I don't understand how this video only has 150k views still. Of all the kombucha starter videos out there, this one is clearly the best, and it's the one I send to people when they want to begin their own kombucha starter at home.
This dude is the only man who can straight up tell me an ad is incoming and I will still watch it bc he deserves all the support. Thx for the content my man
As a home brewer myself, this video is the most comprehensive, concise source of information for those looking to brew kombucha at home. Could have used this while I was starting out, but learned something even today. Thanks!
I brewed buch back in college and learned mostly from blogs and the wonderful lady I got my SCOBY from, but this was so to the point and refreshing. No need to scroll through his buch making journey or ask about his grandkids!
As a professional fermenter, this might be the best introductory video I've seen. It's concise, comprehensive, and entertaining. I don't do kombucha anymore, but most of this applies to natural soda, tepache, ginger beer, kvass... really all other fermented beverages. Small correction, PET bottles (at least the ones designed for carbonated beverages) are generally rated much higher pressure than (most) glass bottles. You can actually get higher carbonation levels in plastic soda bottles than glass. I'll be recommending this video to all the people asking me how they can get into fermenting. Thanks for the great work.
I've never had it because they don't sell it where I live, once I realized that kombucha was one of the ingredients I stopped watching it as a tutorial, and started watching just for the entertainment factor
Do you have any idea who is replying to your comment right now? It's me, the FUNNIEST MAN ALIVE! My videos are so extremely funny, if you don't cry tears of laughter, you are allowed to DISLIKE my EXTREMELY FUNNY videos! Do you think my videos are funny, dear as
Something I like to do to speed up the cooling process of the tea is making only half the volume I aim for (with the same amount of tea ofc), dissolving the sugar in that while it's hot and then adding cold water from the fridge, usually that already ends up slightly above room temperature, but I've found it a useful shortcut :) also the fact that fruit flies love raw kombucha makes it a great DIY fly trap, just mix it with a few drops of dish soap to break the surface tension. I've had a bit of a fruit fly problem this summer and this has really helped 👌
Pro brewer here. The only reason I might not add fresh water to brewed tea (for fermentation) would be that the fresh water has NOT been pasteurized. This isn't a huge deal in kombucha, as the water probably doesn't have any bacteria/yeast that won't be present in the SCOBY. Also, heating up water (especially boiling) can help drive off any volatile compounds that could contribute off-flavors. But, there is kombucha and kombucha, so take my experience with a grain of salt.
I rarely write comments, but this one deserves one. So good video, you have told more than enough to newbie. I watched tons of how to make Kombucha but none of this tutorials was like yours. Really appreciate
If you want something really simple to start of with i'd recommend red onions! Super easy and super rewarding as you can use the onions on almost anything
This is simple but starting from total scratch (if you make your own scoby) it can take a month+ to have booch. A real simple ferment would just be putting some peppers in 2-3% salt water
Fantastic video! Significantly, for safety and also success, it's important to not use unfiltered tap water, as the chlorine content can harm the scoby and allow harmful bacteria to grow if the starting product isn't acidic enough so be sure to used filtered water!
Man! you hands down have the best informative, to the point, most consize food channel out there... And I watched a loooot of them. Who have time these days to sit through 30 minute long video to learn Sth that can take less than 10 minutes to teach!!?? I have been wanting to make kambucha for months now... Every other RU-vidr makes it such a big, looong complicated procedure with many tools to buy..... And I was worried to dip my toes into it.... You made it so much easy and not a big deal at all.... Amazing content and I really appreciate it. Thanks a lot
If you have a spare Scoby you can also trade it with others for different fermentation goodies like already junified scobies, gingerbeer plant, water or milk kefir, sourdough start... you get the idea.
As always be sure to check out more resources and channels too! *You brew kombucha* is a channel specializing in the topic and this lady's been at it for years. Helped me a ton in my noob brewing and answers a lot of questions.
