warm where you are, you're going to be a brewing factory in no time. Also, if it seems like things are brewing too quickly, remove some of the scoby layer (I think that was my problem today, probably had a good two inches of scobydoos!).

So glad you found me, Tressa! Oh yes, definitely go with flavoring in a glass jar - I feel like individual bottles would get so yucky with all kinds of fruit or spices floating around (if you are just using juices, however, totally fine to bottles right away). Keep me posted on your brewing adventures!!!

Hi Carla! Aw, thank you so much! (I also moved from California to Wisconsin, so greatly reduced my level of stress!) I never could wrap my head around actually putting the flavoring fruits/herbs/spice/veg into the individual bottles - it just seemed like so much more work - I knew I wouldn't want to leave that stuff floating around and flavoring the kombucha until I went to drink it! I have bottles of kombucha in my fridge that are a few weeks old - wouldn't want stuff in there that long! Keep me posted on your brewing. :D

Karin, thank you so much, you are so sweet! Ok, so I'm a bit late to respond to this comment, but how is your kombucha coming along now? Yes, I think flavoring in a big gallon like that is a million times easier than putting flavors into individual bottles - I mean, what?! Who wants to strain those solids out of individual bottles?! Keep me posted on your brewing and if you have any other questions!!! xoxoxo

The first batch turned out good, taste just like GT's 🙂. I am doing a 2 gallon right now I'm actually checking on it today (day 7)when I get home from work. I noticed a big bubble forming on top so I watched a few videos on mold but I think it will be OK. I juiced a cucumber some lemons and limes and I'm gonna add a bit to see how it will taste

Mmmmm that mix sounds great! A big bubble on top is totally fine. I feel like you really have to neglect your brew in order to get mold (see the video I did a few months ago about mold - I was a super neglectful scoby mom!).

@@crazykenz4203 will do, but so you know I binge watch your videos so I can make sure I'm doing it right😁👍

Aw thank you!!!!

So glad this video helped you figure that out!!! If any of your friends or family drink kombucha, have them save the bottles for you...I guarantee you will need more than you think, especially once you really get brewing!

Amazon! Here's a link for the aqua one (I have another one that's blue, but it's not very good - the aqua one is great, though!) - fave.co/2gQuTpi

I leave the baby SCOBYs in with my brew until I have a couple inches of SCOBY and it is starting to take up too much space. Then I move them into another glass container and put in some liquid (and sometimes add in sweet tea to feed them). I cover this SCOBY hotel exactly like I do with the batches of kombucha (just with the dish towel and elastic hair band). I like to leave the SCOBYs in with the brew for a good amount of time to really get all that bacteria/yeast goodness into the brew! Let me know how your first batch turns out!

Yup! If not, they will continue to ferment too much. Refrigerating them will slow down the fermentation process.

So great that you know HEMA!!! I felt like such a weirdo the last time I was in Paris stuffing my suitcase with dish towels (next time I'm gonna ship a big box of stuff back - there was so much I had to leave behind cuz I bought too much!). As for leaving in the SCOBY - my two larger vessels can hold 3 gallons, but I only ever put in 2 gallons, so the SCOBY has plenty of space to grow. In my 2 gallon vessel, I can only put in about 1.5 gallons because I need space for the starter liquid and the SCOBY. With that said, because a new SCOBY grows each time you brew, eventually you will get a thick layer of them. Once it seems like it's taking up too much space, I'll do a little pruning and take out a few of them (and then put them in my SCOBY hotel to save for later in case someone needs one or just to have back-ups in case there's a problem with a vessel). I probably take out SCOBYs maybe once every 4 - 6 months, just depends how fast your brew cycle is (if your house is really warm, the cycle will be much faster, thus creating a shorter cycle and therefore faster SCOBY formation). So yes, short answer, I do eventually take out some SCOBYs, but not super often. If you are only brewing a gallon, I would say you would have to take them out more often because there won't be a lot of extra space in a gallon vessel. Have fun brewing! That book is so great - I was just reading it last night to get new ideas - just did a hibiscus ginger blend yesterday!

Thank you!

You had me at masticating juicer!!! I need to get my hands on some fresh turmeric - easy to find fresh ginger, but turmeric can be a bit trickier. Definitely going to try this, thank you!

They sell turmeric root at my local Kroger right next to the ginger root. But if you can't find it locally you can get it on Amazon. www.amazon.com/Turmeric-Root-Whole-Organic-Grade/dp/B00IOSKJ1K/ref=sr_1_3_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1508949561&sr=1-3&keywords=turmeric+root. A pound of turmeric root makes about a cup of juice. I saw your golden milk video and see you use ground turmeric and ginger powder there. I make mine with the juices from both. It just blends better and you don't have to heat it up unless you just want it warm. I add in Nuco Liquid Coconut Oil and sprinkle on a bit of cinnamon, cardamom, and black pepper. I have also been using Califia Coconut Almond. The masticating juicer is cold press which I have heard is better. I have been using the $100 Aicok for six months with no issues. The Omegas seem higher end, but are also over twice the price. If my Aicok breaks then I may get an Omega. The working parts look almost identical. It easy handles, turmeric, ginger, pineapple, leafy greens, and even lemongrass. Just a word about juicing turmeric though. It stains everything it touches yellow, countertops, fingers, finger nails, plastic, even glass. The stains will fade over time, but if you don't want people to think you have jaundice from yellow hands and finger nails after cleaning your juicer, here is a trick. Juice the turmeric first, pour the juice into a glass container and dump the pulp in the trash. Then without cleaning, juice your ginger. Your ginger juice will have a tiny bit of turmeric juice in it, but you're mixing it later so no problem there. No need to remove the skin of either the turmeric or ginger prior to juicing, just clean any dirt off with a vegetable brush. You can clean the juicer after the ginger without worrying about yellow stains or just go directly to the pineapple. Don't core or remove the pineapple rind either, juice it all. The inside housing of the juicer and the juice cup will be yellow forever from the turmeric, but nothing you can do about that. A couple other fun Kombu flavors I have messed with are root beer and black licorice.

