Top 10 Mistakes Kombucha Home Brewers Make 

Maybe your kombucha tastes like s*** ? Try adding more sugar. Unhelathier = Better taste

Absolutely. I know my preference for less sweet carbonated beverages is not universal, and I’m willing to accept the slightly vinegar flavor because the brew gives me an energy boost. A lot of people want sweet soda flavors, and they think it tastes “weird.”

Kumquat sounds awesome! Do you put the whole fruit in for the second fermentation?

Have you tried pineapple? Does it work? It sounds so amazing

Michael Knell I’m so glad you found it helpful! Thanks for watching!

I have just made my first attempt to make kombucha mother from store bought unpasteurised organic kombucha. I am using an Agee jar but I hope it will grow a Scoby as I user raw sugar instead of refind sugar.

Raw sugar works.

@@YouBrewKombucha @thetntchicken i didnt brew it the first time...i accidentally poured the sugar tea and the water in the kombucha without fermenting it the first time.(that makes the scoby) So i skipped to the second time (before you flavor it) will it be okay?

You really can't go wrong with EG.Excellent for fasting as well.

Bergamot is in Earl Grey, I was taught use black or green tea

Your whole body is many organisms assembled into one if any of those organisms malfunction it has a domino effect so just as your body is home to trillions of organism the universe is home to trillions of body's and the domino effect will play out in your life make sure to use that clear head and focus on what must be done for your sucess. Leaving good vibes And filling yourself with love. :)

It's most likely just all the sugar and caffeine.

It may be because kombucha has a ton of b12. If you’re on a vegan diet like me it’s a great source of it and helps clear up that fog

@@thomasdavis8049 No, it doesn't. Classic kombucha contains little to no B12. Besides the sugar raising blood glucose, fueling the brain, it also contains caffeine which is known to improve concentration.

This is the nicest thing anyone’s ever said about my timbre. 😭

@@YouBrewKombucha Filam?

I think so

Fantastic share on this point!!! A friend has his type 2 under control; he let off sugar dranks and converted to kombucha with amazing results.

You should write about this there are, thousands on ppis slow ly dying

I started my first batch and it came with tiny bit of starter tea. So I added distilled vinegar. It's been twelve days. You said you let it longer to get it more acidic? How much longer should I let mine sit?

Have you tried things like Kimchi or natto?... these as well as kombucha will increase the diversity of your microbiome which in turn will help with things like Crohn's

I have Colitis Ulcerosa and i have had the same experience as you. The Kombucha made all my severe symptoms disappear after 2 weeks, i couldn´t believe it, but it was true miracle :)

please write your story, I list a brother in law to this

Do not stir, read my comment above

You don't need to stir. There are already millions of yeast cells in suspension (the carbonators), the yeast cake contains billions of cells - that number isn't needed for secondary fermentation. You are better off siphoning from the top, or better yet - using a fermenting bucket and spigot which pours an inch from the bottom (doesn't disturb the yeast cake).

I always stirred because I did it naturally, like it was common sense. :D

Glad you like it!

That's a huge scoby but it doesn't need to be that big/thick. Blenderize and use it for salad dressing, feed your chickensn/pigs... Using a smaller, fresher scoby is easier to use and does the same thing.

a lot of people do this, it's called continuous brew kombucha. I use a crock with a spigot at the bottom. so as not to disturb the scobys too much. your scoby is actually several scobies, because when you pour in new tea or move or disturb a scobys it stops growing. and a new scobys just starts forming under the old.

Delicious Adventures I’m so so glad you love them! In the winter, scobys definitely tend to be on the thinner side. Sometimes my batches don’t even produce a new scoby, at all but as long as they get more acidic over time, it’s fine. Just make sure you base your doneness on how it tastes, since scoby growth isn’t the best indicator. Hope that helps! 😊

oh. i thought i should keep it till the new scabby grows))) ok. so i will go with taste test. and for the next batch i should keep the old scoby and the new half-scoby together, right? thanks for the response))) have a nice day

Delicious Adventures Yep! You can keep both scobys together. If you want tips on how to tell when your kombucha is done/ready to bottle, I have a whole other video on that too, if that’s helpful at all! 😊

Delicious Adventures a

Mine is also super thin still, good to know!

