More Kombucha videos Please! Where did you get your scoby and what do you do if you don't have any starter tea? Do you think I could do this in my dorm room?
Yes, you can absolutely make kombucha in you dorm room. you will need a space big enough to house a gallon sized jar and somewhere to boil water. (not city water, and not a microwave) when I started drinking kombucha, I had to drive an hour to get it. then I started drinking 2 a day. It was costing me $50 a week. I had to do something! (before my hubby found out! lol) 2 years later, still no kombucha within a hour of me. I made my first SCOBY. I actually made 2 just incase. Every SCOBY I have used in the past five years has come from those first two SCOBY's. It's super easy! Buy a bottle of unflavored kombucha. I used GT's Original green tea kombucha. Brew a cup of green tea, add 2 tablespoons of sugar to the tea and cool to room temp. As the tea is cooling to room temp, let the bottle of kombucha warm to room temp. in a glass jar, mix the 2 liquids together. Cover the top with a coffee filter secured with a rubber band, put in a dark place for up to 3 weeks. In a week you should begin to see a film on the top. The film will slowly thicken and a SCOBY will develop. when SCOBY is 1/4 in thick it is ready to be used. you can order SCOBY's & starters online too.
Instead of just putting the loose tea in the bottle and having to sieve it out later, you can buy little empty tea bags and fill them with the loose tea and tie them off with rubber band or staple them. Some of them have little flaps that fold over. The relatively cheap at the Asian market or on Amazon.
Vegan Trucker Su Schindler Yes you sure could. I rarely use loose tea, but it was what I had in hand. I would’ve bought the tea already and teabags before I went out and bought tea bags to empty. LOL 😘
I buy the empty paper tea bags to fill, then you use an iron or flat iron to seal it. Easy! But don’t use staples, it’s metal and can kill the probiotic culture for which you drink it!
If possible I could use some help. I learned how to make Kombucha from your videos. I have now made successful batches, but I am wondering about this last one. I think we let it go to long. It is much more dry, and taste much more like vinegar. Perhaps because the room was warmer it advanced quicker. We also had 3 scobys in each one as we were trying to keep the scobys alive and did not have a motel yet. So, now we have a very dry, and a very vinegar kombucha. What do we do? Do we add more juice to it as we drink it? Is it ok to drink? Thanks for all info and really appreciate your videos.
suffolkshepherd The stronger it is, the healthier it is. You just have to be able to stomach it. If it’s too strong for you, you can bottle it plain and use it for starters.
You can back sweeten over sour Kombucha but it will alter the flavor a bit. Imagine adding sugar or honey to ACV to make it more palatable. I live in TX and when its warm my first ferment is about 5 - 7 days before it gets a bit acidic. If your brew is too strong I would start another vessel, add a scoby to that and use that strong Kombucha vessel as your hotel. Add a cup of the strong Kombucha as a starter and add a cup of sweet tea to your new scoby hotel to keep things going in there. Acidic Kombucha makes great starter tea. Best of luck.
Devi Ananta I don’t use swing top bottles because the fizzy brew is uncontrollable and you will lose most of it in the fumble. I use Gt Dave’s bottles. The glass and the plastic lids are thick and you can release pressure little by little. If you’re going to age Kombucha, double ferment a plain green tea or black tea Kombucha. Do not use a fruity additive. As you get comfortable with it you can do a little experimenting, like using lemon or lime. In however many months you plan to consume it, cool in fridge first. I know you’ll love it!!!
Lulu4Him I like that "4Him!!!" I never refrigerate my kombucha. It is good indefinitely on a pantry shelf. Make sure when you open them they smell good and have at least some effervescence if stored for a while. I would watch the fruity ones and make sure you use good thick bottles, like Gt's. As they sit, they will become more carbonated and the flavor profile will change for the better. I love to age my kombucha!!
Please How do you order the strawberry kiwi and the other blueberry tea.It's great to have good places to buy good tea. I follow your instructions and my kombucha is very good and now I will do scoby hotel . Thank you so much !
Françoise-Marie Thein I’m so glad to hear that! You can get the tea from amazon. The brand is Elmwood Inn. The flavors are Strawberry-kiwi and Blueberry infusion.
Stephen Lamshed Yes the recycled Kombucha bottles do great. I’ve reused mine for years. I prefer them over swing top because I have more control while releasing pressure 😉
Thanks so much for this video and sharing your flavourings! I’m about to start my first brew and I already can’t wait to get into the second fermentation after watching your videos. You’ve given such clear and concise demonstrations.