Oh I hear you - my juicer is pretty orange from the turmeric I've juiced in the past! I should have looked at Whole Foods the other day when I was in there. I know there is a local farm near me that grows it - will try to get some turmeric from them. And I understand the pain of turmeric hands! (I sometimes will mix honey with dried turmeric and use it as a face mask - but only if I don't need to leave my house the next day.) I also have a masticating juicer - made the real splurge a few years ago and got a Kuvings - I love it so much more than the centrifugal-style juicer (had a couple of those in the past, liked them, but I found them to be so loud and quite stressful). How did you do the root beer and black licorice kombuchas? If it's the root beer recipe from Big Book of Kombucha, I think I actually ordered most of the ingredients for that one, just haven't gotten around to trying it. Fun stuff!

Got a chuckle out of imagining you with orange turmeric face. You should do a video like that. I watched your juicing video earlier tonight. You paid a lot for yours. My $109 Aicok works great. I only used the reverse on it the first day just to check it out. It's never jammed. I thought about getting a more expensive one, but since the reviews on the Aicok were as good or better than the Omegas and Kuvings, I went with it. They all use the same mechanics, a motor driving an auger pressing fruit into a stainless steel screen. There are two root beer recipes in The Big Book. The syrup on page 145 and the spice blend with options on 202. I also found this one on Food and Wine. www.foodandwine.com/blogs/2013/12/12/diy-root-beer-syrup The food and wine one has gentian root which its the primary ingredient in Angostura Bitters so that one has a bit of that bitters finish. I kind of like it, but others may not. I've messed with variations on all three. I usually make syrups with the spice blend though and use Stevia to keep the calories low. While much of the sugar and calories in the primary fermentation ends up in the new scoby, when you use sugar in your second fermentation, the calories are in the bottle whether as sugar or yeast. There are no calories in the escaping CO2 so they are still in the bottle in some form. You can also sweeten the pineapple. ginger, turmeric blend with a couple of Stevia drops or a tablespoon of sugar if you are so inclined. For black licorice I make a syrup from licorice root, star anise, and lightly ground fennel seeds. For all the syrups I simmer the spice blend for 5-10 minutes, let it cool for a bit, then pour into a mason jar with a cold brew fine mesh filter in it. Then I leave it overnight in the fridge before removing the filter containing the roots and spices.

All of this is great to know! When you use the syrups for flavoring, how much syrup do you use per bottle or per gallon? And yes, definitely paid a lot for the Kuvings - I got it about three years ago and considered it as an investment in my health. I also don't remember seeing the Aicok brand, but will keep that in mind. Still going strong with the Kuvings, though! Keep me posted on all of your brewing flavors - gonna have to try the root beer soon!

Thank you!

I get these off of Amazon - fave.co/2pLJqbO - all links for ingredients and supplies are always in the description section!

Well, thank you so much!!! The struggle is real with having too much kombucha - I totally understand! I've actually stopped brewing kombucha and now only make jun - but I still have too much! I can have two gallons of jun done in about 6 days, but I definitely can't drink that much. Kombucha tends to keep better for longer than jun - when I was making a lot of kombucha, I found that it was ok for about a month in the fridge. With jun, if I keep it that long, it is nearly impossible to open the bottle without a serious volcano explosion... Plus the flavor of jun changes a lot if kept in the fridge for too long. So, if you are doing kombucha and are cool with having a stock of it in the fridge, you're fine, just keep doing what you are doing. If you are just overwhelmed with brewing, though, and need a break - just pause your brewing. When you have a batch that is ready for flavoring, just take off the finished kombucha and do your thing with that, but don't start a new batch. If you leave a good chunk of scoby and some liquid in the vessel, you can easily take a break for a couple weeks and then come back to it when you are ready. Hope that helps!

Hi Christina, I hope you will like kombucha! My absolute favorite brand is called Health Ade - it's in these great amber glass bottles and it is brewed in small batches and all in glass (most commercial brewers brew in huge stainless steel vats, but I think kombucha brewed in glass is best). Health Ade is a bit more expensive than other brands, but the quality is excellent. I also like GTs - you can't go wrong with the Gingerade (if you like ginger, of course!). I've noticed that Costco has recently been stocking GTs Gingerade and also another brand called Townshends (which is also pretty good). Let me know what you think of kombucha!