You, my man, have the best understanding of how to create content for the internet I've seen. Much respect, i love all your videos. Your perfectionism and motivation are an inspiration to me. Cheers
Aww man, this brings back mad memories for me. My mom used to brew her own honey mead and kombucha in our downstairs hallway closet, using Manchurian mushrooms for the kombucha. First time I ever got drunk I was 6; I was always curious about what my mom was brewing in the closet so I finally got the courage to sneak in and take a sip out of one of the 2 jugs that were in there. I didn't know which was which but apparently I went for the mead. Good times.
I'm not really that into kombucha but I really liked watching the process. Fantastic as always, man. Also, great selection on the Skillshare ad. Pricing your work is a really tough thing to do for a lot of creators and I bet it would help a lot of people.
You're still the best, Shaq. No food/drink CC even comes close to achieving your level of effort, knowledge and charisma. I'll be with you until the end; or at least until you inevitably sell out to SquareSpace or MeUndies and your videos become full length ads with a cooking tutorial in the middle. Keep it up brother!
I want to keep my comment as succinct as your delightful videos, so thank you. This condensed, incredibly well scripted & thought out process of cooking video is the exact no bullshit streamlined design that will pave the way for future series. The fact that we get it for free is a glimmer of hope that RU-vid isn't dead *yet*. keep it up man im drunk, its 2am lets go
This was fantastic I wish I had seen it earlier when I started brewing my own kombucha. I never bought different bottles, I had so many GTS bottles that I just took the labels off and I’ve been using those for a year and they work fine although I have replaced some of the tops, I am making kombucha for myself a couple of friends and my parents And have 4 gallons going at various times so I’m never without thanks. Thanks for the advice on what to do with my huge Scoby hotel.
I've found that you can just do the entire fermentation in a closed vessel. The end result is a little more like beer than traditional kombucha but it is a great way to get the fizz without doing a second fermentation. I think you could probably just do an open-air ferment for the first week and then cover it for the next week -- as long as you added enough sugar to the tea, it should carbonate. I'm still experimenting with this method, though.
@@julicoole I'm pretty confident about the closed-vessel fermentation method so I'll say a little more about that. I mostly use mason jars and canning lids, though there are definitely better tools out there. The canning lids aren't really designed to keep pressure in, but they work well enough to get carbonation to happen. The canning lids and rings also tend to oxidize and get black stuff on the jars over time. I've never had any issues with exploding -- I think the seals fail long before enough pressure builds to be dangerous. for 1 quart of tea I use about a half cup of sugar. Once the sugar is dissolved and the tea is around human body temperature, add your SCOBY or starter liquid, seal it up, and wait 1 to 2 weeks! If you use a narrow neck bottle, be careful when opening, as it loves to spew everywhere. One note about this method is I'm not sure about the impact it has on the long-term health of the SCOBY. I've been doing it for a few months with a SCOBY I got from someone else and everything seems fine so far, but it's possible that something about this method would cause the SCOBY to deteriorate down the road and I just haven't noticed it yet. Also, since my original comment here, I've opened a few bottles of the stuff I made using that method of leaving uncovered for the first week, then covering for the second -- so I can say a little more about how that method looks. It worked! Definitely funkier and more acidic than the closed-vessel method, and has a fizz, but not quite as much of a fizz as I'd like. Might have to leave it in the covered state for longer than 1 week, or maybe Shaq is right and you do need to add more sugar before closing it up.
I had no idea you could drink kombucha without carbonating it first! This was SO helpful, my first batch was such a disaster, but you've restored my confidence.
feel like we are on the same wavelength i have my first batch of alcoholic kombucha brewing at the moment, perfect timing haha. everyone doing fermenting / growing during quarantine
Two tips. For the 2F, you can use the same store bought bottle that you have previously purchases, just sanitize. Also, using real fruit is easy, just strain before serving.
