I have saved this video to my favorites. I have ordered all needed Kombucha supplies and they will arrive this Friday. Just wanted to say THANKS for taking the time to post all of your Kombucha videos. They are appreciated.
suffolkshepherd Great!! Thanks for the wonderful compliment!! 😁 on this video I edited out adding the SCOBY. So please don’t forget that important step.
No worries. I have seen all of your Kombucha videos. From Amazon I ordered : A Scoby that comes with a cup of starter Kombucha. I also got a nice looking 2.5 gallon porcelain crock that is shiny black so it matches my wife's kitchen. Organic green tea. Organic black tea. Thanks and I will boot this video up when making.
We are at day 7 in our first ever kombucha, a 2.5 gallon crock. It smells sweet. looks fine. The scoby has been on the bottom since the day start. I have watched this video several times. When making Kombucha, and then watch this video, i pick up a few things that I missed. We also bought a Kombucha heater for the crock to sit on. It is keeping the Kombucha between 70 at night and 73 in the day time hours. So, so far, so good.
suffolkshepherd Sounds Great! In a 2+ gallon crock the fermentation time is usually around 10 days. It is fine for your SCOBY to be on the bottom. You should have a baby SCOBY forming on the top. Since you have a crock I’m thinking it has a spout at the bottom, which is a great way to sample your brew during the process.
Agree 100% with your recipe, which is almost exactly like I've been doing. The kombucha ferments perfectly, everytime....thanks for sharing the video, I'll be sharing it with my friends too....!
Success! Using this video, our first batch is a hit. And we also grew a new giant terrific looking Scoby too. We shared a Blueberry Kombucha with a long time Kombucha drinker and she said its the best she ever had. Our second batch, 2.5 gallon batch, is underway. Thanks Again
suffolkshepherd That is AWESOME! I have my second batch in 2nd ferment stage. I started a Continuous Brew in a 2 gallon with a spout 5 Days ago. I used organic green and black tea.
Good deal. It is exciting on those first few batches. Then it becomes a luxury to have several batches. We have 24 quart jars of Kombucha in our refrigerator. And the flavors range from Papaya, blueberry, mango and more. And we have two, 2 gallon batches that will be done soon. This video was a gold mine. Or a Kombucha mine lol
you can drink your kombucha as soon as you bottle it. If your doing a second fermentation, you still don't HAVE to wait. You will have to play with your wait times to see what suits you the best. 4-12 days is a great duration. the longer you wait the less sugar content will be in your brew and the more carbonated to will be.
You just confirmed the things I'm thinking about the forming kombucha. I'm on my first batch. The culture it's not as sensitive as people think. Ye your last comment it's very forgiving. thanks for the vid very helpful
hi! great content! i just bought a scoby mother and want to relocate it from the plastic container it came with ...besides is o the refrigerator because they gave it to me cold... i wanna know if i can use honey o agave to sweeten it ot has to be sugar? how can i prepare the tea to traslate it to a jar?
Daviana Esteves You need to use sugar. I use organic sugar. All you have to do is brew green or black tea, sweeten it as usual, let it cool to room temperature. Also, bring your SCOBY to room temperature , then add the SCOBY. In a week or so you will have two SCOBY’s and kombucha starter. Cover the top of your jar with a coffee filter and rubber band. Do not put in refrigerator 😉
Hi great video thank you, I need starter kombucha, I only have the scoby with just very little Kombucha, how or were can I get Enough for a gallon? Thank you 🙏
I do enjoy your video. I like the idea of using green tea instead of black tea for a more flavourful final product . Can I start using my Scoby that is used to black tea directly into green tea ? I don’t have a green tea starter either Justo
J N - green tea dilutes the bacterial potency of the scoby. You can use the scoby to make a black tea and green tea interchangibly. If you are using 100% green tea use black tea for the next couple of batches so as to strengthen the scoby back up to full potency before doing another batch of green tea. You can also do a blend eg 50/50 black/green or 75/25 black/green.