I will! Thank you so much for the suggestions...I will give a good try.

Tell me more about your process! Regarding mold - make sure your vessel is covered so dust and bugs don't get in. Wash your hands before brewing. The one time I got mold, it was because I was taking a brewing break for about four months and didn't leave in enough starter liquid. Basically all of the liquid evaporated and the environment just wasn't acidic enough to keep mold away. (I did a video showing the moldy scoby - check it out, it's gnarly.) And regarding sunlight, I don't think a little bit of sunlight would hurt anything, but I do remember reading stuff about keeping it in a relatively dark area. I know that some people put their brewing vessel in a cabinet. I know that you want to have decent air flow (that's why I don't keep it in a cabinet...plus I just don't have extra cabinet space!).

Thank you - I made my apron! And yes, I definitely think that flavoring a gallon at a time definitely gives you enough of a flavor punch. I've never actually tried flavoring in individual bottles because I didn't want the fruit/veg/herb/spice sitting in there for more than 24 hours and didn't want to strain out individual bottles and then re-bottle them. There are definitely flavors, particularly when it comes to herbs, that can give a weird taste if left in for more than 24 hours.

Thank you!!! I got the tea ball from Amazon. Here is a link - fave.co/2pLGpIi Happy brewing!

I completely understand the overabundance of kombucha and how it will slowly take over your fridge! You have a couple options. 1 - Find some friends who love kombucha and have them help you drink it. :P 2 - Take a brewing break. When you have a batch that is ready to flavor and bottle, take off that liquid and leave a bit of starter liquid and scoby for the next batch. Keep it covered and just don't start a new batch for a few days. Also, be sure to remove scoby ever now and then. After several batches, you will end up with a pretty thick layer of scoby and that can speed up the brewing process. I haven't made kombucha for awhile because I switched over (and got hooked!) on jun (like kombucha, but with green tea and honey). Jun brews soooo fast - I can have two gallons fermented in about four days, then one day of flavoring, then another day after bottling to let some carbonation build. So essentially 6 days for two gallons. My husband and I can usually keep up with that amount, but I do often give some to friends (taking 2 half gallon bottles to a friend tomorrow!). I frequently will take a brewing break of just a few days so that we can catch up. I also do have a second fridge, so that is helpful for storing finished bottles. It was a real hassle when we only had one fridge - the ferments were completely taking over!

I have never actually tried kefir! I have heard a lot of good things, so do plan on working on that shortly. Once I do, I'll def do a video!

Hi Megan, ask around to see if any of your friends or friends of friends brew. You can always order one online (I recommend Kombucha Kamp), but I love the idea of sharing SCOBYs - imagine the web of people that could be sharing the same SCOBY!

Hi Lisa! Frozen fruit works just fine for flavoring - you can let it thaw out in advance or just use it frozen, no worries (I like to thaw it first and then smoosh it up a little bit before putting it with the kombucha). Regarding the stainless steel spigot, yes you are totally correct about not using metal with kombucha, buuuuut stainless steel is the least reactive metal and if you are going to go for a brewing method that uses a spigot, use a stainless steel one and not one of those crappy cheapo ones that come with the vessel - those are just plastic coated in silver paint and the paint will flake off and that's just gross. The stainless steel in the spigot is a very small part of the vessel and I don't really worry about it (plus when I took my kombucha class, my teacher discussed this and wasn't concerned...and neither does Hannah Crum from the Big Book of Kombucha and she is my kombucha guru!).

Thank you! Just checked - there are links for those items in the description section of the video (and they still work properly!!!).

@@crazykenz4203 Thank you.

I've since done a good bit of research and found the stainless steel spigots. Just something I thought about, I don't like is the silicon/plastic washer on the spigot. How does that hold out in the kombucha environment re leaching chemicals into the brew? Any thoughts?

I ordered the gallon glass jars from Amazon! I think this is the set I ordered - fave.co/2wvc81r

According to The Big Book of Kombucha, 4 - 6 teabags is equal to 1 - 2 tablespoons of loose tea (so about 3 tea bags per 1 Tbsp of loose tea). For one gallon, I use 3 Tbsp of tea, so I'd suggest 9 tea bags. Happy brewing!

Thank you so much for your reply!

Yup, I would still use that liquid as a starter, and the scoby will still be fine. If you let that liquid sit for a couple months, it will eventually become vinegar - this is when I would start to question if I should use this for starting a new batch. If you just let some kombucha ferment a little too long (you forgot about it, went on vacation, etc.), then you can still totally use that as a starter, along with the scoby. If you have kombucha that is overfermented, I liked to put it in a jar and let it turn into vinegar and use that for cooking or to put in baths!

@@crazykenz4203 thank you will do that. 🥀

I've definitely heard that with fruit and certain herbs, it's best to remove them after 24 to 48 hours (I've heard that mint, in particular, gets really funky after 24 hours). I have never left anything in longer than 36 hours myself, so can't say for certain, but I would recommend taking it out before putting it in the fridge. With the ginger, though, maybe it would be ok if left in longer (something with ginger just makes me think it would be ok if left a bit longer). With your purees, are they still kind of chunky? If so, I'd recommend straining before putting it into the fridge. Honestly it's all kind of trial and error to see what works for you. You could probably find a cheapo gallon glass jar or some other vessel for flavoring at a local thrift store (or if you know someone who works at a bar or restaurant, they'd probably have access to some of these vessels).