Love this video- have been making kombucha myself for awhile but I always have certain hang ups with the carbonation- I'll have to follow this closely and see if I get a different result! Thank u 🙏
great tutorial! as an experienced kobucha home brewer myself, the only thing that made me wonder is that you did recommend doing the 2f in a plastic container, as it can be dangerous to ferment foods, especially kombucha in anything non-glass, because little particles can make it into the brew thus intoxicating it. :O
While not exactly the same, I make ginger beer using a ginger bug. For carbonation, I used a washed and sanitized 2 liter bottle to do the 2F. As you mentioned, you know it's ready when the bottle feels rock hard. In my experience, the fizzy-ness matches and even surpasses storebought soda's fizzy-ness, even when the 2F was done in a plastic container. So for my own paranoia, plastic bottles for carbonation is good enough
I made my own kombucha for over a year. I traded Kombucha for water and milk Kefir but I still get the booch itch every now and then. You should try making tepache Kombucha. I would use the Kombucha for my second ferment with pineapple with skin, clove, cinnamon, and piloncillo. This recipe always gave me extreme carbonation.
I started my kombucha from scratch without seed, and it worked just fine! I let mine go for 2 or 3 months though, and it's insanely strong. Booch is awesome though, I like mine more on the sour tangy side, but the magic is you can do whatever you want, provided you let it ferment enough
@@wynngwynn no, Hakim is saying the title of the video sounds like the title of a 400 page book, and as someone who has read many 400 page books on making things, he's right
Proud that I started brewing kombucha BEFORE the Shaq vid. Otherwise, this is great. I'll now direct friends to this short vid instead of the Pro Home Cooks one, which is also great but longer and a bit more intimidating.
The explosion can also happen if you ferment fruits with water for a yeast starter/basic ghetto wine. That fruit leather thing is also dope, hope I can do that with my yeast water🤔
Thank you for another excellent video. It may well be the miracle juice that many proclaim it to be, but I've now tried kombucha with two different scobies and it just doesn't seem to agree with me. Starting with just a little each day, each time, after a week, I just get a continually upset stomach, which isn't that much fun. Tried Kefir as well. My body decided to become lactose intolerant the same week. FML.
I used the gallon tea bags as well when I brewed, made it hassle free. I didn't buy a SCOBY or MOTHER when I first started I just bought Raw Kombucha at a store and poured it in when the tea cooled. It's all the same bacteria anyway just needs to graze on sugar to grow. Just don't use the flavored stuff to start and be prepared to throw a lot of SCOBY away as you do this. My question for you sir. Can I make Kombucha with Stinging Nettles tea?
You should make one on home made kefir. It's way better than the store-bought shit, really helped when I was going through some serious chronic intestinal issues.
Btw you dont always need a SCOBY to start a batch. The SCOBY is just a biproduct of the bacteria. It's supposedly just a barrier/film that forms between the liquid and air. Using a bottle of kombucha with live culture is good enough for the fermentation, but adding a SCOBY is usually recommended because its has a ton of live bacteria and makes the process foolproof. Using a SCOBY probably cuts the initial fermentation time down considerably, but it's not that big of a deal.
Not only do I no longer "concern myself with the pitfalls of commercialized Kombucha" but this man has somehow miniaturized Hawthorne's vinyl so it can fit inside his microwave! Amazing.
So I’m genuinely confused: why do you need starter kombucha if you have the scoby? Wouldn’t those two things serve the same (or similar) function? Every time my sister has made kombucha she hasn’t used starter booch (afaik) and it comes out great! Edit: I was wrong. Very wrong. Sorry y’all!
i went through a homemade kombucha phase my junior year of high school and gave my friend a SCOBY. My friend started her batch and her dad threw it out and said it was dangerous :(
He was right. If my child risks serious food poisoning because of some hipster youtuber, I'm gonna intervene if I can. This stuff could really kill you.
@@stirfrypho1846 read the Wikipedia article about Kombucha. The positive health claims have no substance, yet there have been cases of liver and kidney failure, and death. The max safe dose is circa 120ml, or half a glass. That's very easy to exceed.
Just a heads up, you don't actually need the big mushroom thing to get started. It's called the pellicle, and is often confused for the SCOBY. The SCOBY is actually the finished kombucha product you add to your next brew. The pellicle is a by-product, and will form on its own. It does aid in the process though so once you have grown your own pellicle you should transfer it into your new batches.