I saw you only put the kombucha in the new brew. I've seen people put kombucha and the scoby in and reuse the scoby. Do you not put the scoby in? And just make it grow a new one? I may have missed something.
Do you have to keep washing the fermentation jar each time you add new sweet tea or can you just keep using same jar? Even though tea "scum" is on sides? And does putting the scobie in bowl of started in the meantime keeping it covered in refrigerator change the taste of the scobie? I'm on my 5th batch & its getting sour within 7 days. I tried just dumping old scobie using baby but still sour. No bad fungus though it's all still looking good. I also use coconut sugar organic no good. Thank you for any help. 😊
I don't wash my jar if I have cooled tea ready to start my new batch, I pour it right in. If its gonna be a few days, I leave my SCOBY and starter liquid in jar until I'm ready, then I'll pour the contents into a bowl, wash my jar with hot water only and start my new batch. Kombucha should have a slightly sweet, slightly sour flavor. When you say yours is sour, do you mean it tastes like vinegar? Have you tried it in 5 or 6 days? Is it really warm where you ferment? Are you using a 1 gallon sized jar? How does the flavor compare to store bought kombucha?
DT Wellness Thank you for info. I was referring to vinegary(sour) but my first 5 times I make bucha tasted like store bought but better. I'm finding my last ones were almost sour their so vinegary & with brewing in a week I do use gal jars & 8 tea bags 1cup organic sugar. My last batch I made just like your recipe it's still brewing. I was just letting bottled buch go for a few days. I thought it would get to vinegary if I let it go. I also thought you had to check them so they didn't explode. I had my coconut sugar ones in refrigerator but took them out again to wait like you suggest.
Its crazy how you can do the exact thing and the kombucha tastes different from the previous batches. If you do not add too much sugar in you second ferment, there is very little chance of explosion. like none. UNLESS you have a weak bottle or a tiny crack that you didn't notice. Im loving double fermenting with lemon and lime. also, the vinegar (acetic acid) comes from the first fermentation, not so much the second. in the second fermentation it will become less sweet, depending on how long you leave it, but not more vinegary. A little bad news, If kombucha has been refrigerated, it must stay refrigerated but check it to see before tossing it.
The ones you said you have left for months to age... Do you have to regularly "BURP / RELEASE EXCESS GAS" ? I've seen other videos saying if you don't do that then your bottles will explode. Is this true?
When aging my kombucha, I never burp the bottles. For aged kombucha, you do not want to use any second ferment flavors that have high sugar or fiber content. Use fresh lemon juice, lime juice, or plain unflavored black/green kombucha. I reuse Gt’s kombucha bottles. If the pressure builds up too much in the bottle the cap will round out. If you notice this happening, there is probably too much activity in that bottle to be able to age it. You would want to put that one in the fridge. In all my years of bottling and aging kombucha I have only had three bottles explode, due to defective or weak bottles, once the cap blew off. It’s not a big deal, just messy. If concerned, you could age kombucha in a cooler with lid secured. If there was an explosion, the glass and mess would be contained.
Dale Lusk Your brew should be a mix between tart and sweet it will definitely have a vinegar flavor. If it taste too vinegary to enjoy, you probably fermented it too long on the first ferment. It is still safe to drink and very healthy but you have to be able to enjoy it. If you have not ever tried kombucha, I would suggest going to the grocery store and buying a bottle so that you would have an idea of what it is supposed to taste like. Homemade is so much better than store-bought. A lot of factors go into the perfect timing of your first ferment. It is a living beverage so it does not always process the same. The temperature of your home has a lot to do with that. The warmer it is in your home the more active the bacteria and yeast, which will make a faster ferment. Usually, 7 to 15 days is a good amount of time. You can start tasting it after seven and then bottle it when the flavor suits you. I hope this is helpful.
Nice video. I learned a lot. I let sit my 2 gallon jar without spout for 15 days with this cold weather and it has a perfect flavor, scoby was small and thin. I have another one like yours I think is 3 gallon but I though it was too big. I think I am going to use it now
@@DTWellness ohhhh You've just answer my question. I was wondering why my scobys weren't getting fat and beautiful like a pancake as I've seen on another videos. thank you so much for your reply ;)
Thank you so much for your very good video. I want to start as soon as possible. I don't have a fermented kombucha yet. For the beginning can I buy a bottle of Kombucha from store ? Green tea Kombucha ?