Thank you, I made it!!!

@@crazykenz4203 Awesome! Getting my SCOBY mother today. Already sanitised all my equipments. Fingers crossed everything goes well. Thanks for the detailed explanation in the video!

Awesome! Let me know if you have any questions! Happy brewing!

I generally give my scoby hotel fresh sweet tea maybe once a month to feed it - it doesn't need it every week. As for cleaning bowls and jars - I put pretty much everything that I use for steeping the tea into the dishwasher, but I hand wash the gallon glass jars and 16 oz. bottles by hand. I wash my brewing vessel by hand once every 3 - 4 months. I use non-antibacterial dish soap and rinse really well and also wash with very hot water - everything seems to be doing just fine with this method. I would definitely not use the hardcore antibacterial soaps for cleaning, as if any of that residue remains, it will kill your scoby. I'm not sure there is such a thing as lint-free towels, but the ones I've been using don't seem to have too many fuzzies on them.

thank you so much! this is so helpful!

J Strasser there are lint free paper towels

Absolutely! Apparently black tea has more nitrogen and that really helps to feed the SCOBY, but green tea will also work just fine. I do a blend of green and black (probably 2/3 green and 1/3 black - I think I did half and half back when I filmed this video), but I took my mother-in-law some SCOBY and starter liquid over a year ago and she only brews with green tea and says it tastes great (and that was SCOBY that had been brewing green/black tea).

The really big vessels I have are 3 gallons, but I do have one smaller 2 gallon vessel. In this case, you definitely cannot fit in 2 full gallons of sweet tea plus starter liquid plus SCOBY. You will probably be able to fit in about 1.5 gallons of sweet tea, along with your starter liquid - so that's what I would recommend doing (so just cut back proportions and steep tea accordingly). Eventually when you get a lot of SCOBY growth, you will need to remove some of them because they will take up a lot of space (I have definitely had SCOBYs wanting to jump out of the vessel when the 2 gallon vessel was super full). Put the extra SCOBYs in a jar and make a SCOBY hotel - and make sure to feed the hotel with some sweet tea now and then. So glad you are having fun brewing!!!

Where did you get those 3 gallon vessels? I can only find 2 gallon ones. Great videos btw!

Hi Kenny, no problem (I comment on videos that are super old, even my three year old videos!). I think it's usually fine for a couple months once it's in the fridge. It won't necessarily go bad - if it's left in the fridge for too long, it will either turn to vinegar (after a loooong time) or the bottle will explode. The colder temp in the fridge definitely slows down the fermentation process, but the organisms are still alive and will continue to ferment. If you have a bottle that is a few weeks old, be careful when you open it up - I have had a couple bottles volcano on me and all over my kitchen!

Yup, open the bottles one last time before putting in the fridge. :D

While it is in the second flavoring stage in the gallon jars, it is left out at room temp. I only put kombucha/jun into the fridge once it has been flavored, bottled, then let out at room temp for at least 24 hours to build up some carbonation. Once it has a nice level of fizziness, then into the fridge it goes. :D

I wouldn't. If you are going to take a break from brewing, I'd suggest to just leave it in your brewing vessel at room temp. When you want to brew again, just add more sweet tea. The scoby prefers warmer temps - the fridge won't kill it, but I think it would be happier at a warmer temp. :D

I would guess maybe five or six tea bags per gallon?

Hi Nicole, well, when I feel like babying my brew, then yes, I will use heating pads. I took a bit of a kombucha break because I had jun brewing soooo fast and couldn't drink it fast enough and didn't have fridge space anymore. I have been playing around with growing a kombucha scoby from commercial kombucha, though, and have a pretty decent batch of kombucha going that I started from a bottle of Health Ade original flavor. So yes, now I am using a heating pad on that vessel (because I love the flavor of Health Ade so much, but it's really pricey, so hoping I can replicate the flavor at home). Keep me posted on your brewing progress!!!

My thoughts exactly! I leave them at room temp and burp them every 12 or so hours until they seem like they have a good level of carbonation. At that point, they go in the fridge and then I no longer burp them. Putting it in the fridge really slows down the yeast - it's still slightly active, but not at as active as they are in a warmer environment. If you pull a bottle out of the fridge and it doesn't seem fizzy enough, leave it at room temp for 20 minutes - it will still be cold, but the yeast will have a bit of time to wake up and get the bubbles going. :D

Thank you! In the "How to Make Kombucha" video, I show an example of how I flavor a batch to make lemon ginger kombucha. Basically for ginger kombucha, you need some already brewed kombucha, then either add juiced ginger root (I like about 1/4 to 1/2 cup ginger juice for every gallon of brewed kombucha) or you can peel and chop up some ginger and let it infuse with the brew for 24 hours, then strain out the ginger and bottle. Enjoy!

If the old scoby sinks, it's totally fine. A new scoby should always form on top of the liquid. If you have just started a brand new batch, sometimes it can take a bit of time to get things going the way they should be. I never stir during the fermentation cycle - only when I am ready to take off the finished brew for flavoring.