Yes, I'm actually curious as to what your measurements may be for a 1 gallon batch? I'm waiting on a friend to provide a scoby and currently deciding on which teas to utilize. Have you tried batches with other teas besides green tea? I'm hoping to use my loose leaf green tea and I'm worried an overnight steep may be too concentrated and perhaps come off as bitter.
cherrhang I have made Kombucha out of all teas. Green just happens to be my favorite. In traditional brewing of tea, you would never step for long periods, but with the fermenting process, the final product is not bitter at all. All the tannins are consumed by the bacteria. In the beginning, my Kombucha was weak, so I started experimenting and formulated the perfect recipe for my taste. It is different than most recipes and directions, but it is so good for green tea. Black tea is much stronger. It will have a full bodied flavor from regular steeping, it’s just not my favorite and it doesn’t flavor as well as green. My green tea recipe for a gallon is: •1 gal water (never use city water) •12-15 green tea bags •1 C organic sugar •1 C plain Kombucha (starter) •SCOBY
I didn't notice in the two videos that I've watched that you may have emphasized on sterilizing with vinegar the bottles and utensils, and rinsing hands to keep them clean. Maybe that would be a good thing to add for novices.
Vegan Trucker Su Schindler I would never add that because I don’t do it and I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s not necessary. Have you heard of vinegar worms? I think I may have mentioned that I use boiling water to sanitize the bottles. As a matter fact I don’t even do that anymore. Kombucha is so strong and hearty- the bacteria in it naturally clean its environment. If it was to go bad you would know it, believe me. I get all my knowledge about kombucha from actually doing it and learning from mistakes I’ve made. mistakes are very helpful. you learn a ton from them. Not from merely reading about all the dangers. This is not a dangerous beverage.😉
Storing in the pantry can be hazardous if they explode. With a plastic lid it may just blow off but you don't want the glass to break. Have you had any pop?
Vegan Trucker Su Schindler in 9 years I have had only 4 explode. It’s not a big deal, just messy. I’m sure the bottles may have had imperfections. With a plastic lid, when the pressure builds up it begins to round out. You can keep an eye on it and move it to the refrigerator when this happens. It will take weeks for this to happen. Just a helpful tip. ❤️
Vegan Trucker Su Schindler Oh My Gosh! You drive a truck in NYC!?!? I couldn’t drive a car there 😳 I love the city and watching the drivers are amazing to me. A very adventurous job to say the least. Awesome! 😍 You must have your comments turned off on your channel.
I don't think my comments are shut off but I will check the settings. It never occurred to me. Thank you very much for your enthusiastic common. I've been on the road nearly 23 years and I've seen pretty much everything. It's definitely an adventure that I'm glad I took
@@DTWellness I absolutely love listening to you. I wish your volume was a little higher though. I can barely hear you while I'm in the truck. I've got phone volume and stereo speaker volume all the way up and it's too low to make out every word. I first watched you at home and pays close attention to what you were saying just to hear your accent. I've lived in the Northeast my whole life. I now know I have a sister who lives in Tennessee. I love that accent.
Vegan Trucker Su Schindler I haven’t made a video in sometime due to circumstances in my life. But I am so ready to start again and it is going to be on! Lol I cannot wait and I will be doing it from a different room in my house where the acoustics are better. Going to be talking about everything 😁 Eventually I will get some better equipment. I have family in New Jersey. (Manalapin, Jackson & Bradley Beach) My cousin worked on the sea streak for years and we would go to the city for the day. He has since moved to the Florida keys. Mom passed away 5 years ago, but I have been once since. 😁
Ross and TJ max have 2 gallon jars with plastic spouts that work great. If I have cooled tea ready I will bottle, leaving starter in the bottom then pour the new tea right in. Its not exactly the continuous brew method.
Once you have filled the bottles with boiling water, you’ll find that those labels will peel right off while the bottle is hot. Save the label and use it to strip off the extra glue once the bottle is cool again.
I never refrigerate mine. I would if I was using swing top bottles. I have learned which flavors do better for my process. Lemon, lime & just plain green tea have been my favorites lately. These are never explosive.
What what? You mean those kombucha with just flower and teas with no sugar can be taste as good when leaving them 1 to 2 month in the pantry? Are you sure
riccia888 Absolutely! They are so flavorful!! The hibiscus carbonates faster if flower is kept in. The bacteria/yeast love the fiber. You don’t have to leave them for long to taste good, only to carbonate.
riccia888 Make sure you also try the Celestial Seasons peach and tangerine tea for your second ferment. Let the bags soak for 20 minutes then squeeze them into the brew for great color. You’ll be blown away!!
DT Wellness i just finish my second fermentation. I use frozen strawberry, small ginger and mint leaves. I went to the store and i cannot find any flower you mention even lavander😩 I usually start my 2nd ferment on the 14th day. I tried the 7th day but i get arthritis in my joints maybe because of the sugar not yet fully consumed by the bacteria.
riccia888 You can find the tea pretty much anywhere. Hibiscus can be found in the Hispanic section. I get my lavender from World Market. I have to travel an hour for it. 😳 Dried lemongrass is amazing too. I’m sure you can find any of these on Amazon.
You don't want to add any flavoring to your first fermentation. You never mix your SCOBY with anything more than straight up tea, no flavors. In this video I am doing a second fermentation. At that time you remove your mother or SCOBY from your tea, pour into bottles, and add flavor. Your flavor can be in the form of fresh fruit, fruit juice, dried fruit, or herbal teas. There possibilities are endless.