Great question! It depends on how much sugar the added flavor contains and how long it sits during double fermentation. The less sugar the added flavor has, the less carbs. The longer it sits on the shelf, the less carbs. After bottling, as your kombucha, sitting at room temperature, the probiotics will continue to eat the sugar in the beverage. They will expel Co2 as a byproduct of that process. The more sugar in your beverage, the more carbonation during second fermentation. To answer your question depending on those variables, it will have between 4 g -10 g of carbs per 8 ounces. If you are worried about carbs, I would recommend using low sugar flavors like lemon, lime, lavender, hibiscus, and ginger to flavor your kombucha. Then, let it double ferment for at least a week. I have bottled and double fermented plain green tea and really enjoyed it. I hope this helps.
Thanks.😀 for your reply, but I have my scoby, is still good and add new drew of tea? Is still good and I start new tea,cause my was already alcohol and doesn't taste good like alcohol, I left it for a week.Help please
Dale Lusk Yes your SCOBY is still good. If you are brewing Kombucha with tea, sugar, starter (fermented Kombucha) and a SCOBY you will never get an alcoholic beverage that tastes good. I am very sensitive to alcohol and have second fermented my Kombucha for several months and haven’t gotten an alcoholic beverage beyond 1 percent. If you Kombucha has a strong vinegar taste after a week I have a couple questions: How much are you brewing? A quart? A gallon? And what is the temperature of the area that your Kombucha resides?
Dale Lusk a quart is going to process a lot faster especially in those temps. I would check your brew after 3 days and then every day after until you like the flavor. 😉
I have heard several, on RU-vid, say that you have to burp your bottles on the second fermentation. When you have two or three months of Kombucha put back, it sounds like that could turn into a chore. Does it reach a point where that is not necessary? Also, do you not bottle yours and put it in the refrigerator? This is the first time I have watched your video so you may cover this in others. Probably should have checked it out on my own. LOL!!
This seems to be a concern of many. I do not use swing top bottles because I don't feel like I have any control with them. If I had to burp my bottles I probably would have quit before I got started good. I just posted a video about this topic. Check it out and let me know if you have any questions. "Kombucha Tasting and trouble shooting 3-24 month second fermentation"
Hi, I believe you when you say the longer the second fermentation, the better the taste but won't it explode? I don't have access to super strong thick glass, even so, won't the lid pop out? Can I loose the lid for a second every two days to let some CO2 escape?
Mightydawndart Hi! Yes you can have explosion, but depending on your kombucha. The amount of sugar & fiber in you second ferment are the explosive factors. You can double ferment straight up green tea kombucha for months. Lemon and lime are great for long ferments. Also known as aged Kombucha. I never put any of mine in the fridge. I reuse gt's bottles. They are perfect for aging your brew. I have only had 2 bottles explode (broken glass) in the four years I've been bottling at home. One was a vinegar bottle and one a swing top.
I just started drinking kombucha and am already addicted 🤪. So at this rate I am going to go broke with grocery store prices. I am very excited to start making my own. Maybe I misunderstood something. On the video after you brewed black tea I thought you added in some green tea. Was that just your green tea starter? So if I’m starting brand new do I just do the black tea ferment and save a starter for the next batch. Like I said, I may be totally confused. I’m blonde as well 😂🤣.
Angel Grayson Hi!! You can use black and green tea interchangeably. Green tea kombucha is my favorite. It contains EGCG and flavors better in the second ferment. 🥰
Hello, I like your video about Kombucha. However I'm worried about your advice not to keep the kombucha brew close to any electronics. Can you give a short answer on why this is? For I put mine in the electronics closet (with the door a little open) because it's the only place in the house reaching a temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius). Thanks in advance for your help.