I prefer to infuse a full gallon at once and then put it into individual bottles because I don't want the fruit to sit in bottles for too long. I think 24 hours is a perfect amount of time for flavoring, but I think the fruit might get a bit funky if it infused much longer. Do whatever works for you, though!

There is no real need to put it in the dark. Mine has never been in the dark. And, yes, you do need to cover it or fruit flies, for one, will be drawn to it. Make sure when you secure the elastic band that there are no wrinkles or they will gain access that way.

Sure, why not?! A few people have commented about using the discarded fruit as a topping for ice cream or yogurt. Surely there are some probiotics in the flavoring ingredients and would be a good addition to a smoothie!

Yes, for sure! I would suggest to put a bottle of original GTs (or original Health-Ade if you can find it, their kombucha is the best, in my opinion!) into a jar and add some sweet tea using green tea (use 1 Tbsp loose green tea in one quart of water, steep for 20 min, then add 1/4 cup sugar - let this all cool down before adding it to the GTs). Cover with some type of tightly woven fabric and securely fasten. You should get a nice layer of scoby in a few days. Then you can use this scoby and the liquid in the jar to start a big batch. (I know brewing with green tea will work - my mother-in-law brews kombucha using only green tea and she loves it. She didn't grow a scoby - I gave her some, but once you have the scoby, it should work.)

Hi Lenny, thanks for watching! If I have an abundance of scobys during that four month time, I'll transfer them to a scoby hotel. If the hotel is super full, I take a trip to visit a friend who has chickens and give them a treat (they love scobys). My kombucha hasn't been producing loads of scobys, but my jun tends to brew very quickly and produce thicker scobys. I actually just cleaned out both my kombucha and jun vessels recently and did a big scoby purge (and chicken feeding!). Once I get more jun scobys, I'll start up a jun scoby hotel. In general, I tend to leave the scoby babies with the mothers until they are starting to overtake the vessel (and seem like they are going to jump out of the vessel!).

Thanks!

I've never actually made coffee kombucha myself, but I know that The Big Book of Kombucha does discuss this topic and I think there's a recipe in there for it. I don't really drink coffee anyway because it hurts my stomach, but I wonder if I could drink coffee kombucha. Let me know if you try it!

I just recycle old kombucha bottles and the caps that came with them. GTs bottles work really well for reuse (but the labels can be hard to get off).

Kendra Lee thanks 😊 the kombucha bottles here all have aluminum caps. I really like the plastic caps that you use.

I've never actually tried using powdered ginger in my kombucha, but why not give it a shot!? (And if you do, let me know how it turns out. :D)

Hi Hannah! I buy one pound bags of organic tea (both green and black) from Amazon. I would say that I probably buy new tea every 4 months (but I'm also brewing jun with only green tea, and also make a chai concentrate with black tea). If you are just making kombucha, a pound each of black and green will last you several months!

Kendra Lee thank you so much I appreaciate it!

Hi Matt, sorry for the delay! For saying AH too much - well, I think that since you are aware of it, that helps to change the behavior. And if you notice that you are saying it too much while filming, just take a pause and re-film that part and then edit it out! Oh the magic of post production! Oh gosh Ohio weather and kombucha will not agree! I had to stop brewing kombucha in Wisconsin because it was just too cold and my kombucha was super fussy and I got tired of wrapping it in a heating pad and babying it. Kombucha likes it around 80 degrees (jun likes it around 70, so I find jun a million times easier to brew here in Wisco). If you really want to brew kombucha, I'd suggest wrapping it in a heating pad (don't put it on a heat mat) or put it somewhere in your home that is a bit warmer. A friend actually wraps her vessel in Christmas lights to provide some warmth, so that might be worth a shot, too. Happy brewing and let me know if you have any questions!

@@crazykenz4203 I actually have two heating bands so they are super warm all season since I even heat them in the summer because of the AC in the house! Lol....in the summer I put my 2nd fermentation in the sun room for a 3 day vacation to get all the flavors then off to the bottle! Seems like the type of fruit makes them fizzy? Like red fruit they explode but if citrus its a long road to get the fizz I want! Thank you for your hints! My hubby has some too i should use.

I actually made it!!!! Thank you!!!

You're welcome :) You're multi-talented !

Gallon jars ( fave.co/2pLWf5P ) and stainless steel spigot ( fave.co/2pLJqbO ) are from Amazon! Let me know if you have any questions about brewing. :D

Thank you, but I was referring to the one that has the spigot. I would like to buy just a one gallon size, and to replace the spigot, since I've heard that the ones that gallons come with usually leak, many complaints on Amazon, where spout / spigot leaks.

The glass vessels with spigots that I use are all either two or three gallons. I've never used just one gallon, but I think if you find a one gallon with a spigot, replace the spigot and you should be fine. I have listed links for all the products I use (including the stainless steel replacement spigots and the larger two or three gallon vessels) in the description section underneath the video. Good luck!

Kombucha likes it anywhere between 75 and 85, with 80 being ideal. I'd recommend wrapping the heating pad around your vessel, rather than setting the vessel on top. If the heat source is from the bottom, it can lead to an imbalance between bacteria and yeast (too much yeast will grow if it's hot on the bottom). 77 is great!

I never thought of that, great idea! Thanks Kendra!

My pleasure! Also, if your heating pad has an automatic turn-off function (mine shuts off after 2 hours), that works great, too! I actually took a little break from brewing kombucha for a couple months recently because I didn't want to have to constantly heat it, so this most recent batch was very much baby-ed and loved and heated, but it was worth it!

I put mine in a scoby hotel (I did a video on the subject!). Basically put extra scobys and some starter liquid into a glass jar and cover like you do with kombucha. I feed my hotel every few weeks - just give it a little bit of sweet tea when you are brewing a new batch.

Excellent question! The reason I do this is because I don't want the fruit or whatever I'm using for flavoring to sit in the bottles for a long time until I drink it. I've never left the fruit/veg/spice/herb in more than maybe 36 hours, and I guess I just imagine that it might give the brew a funky taste if you left it in for a couple weeks (and the fruit would look so gross after sitting in kombucha for two weeks - not appetizing when going to drink it!). Also, I really don't want to put the flavoring stuff into each bottle, then have to take out the flavoring stuff the next day, if I were to do a similar process to what I already do, just in individual bottles (cuz that's just a pain). I know there are certain flavoring agents that can give really bad tastes if left in too long, such as mint. So excited for you to start brewing!

Kendra Lee, thanks so much. Makes total sense! So glad I saw your video! 😊

I try to consume my kombucha within a month after putting it into the fridge. If I let it go longer, sometimes the carbonation just builds up way too much and then when you try to open it, you get a nice little volcano explosion... The flavor can also change if it's left in the fridge for too long (I didn't notice this too much with kombucha, but when I make jun, the taste of certain flavors can get a bit funky if left for too long). And regarding "burping" the bottles - I only do that when they are still at room temp, so just for the first day or two once it has been bottled.

Ok brilliant thank you 👍🏻

My pleasure! Let me know if you have any other brewing questions!

For kombucha, yes! Kombucha seems to be happiest around 75 - 85, with 80 being the sweet spot. With that being said, when I use a heating pad, I aim for it to be around 75 - 77 because I don't actually want mine to brew too quickly (because I can't keep up with two gallons of kombucha and two gallons of jun per week!). The heating pad that I use is one that shuts off after two hours, which is really convenient - I have never found it necessary to keep turning it on over and over - two hours turned on in the morning and at night is usually enough to keep it at a good temp. Now, if you are having issues with temperature and kombucha, you could also check out jun - this is similar to kombucha, BUT it is made with green tea and honey (rather than black tea and sugar) and it prefers a cooler temp than kombucha, usually around 70 (which is perfect if you live in a cooler climate). I used to live in California and my kombucha brewed very quickly because of the climate, but now that I live in Wisconsin, my kombucha tends to need a lot more love and baby-ing and heating, which I don't always want to do (such a bad mother, I know)! Otherwise, use a heating pad to keep your kombucha in a happy place!

Thank you for responding Kendra. this is my first batch of Kombucha and watching your videos has been a huge help..by the way I leave in Texas and it's been about 78 here crazy I know. Thanks so much for all you do...so thankful.

Oh then you should be good on temperature for kombucha! (If you use AC inside, then you may need a heating pad...I lived in an apartment without AC when I started brewing kombucha, plus I started brewing in summer, so it was wild from the beginning.) Keep me posted on your brewing adventures!

When you say mouldy, do you actually see fuzzy stuff on top? What color is this stuff? If it is actually mold, you should dump everything - all of the liquid and scobys - and wash out your vessel really well with soap and hot water. It could just be strands of yeast. Did you get new scoby growth on top? Do you know the temperature you are brewing at? How does it taste?

Hi Wenoka! Like you, I had also heard not to use metal in the brew. When I took my class, my teacher specifically said to avoid using metals like aluminum or copper, but that stainless steel is the least reactive metal and it should be ok. She also said that if we were going to brew using the method that I do and with a spigot, to definitely change the spigot to a stainless steel one. I don't worry about the strainer part at all because the brew only touches the strainer/funnel for a tiny amount of time (and I also have a couple of plastic funnels that I now use with a stainless steel strainer over it). So yeah, it definitely is a personal choice and also a choice of convenience regarding the use of stainless steel. Most commercial brewers (except for Health-Ade, they brew in 2 gallon glass jars without spigots) use stainless steel vessels, so I figure if I just have my small stainless steel spigot, it can't be doing too much damage (plus my teacher specifically said to use a stainless steel spigot and not the cheapo plastic one that comes with the glass containers). I don't want to brew in one gallon glass jars because it seems like a hassle to have to scoop out the brew - I'd much rather have the spigot. I've been brewing kombucha for nearly two years and jun for nearly one year, and I think everything is going pretty well! If you are concerned about using a stainless steel spigot, then I'd suggest using just a one gallon glass jar (or a two gallon one without a spigot, if that's possible to find!). I've even seen people using giant plastic containers - like the ones that would be filled with water or Gatorade at a football game for the team (I cannot get behind this at all!!!!!). Happy brewing! Let me know if you have any other questions!