You don't want to brew close to electronics because of the electromagnetic field, which can deplete nutrients and could kill some of your bacteria/yeast. I also would not boil my water for the brew in the microwave. Happy kombucha is made in a calm, negative ion environment. From my experience, kombucha is very forgiving. If the flavor is good and it's active, I wouldn't worry. The benefits of drinking it would still outweigh your brewing issue.
Just double checking...are you saying you let your second ferments go for months without refrigerating? Don't they get so fizzy they have the potential to explode after a few days?
Ellen Drottar: It's a wonderful life I don’t do every bottle I brew., but yes from time to time I’ll let some double ferment for 4-6 months. When you do this the second ferment can not be flavored with any extra sugar or fiber. Plain Kombucha, lemon or lime do great- but no fruit fiber or it may explode.
I know you said tea bitter won't come through in final product but wanted to mention that squeezing the tea bags releases a lot of the tannins, really great tips can't wait to brew I just started a scoby with plain GTs and a friend is bringing me one of their babies tomorrow
yes, Many health benefits of tannins & theanine! You will find with brewing this way, your kombucha will be a very calming drink. I'm excited for you. Have fun!
DT Wellness I really like kombucha been drinking store bought for a while and had a few home made, i also like to play with flavors since i used to be a mixologist *fancy bartender), I got a couple free cases of GT trilogy at work the other day and gave a bunch away and a couple of friends started talking home made and one said he had scoby so I thought it would be great to make some, I haven't found as many recipes around the Internet as I thought I would maybe it's kind of limited due to being sour, what are some of your favorites I was thinking of starting 2 pineapple basil & the second something with spices turmeric or pink peppercorn, what are some of your favorites
I love trying different flavors. Some work and some don't. Pineapple is very good, but extremely high in sugar. It will become very carbonated very quickly. I love florals: Lavender, Hibiscus, Lemongrass and citrus: lemon/ jalapeno, Meyers lemon has a great orange aftertaste. Ginger/ Cayanne is good if you like spicy. I also like to use celestial Seasonings fruit flavored herbal teas on the second ferment. Just be careful not to use any spices that have antibacterial properties. Let me know what deliciousness you create!!
will do I was thinking for the 1st one either pineapple + basil or tamarind + lime + coconut + mint or keeping it plain and just adding some simple syrup to create carbonation depending how it tastes plain, I also really like hibiscus tea, I was thinking for the 2nd fermentation to take some of the 1st stage liquid and using that to blend the flavorings then running that through some fine mesh to strain out solids. I started reading about vinegar worms and how they can contaminate scobys and to be careful if getting one from someone so I tossed the one I was gifted since the one I started from GTs was already forming a scoby, I also used raw unfiltered red wine vinegar to clean things so hopefully i dont get worms if i do i guess the 1st batch will have been a learning experience, read that the scobys themselves are just a structure or waste product made of cellulose that the bacteria inhabit and that's why babies form at the surface to keep them where they can exchange gasses. I cold brewed oolong yesterday 20 bags to 1.25 gallon with 1.5 cups cane sugar made into simple syrup and poured in my starter (2 bottles plain GTs with the baby scoby) this morning.
Sounds like you're doing some experimenting! I have been Developing SCOBY's for years and have never had any worms. I don't think that is going to be a problem. Once gnats got into by brew and laid eggs, which birthed larvae. I do recommend following the usual directions (my recipe)for the first fermentation. Unflavored tea, water, sugar. I think your simple syrup recipe is going to be some kinda sweet. you'll have to let me know how it turns out.
Hello I'm going to ask now before I watch your video as you may answer part of my questions as it goes. I made my first batch of K with out a Scoby I used some left over mother from GT's Gingerade and it now has a fairly strong looking SCOBY I started process on the 8th from what I've read that's pretty fast. I also kind of combined a few peoples ideas into one and added ginger to the boiling process and some juice since it's a pia to filter a gallon thru coffee filters yes it was rather tech free process the ginger certainly got the process going faster that at least a person I know in WA that only drinks plain. Anyway when I checked on it today, prior to today I was to afraid to disturb the SCOBY formation until it looked like it had a form and look to it so gently moved it and go a spoon full it was definitely vinegary. To note I used a cup of sugar to gallon of water in addition to any carbs in ginger that's all. I must be careful as I'm allergic to cane sugar and must use beet. Sorry to be so verbose trying to think of all bases you may ask so it boils down to this when it becomes vinegary can it be offset for example by adding a bit of fruit or even sugar honey or something like hibiscus petals to cut down on the vinegary taste and also provide one with effervescence in the jar that its decant in or is this batch considered failed because it's pretty vinegary even though I grew a nice SCOBY? Other ? Is I have had only GTs SCOBY or kevita both were a bit vinegary an I did not consider them sweet at all. Kevita even adds stevia however if SCOBY needs to do something in the second ferment that requires carbs or a not too complex sugar Stevia logically won't work. I even saw one man place 1/2 t of sugar in each bottle which I thought was rather a lit compared to a woman the placed a couple of raisins in each bottle to obtain fizz or enhance the flavoring of the liquid not necessarily sweetness except to provide the effervescence. Hopefully I didn't ramble too long and you'll understand what I mean thank you for any advice that you might have.
samasia skipperable Hi! The short answer is No. once it gets to the extreme vinegary flavor there's really no coming back. I know there are a lot of people saying a lot of different things, and everyone's taste is different, But I think it's best to brew your first ferment unflavored with a SCOBY. They are extremely easy to make at home. -1/2 C green tea, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 C plain Kombucha like Gt's, everything room temp. Let sit in dark room covered w/ cloth until forms 1/4 inch SCOBY. The SCOBY you grew wasn't the same since it was made with additional fruits. The bottom line is yours brewed too long and when that happens it's vinegary and you won't get carbonation. When you add the fruits or extra sugar it processes faster. Don't even stress about disturbing the SCOBY. It doesn't make a difference. You can make a first flavored ferment but I usually trash that SCOBY when it's ready. If your just starting, I would stick to what works, then start playing. 😉
Can you please provide some evidence that the second fermentation can last for month(s)? All the instructions I've seen recommend 3-10 days plus there is even a risk your bottles can explode if left too long from to much gas being produced.
Anthony Ramos You can age you brew for long periods. It's wonderful! Make sure to use thick glass with strong lids like Gt's bottles. You would not want to use fresh whole fruit or any second ferment additive with a high sugar content. I actually happened upon doing this by avoiding flavors that weren't my favorite. I would just leave them in the pantry until one day I noticed how clear it had turned. I tried it after 8 months and it blew me away! Much like champagne. I've been doing this a long time and have had only 2 bottles bust. Neither were Gt Daves bottles. 😉
Yes, aging you kombucha like aging wine transforms it and makes it a beautiful beverage. I don't do this with kombucha that I have double fermented with a high sugar additive like fresh fruit. I would also make sure to use a strong bottle with thick glass and a strong, tight lid. I use recycled GT Dave's Bottles. Also, don't age your brew in a warm place, around 70 degrees is perfect.
Did you skip showing when you added your scoby to the tea? You went from talking about the one time you had a bad batch to then coverng the tea with a filter. I see your scoby hotel off to the side, so I'm assuming you added one to the top?
Angel Grayson Since match is ground tea leaves, there would be a lot of tea dust and leaf powder that would be collected in your SCOBY. I think whole leaf tea would be best. You could add a little matcha in the second fermentation 😉
Wow.this weeks brew, I used apple cinnamon sticks for the 2nd ferment and it taste Wonderful! This weeks brew is the best I've made so far. I used real apple slices and a forth if a stick of cinnamon. Folks this is Really Really good.
Martha Lucia Kombucha has so many benefits, but the main one I have experienced is a very strong immune system. I can’t even remember the last time I was sick. 😁
Lina Adams I drank Gt Dave's for years and saved the bottles. They are the best bottles for kombucha. If you know anyone who drinks it, ask them to save the bottles for you. You will need 6 for gallon. 11 for 2 gallons. 😉 You can use any glass bottle with plastic lids. The thicker the glass, the better.