Thanks for the detailed reply, Kendra! This definitely makes sense with the stainless steel. I have been throwing around the idea of keeping a continuous brew going and the spigot idea in a three-gallon jar will make it all so much easier than my numerous one-gallon setup. Last questions: Have you ever experienced vinegar eels? I just recently found out about these things! Yuck. Also, do you keep your SCOBYS on a continuous brew or in a hotel, or do you ever put them in the fridge to halt/slow production and have you had any issues with putting them in the fridge? Getting the Big Brew Book soon too. New Subbie :)

Yes, I definitely agree with you about the convenience of brewing in a large vessel with a spigot - my kitchen would be so crowded (I mean, worse than it already is!) if I had loads of gallon vessels for brewing. I've never had an issue with vinegar eels, but yes, definitely gross! I heard that it's only an issue if you add raw apple cider vinegar to your brew. I've never done this, so haven't had any issues. And as for scobys, I just put them in a jar next to my brews and cover it exactly how I cover my kombucha/jun. I've never put them in the fridge. If I am starting to have too many scobys, I do a little pruning and either toss them, give them to my composting worms, or give them to friends with chickens (chickies love to snack on scobys). I generally try to keep a scoby hotel going for both kombucha and jun, just to have backups in case something would get funky with my brew (but actually just cleared out all of my jun scobys for my friend's chickens, so don't have a jun scoby hotel at the moment). I don't have enough space in my fridge for backup scobys!

Hmmm, ok this sounds weird. Five weeks is way too long. How did you grow your scoby? What kind of kombucha did you use for growing it? How much sweet tea did you use and how much kombucha? What about temperature? How does the liquid in the container taste? I'm wondering if the kombucha you used was maybe a bit weak or maybe you used a lot of sweet tea, which diluted the kombucha a lot, thus making it hard for a new scoby to grow quickly. It's good that you have a little bit of scoby formation, but I would guess after five weeks, it would be much bigger! Give me some details on this process and I'll try to think of how to fix it!

@@crazykenz4203 (smiles wide) Very cool to reply and thank you very much as after watching this vid above I thought the same yours seems much larger but you are doing something I didnt do yet. you are pouring out 3/4 of the base leaving the remaining (starter tea) and using 3/4 that to make your bottles, then you make your new tea and essentially feed your scoby in place. I have never done that yet just my first time out. I did everything to spec, from cane sugar, to black tea (though I notice you used both black and green) in looking my Jar is larger than the one with the spout by just a bit. I used GT unflavored 2 bottles (2x16oz) start date is July 20th. its seems ok just looks NOTHING in thickness like that one so I left it in its quiet , dark , spot ..I thought If I moved it it would stop growing right. (check I.G for photos ) I have a good amount of yeast hanging from the bottom but the color does seem a little weak not dark... gonna taste it .. hahaha here goes nothin !! :) thanks again

How much sweet tea did you use with your two bottles of GTs? I have played around with growing scoby sbefore from commercial kombucha. I think when I did it, I used one quart of sweet tea mixed with one bottle of kombucha - that way it is nice and strong and the bacteria and yeast from the bottle of kombucha can really get to work. My guess is that you had a lot of sweet tea in comparison with your two bottles of brew. I think it will still work, but may just take more time! If it still tastes really sweet, you could even add in another bottle of GTs - just an idea!

Awesome! So glad you had success with your brew! To answer your questions... 1 - I think most metal strainers are stainless steel. Use what you have. I like to use a strainer held over a funnel to get out the big chunks and also a lot of the smaller particles of yeast. 2 - The big jars I use for flavoring are gallon glass jars. I got them off Amazon and there should be a link in the description section of this video for them. Otherwise, if you have a friend who works in a restaurant or bar, ask him/her to snag a couple gallon glass jars. Not sure how wide the opening is, but they're pretty standard on the gallon jars (probably like 4 or 5 inches across). 3 - Sure, use a craisin, no prob! It's just something to give it a little bit more sugar to feed the yeast and thus create more carbonation. HAPPY BREWING!!!

I order stainless steel ones off of Amazon - there should be a link in the description for all of the tools and ingredients I use! They're each about $15 and definitely worth it - those plastic ones are terrible, plus they are covered in paint and that will get off into your brew - gross!

Thank you so much Kendra :)

I haven't checked the starting ph, but I do have ph strips and I think the ending ph is usually around 3...I'll have to check my next batch when it finishes! I've been having way better luck recently with jun, though - I think the cool weather in Wisconsin isn't making my kombucha overly happy!

I have been making Water Kefir lately and the ease and rapidity of the ferment is really advantageous. I second ferment it with juice and get an awesome tasting drink with no caffeine and great carbonation in as little as 3-4 days! Keep up the good work on your videos.

I recently started making water kefir, too! I'm not in love with the flavor, though - I find it to be a little bit too sweet. How long do you do your initial fermentation period for? I started out making 1 quart of water kefir and let it ferment for about 4 days, then flavor and bottle and leave it at room temp for a couple days to build carbonation, but I feel like it never gets super bubbly. Tell me about your process - I think I'm doing something wrong!