Lilia Cerda you can brew a cup of sweet tea, pour in a 1/4 cup of unflavored kombucha, cover and put in a closet. It will create a SCOBY but may take a while. 😁
I did that. I used a whole bottle organic raw unflavored kombucha. I added that to 4 cups sweet tea brewed with 1/2 cup organic cane sugar and 2 tea bags. My Scoby formed in 2 weeks. Make your own. No need to buy one
i read that you shouldn't because apple cider vinegar is alive (fermented), and can cause issues w/ the scoby. The recommended vinegar to use if you do not have starter tea is distilled white vinegar.
The components of an ACV mother are slightly different from a kombucha SCOBY. Since you have both, you could try it to see what happens. I'd be curious. Let me know!
There are a few key strains in a kombucha SCOBY that distinguish it from an apple cider vinegar SCOBY. I recommend you get your kombucha SCOBY from Happy Herbalist. They research everything and lab test their cultures. They've even made a water kefir kombucha hybrid based on government research. There are many other varieties of SCOBYs which they also sell.
Any advice on how you start a scoby?i have one on the shelf, and someone says after 8 days I should have a scoby. It’s going on a month and no scoby yet
DT Wellness I made 1 cup of black tea and used 1 bottle of GT kombucha ginger aide because I couldn’t find the original kind. I put it with about 1/2 c sugar and now it’s been in the back of the pantry. I see something light in color a few bubbles around the edge and it’s now going on a month since it’s in there. The tea looks really thick and looks like something in the bottom. I’ll check it again tomorrow
@@LaReina203 SCOBYs should only be made with plain unflavored tea. Unfortunately even GT's now adds fruit juice to their original kombucha. SCOBYs mixed with fruit juices can produce mold. If your SCOBY does form, I wouldn't use it. You can order a healthy SCOBY from amazon that comes with a starter. Then you will have healthy SCOBYs coming out of your ears.
DT Wellness thank you. I do see something forming but it doesn’t look healthy. I will toss it and order one since I can never find the original kombucha in the store. When I do see it, I will try than.
I' m fairly new to Brewing. I've been leaving the lid on my 2 gallon jar, instead of using a cloth (or coffee filter!). seems to brew just fine. Do you think it really improves the quality or speed of brewing to have a more porous top?
I will. Of course, it does breathe, with glass top, but everyone says use cloth. We'll see. What also got my attention was leaving a second ferment in a pantry for a year. I would have thought it would burn itself out brewing, then spoil. Fascinating!
steeping the tea that long doesn't make the kombucha bitter after fermenting? just did my first brew and only steeped 5 min for black tea, hearing conflicting things on steep time but im looking to increase time
I always steep mine until the water is room temperature and the final product is never bitter, way better than store bought! It gives it a full bodied flavor. I can't stand weak kombucha. You'll have to try it, you'll love it. I don't know if you've fermented green tea, but I like the flavor much better than black. I do like mixing half green and half black. I hope this was helpful.
If you are using a mix of even 1 green tea bag or all green tea. You have to follow proper green tea brewing methods(time and temp) otherwise it will be bitter. Black tea is very forgiving on brewing
Not true. Ive been brewing green tea kombucha for years. it has never been bitter. I find cooling it with the bags in give it a full-bodied flavor. If brewed like usual it's light and weak. it will be bitter after cooled, but that bitterness is never in the final product. The probiotics do a beautiful job!
Lily Langman You are more likely to get a ginger ale flavor from water kefir than kombucha. Fresh ginger chunks of fresh juiced ginger can be added. It is delicious but it doesn’t taste like ginger ale.
When you say you had a bottle blow up, do you mean the glass broke or when you opened it it went everywhere? If either on of those happened I would have to guess there was a whole lot of sugar added because that doesn't usually happen that quickly. Are you double fermenting in a really warm place? I always use GT Dave's bottles, they are thick glass and they never explode. In all the years I've been making kombucha, I've had 2 bottles bust. One was a vinegar bottle, the other was a swing top bottle.
The glass container with the spout is 2 gallon's. One gallon takes 7 days to brew and the 2 gal takes 10 days , depending on the temperature of the environment.
I am SO HAPPY that you responded, for some reason its very hard to find this video, even though it was originally one of the top ones. maybe add some more tags :)
If your referring to the glass jars for the first fermentation, I get mine from Wal Mart. The ones with the spout, I get from TJ max and Ross. You can use any gallon size jar. I started with a gallon size dill pickle jar.
Domino sugar is cane sugar which is not GMO, Crystal is beet sugar which is GMO if you can not get organic sugar make sure to use Domino which has non-GMO on the package, not the cheaper brands. Sugar beets are almost 100% GMO since 2008.
Thanks. I didn't know that. I mostly buy more expensive "sugars", honey as an alternative, etc. But, I do like to keep white sugar on hand in case we bake during the holidays, or do something else that requires large amount. Plus, guests do prefer good ole white sugar like grandma used.
Hey honey really great video. I like to use rain wourder for my boocha straight from the sky in to my vessel. Keep it fresh keep it organic okay, peace and love from Carthage
Yeah we can't use that hard wourder from tapes as the Government putting crazy chemical in there making are children brain dead like them vaccines they keep forcing on my babys. CRAZY WORLD we live in hu honey, thanks for the response happy brewing now. Peace and love - Carthage
James Patton You are obviously not up on your culinary tools. This is a Pampered Chef Scoop N Drain. You are not the first person, so don’t be embarrassed. Lol 😁
Green tea dilutes the potency of the scoby. It’s advised to do a batch or two of black tea after each batch of green to keep your scoby at optimum potency,
Matthew 24:4 That is not true. I have been using SCOBYs that I created out of green tea six years ago . The ones I am using 6 years later are babies from that first SCOBY. The potency is just fine. I can brew a gallon in a week or less depending on the temp in my house. 😉
DT Wellness - you may be right. Someone that has been brewing it for many years told me the above. I found the following information online. I’ll have to look into this further. Thanks for responding! “Many kombucha brewers are of the opinion that black tea is the best for ultimate SCOBY health and fermentation ability.” “Since SCOBYs are living organisms they tend to adapt to the conditions and tea type which they are in. Therefore if a SCOBY culture has adapted itself to black tea, then it might undergo a slow down or reduction in overall heath when placed in green tea - or one of the other tea types - and vice versa if it has adapted itself to green tea. In keeping with this belief, and the assumption that black tea is more commonly used for kombucha brewing than green tea, then it stands to reason that the more popular consensus is that black tea is a better promoter of SCOBY health.” Source: Kombucha Home
Hi, it’s seven days now and not sure about my SCOBY. I would like to send you a picture but do not know how to accomplish this on RU-vid. Can you please send me your email address so that I may do this? I would really appreciate your help. Thank you.
You’re drinking a health drink full of positive ions 😳. Positive ions create free radicals in the body. I would make sure your health drink is healthy, but that’s totally your call 😊
Rich Laue I beg to differ. Just so you know I test every hypothesis. I am never satisfied with what I read or hear on RU-vid. It must be tested! So how have I tested this? I have fermented a decaf tea w/ the same amount of sugar as usual, the fermentation of the decaf tea takes four times longer to ferment. The bacteria and yeast absolutely do consume and reduce the caffeine content, as well as the sugar content. 😁😉
@@DTWellness wow cool!!! So the reason I thought of it is first off when I accidentally let the tea boil for a minute or two I can taste the bitterness....like otherwise it would be ready to bottle it today, but I'm going to use the whole batch as part of a starter for ten gallons and mellow it out. The other batch (first one) came out PERFECT, and is secondary fermenting now. I am paranoid about bottle bombs though, especially since I'd like to work up to selling to neighbors under the cottage foods act (really having a hard time getting useful info on that, how to cross your t's and dot your i's. You said several things I had not heard in my hours and hours of research, but one of them makes sense but I am curious why you said it, what so you know about how electronics affect a brew? Immediately in my mind I thought about the plant experiment or the rice experiment where you say nice things to one control group, and negative to the other and the visual results are very profound. Like on total opposite ends of the spectrum. I know that electronics are bad for our health in many ways we don't understand (or I don't, the more I learn the less I know) but I am really interested to see what insight you have on that topic. Thanks! Can't wait to check out more vids, your vid on kombucha is one of the best so far, lots of missing pieces I didn't get from others.