Just like all fermentation the amount of time to reach your desired level of sugar conversion is variable. I usually do 24-48 hours for the first ferment then with a sugary juice added 24 to 48 hours for a second carbonating ferment. Refrigeration follows with consumption anytime after it is cold. If your WK is too sweet and not carbonated well, it tells me that the second ferment was performed with juice containing no added sugar and / or the first ferment was too long such that all of the initial sugar load was consumed with nothing left for fermentation in the second ferment (yes a run-on sentence!). As a result there really was no second ferment and the sweetness of the juice was not converted because the sugar craving yeast had no food. It appears that the WK grains like sugar more than fructose. I use juice that has sugar added and it works well. Now I am not the brightest light on the tree here, but I am doing some experimenting with different juices and the sugar sweetened juices works the best so far. I have been brewing wine and beer for quite a number of years and I am not familiar with the WK yeast and bacteria culture. Take a look at this: poseymom.com/water-kefir-growing-instructions/ Additionally, if your WK grains were "born" via a sugar diet, they will only thrive with the continuation of this diet. Good luck!

Thanks so much for the advice, Michael! I'm not really sure how I feel about the flavor of water kefir and might actually stop brewing it (my fridge is already overflowing with jun!), but what you said makes total sense. So cool that you brew beer and wine! Have you made any gluten free beers? I'm super sensitive to gluten (get wicked migraines from it), so have to be so careful. It makes me so sad, though, now that I live in Wisconsin again and am surrounded by so many awesome craft brews!

Hello! I ordered mine from Mountain Rose Herbs online, and yup, they are dried!

Cool. I LOVE the flavor of St.Germaine.

Isn't St. Germain awesome?! Oh, so good!

Hey! So I think I'm ok, but I do need to find a doctor here in Wisconsin. I know my iron is pretty much always really low, even if I take iron supplements, so that could be a reason. (Otherwise this was the third time I filmed this set of videos, so was kind of stressed and just wanted to not have to film them a fourth time, so maybe that was why?!) Thanks for checking in!

That'll do it! Anyway thank you for this video. Super informative, and detailed. Also, i was looking through your instagram and you are absolutely beautiful. Definitely the definition of a high fashion model

Aw thank you so much! My modeling days are pretty much over now (not much of an industry for it in Wisconsin and I got pretty fed up with the industry, too - it's sooooo toxic), but glad I had the experience! (But also really glad those days are over, ha!)

I can imagine. Maybe you can do a video on your experience?

That's certainly a possibility - although I think I need to decompress a bit from it first, I feel very bitter right now! Ha!

Aw thanks so much Lulu! Well, you could leave the flavoring stage go for 48 hours, but usually with fruit, I find that it has a nice flavor after 24 hours. Most of the sugar is consumed in the initial fermentation stage and then the second ferment is really just for a bit of flavoring. And then once it's past the flavoring stage and into individual bottles, I leave it out to build up carbonation, and sugar is also being consumed during that stage. I would say that if you let your initial ferment get to a point of having a nice sweet/tart flavor, sugar in the final product shouldn't be too much of an issue.

OMG thanks for letting me know! These cultures are so strong - it's really incredible. How much kombucha are you brewing these days?! I actually dumped all my remnants of my very original scoby (it was so sad - just needs more heat than what I could give it in Wisc!), but did grow another from a bottle of original Health Ade kombucha. Hopefully I can get that growing well - I do miss having some decent kombucha here and there (but have pretty much converted over to just jun).

@@crazykenz4203

1 jun gallon. 8 komb. harvest once a month. Way too much but oh well. strong stuff.

Holy cow, so much!!! I probably get about 8 gallons or more of jun each month, but my kombucha is pretty meh, so don't really count that in!

Hmmm, I would let it continue to do its thing - there is yeast in the process, so it certainly can smell somewhat yeasty (mine usually just smells more like vinegar). Keep me posted!

Ty for the reply😊

I'd suggest drinking your kombucha within 2 - 3 weeks after putting in the refrigerator. It does continue to ferment and if you leave it for too long, you can end up with a giant volcano of kombucha when you try to open it. I've definitely had kombucha hit the ceiling when I tried to open it!!!

@@crazykenz4203 thank you .You are great.🙏

Hmmm, I really don't know! Does moringa tea have caffeine? I think there is something with the kombucha scoby that likes caffeine (maybe I'm completely wrong on this, but remember reading something like that). What I would suggest doing is getting a nice batch of regular kombucha going, then once you have some extra scobys, play around with using moringa tea to make a separate batch. I have read about using alternative teas like yerba mate for kombucha and that it will usually work, but usually after a few batches, you should do one regular batch with black tea to strengthen the scoby. Keep me posted on this if you do it!

Thanks There is nothing on the internet about morenga kombucha but I will try a small batch and get back to you, I got two trees so I will make them fresh and powdered .

Ok awesome, let me know how it turns out! So cool you have morenga trees!

I don't add sugar when I do the flavoring stage. When I make a fresh batch of sweet tea to add to my original brewing vessel, I add sugar (but when I take off finished kombucha for flavoring, no sugar is added).

Hi Angela, I use just normal old raisins (I think organic). Nothing too fancy here!

@@crazykenz4203 Thank you kindly.