nicole p Don’t let the bitterness get in the way, the bacteria and yeast eat the tannins that make the tea bitter In first ferment. You’ll never know it and it actually makes a better Kombucha. Secondly, it’s more that being nice or negative to your living experiment, electronics emit an electromagnetic field (EMF) flooding our environment with positive ions which create free radicals, damaging our bodies. It’s best to keep your brew away from plugs, dimmer switches, microwave, large appliances, computers, and anything with a LED screen. We want to drink a healthy beverage - that’s the point of Kombucha. 😉
@@DTWellness I have ten gallons that has been outside (perfect weather for brewing r.n. where I am) for a couple days, brewing that started as sun tea. Of course I didn't add the sugar till after it brewed, but it's smelling nice already and forming a new scoby. I have them in carboys so I have made sure to circulate the air inside in case it doesn't do well on its own, but it doesn't seem to be an issue like a lot of people have said. Also I don't think it will be hard to remove said scobys with chopsticks, or a spoon. But the free radicals thing is definitely understandable. So my ten gallons are outside, and my other three are upstairs in the bathroom where it's sitting on a heated floor, and no electronics are upstairs. The thing about the bitterness though, if it's ready to bottle (has a nice but pleasant vinegar zip, has transformed the taste of tea into booch, but still has bitter notes, will THAT bitterness go away I secondary fermentation? I have been hearing experienced booch makers say they do like the tannins, and will squeeze their tea bags, or let steep longer, etc. My favorite flavor I made was mango. The mango pieces turned effervescent themselves and it had a nice mouth feel. Although the vinegar taste wasn't toned down from the second ferment, so my first batch went a lil too far, but it's healthy so I am enjoying the learning experience.
nicole p it is a learning journey for sure. I’ve learned the most through my mistakes, they can be a good thing. That’s why I go out of the box of what others say. My experimentations have been elevated. I haven’t just depended on what I’ve read, which is what most do. Mango is great, pineapple too, but they process fast in second ferment, like four - seven days. They can get explosive due to the high sugar content if left out too long. And to answer your question, yes the bitterness goes away. Keep having fun with your experiments and stay healthy! ❤️
I am super surprised how long you have been making kombucha and you say here that the 1f will never be carbonated. That is not true and I am a newbie at being successful making booch. Here is my tip. When you check it after 7 days, are there bubbles all around the scoby? There should be and that indicates carbonation. Remove it and then stir your brew vessel before dispensing any. Stir up that symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast that is happening within the tea and you will get a head of foam. NOW dispense your tea into bottles.
Ly Kri You will get some foam or fizz during first fermentation, but it’s not carbonated like proceeding with a second fermentation. Now, bottle that unflavored, wait a couple months and you will get real carbonation. Yes I have been bottling for a long time and I stand on that. I’m talking real carbonation. The kind where you crack the seal and know you have carbonation. 😉😁
Ly Kri If you bottle it and drink it the next day, is that bottle carbonated? It usually takes time being capped for carbonation to build up in the bottle. When the bacteria release their gassy byproducts while the filter/cloth is on top, most escapes. Some effervescence is possible. I am glad that you are successful. Some people can have a very hard time trying to get carbonation.😉
FutureLaugh You do your first ferment for 3 weeks? Wow. You must have a gut of steel! Defiantly more beneficial to go longer, but most couldn't stomach it.
Depends on the temperature in the room, I think. It's almost 80 degrees in my house (I live in New Orleans and don't have Central a/c). It takes 5 days before it starts to taste like vinegar.