Chris L Yay! Good luck! 😊

Gotta burp them

Or put em in the fridge.

Matt Barnes lol

JP Rough Thanks for your comment! To clarify and add a bit more detail around my aversion to other compounds - I’m wary against introducing other “flavorings” or ingredients to my scoby during first fermentation. Similar to how I don’t recommend using flavored teas (even naturally flavored ones) or other ingredients that aren’t tea, water & sugar during first fermentation - my prerogative is to keep the scoby as pure as possible during first fermentation because based on the many homebrewers and commercial brewers I’ve spoken to, I believe this is the best way to yield consistently good-tasting kombucha and resilient cultures. Kombucha cultures have a hard time processing and digesting ingredients other than tea, water and sugar. And even white distilled vinegar is usually distilled from ingredients like corn, barley or other grain. Granted, the compounds from those source ingredients are largely removed from the finished white vinegar but anecdotally, I’ve troubleshot flavor imbalances with so many people and have found the consistent use of white vinegar to be the culprit so many times that I just can’t (in good conscience) recommend that it’s a viable solution for dropping the pH of kombucha. But to your point, the pH of starter tea is key here. I think the key to my consistently good kombucha is the amount and strength of starter tea I use. If you watch my video on building a scoby hotel, I have hotels with the sole purpose of creating really acidic kombucha vinegar which I use as super strong starter tea (which has a pH of around 2.4). It gives me an endless supply of strong starter tea which I think is the reason why I’ve never encountered mold and have never needed to resort to using vinegar as a souring agent. 😊

My kombucha has been going for over 4 years. Never have to add anything. First time I ever made kombucha (which I ended up flushing down the toilet) I had some vinegar in it because I was afraid of mold. I had my son try it and he will never drink kombucha again.

Jane Stibbe 3 inches of SCOBY 😳

Whenever it gets too big, I pull the old layer off & give the dogs & chooks a SCOBY snack.

Yeah, her point against unfiltered vinegar is so miss

Yes you can, I like my fizzy Kombucha, but the tea from the first fermentation is very delicious and I sometimes drink that too.

yes- but be careful with introducing harmful bacterias into your jar. I use a jar with a spigot. you will need to still feed your jar every 7-14 days.

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Hahaha! Yes, I remember. Only we never drank it. To be honest, I had no idea you could drink it. We just did it for fun! We shared it and watched it grow. 😄😊

Yes. Just keep it in some sweet tea or previously brewed booch. (Also known as starter tea) it’ll keep just fine

The sugar is just for the bacteria to feast on perhaps? Scared to buy sugar today but…

totally ME!

Shouldn't you add them back to the original vessel instead of a new one? (Currently also realizing I didn't stir 😭)

@@0nth3d0t8 I had already made my fresh batch when I watched the video, but it didn't make too much of a difference!! just that all the booch was mixed together in the end :)

@@keibersla I poured my bottles from a spigot near the bottom, so technically I will only have an abundance of yeast in one or more bottles lol. Not sure if that's bad

@@0nth3d0t8 just put the mix all in one again, give it a good stir, then redistribute into your bottles :) should be fine! if not, next brew be sure to remember, haha

😯😯😂😂😂

Sylvia Kemp ❤️

You can make some sweet tea to and the kombucha to it to even the PH level of the Kombucha in a different container. Then you will be ready to go! :))

She did mention not disturbing the scoby. Which I like the idea. Do your thing scoby. I will leave you to it. 😂

It’s ok if it sinks. Or floats. Mine sit sideways for awhile sometimes. It doesn’t make a bit of difference. The cold might tho. I keep mine on top of my fridge. It’s always a little warmer there

I agree about the sugar. The Himalayan people (who have made Kombucha for thousands of years) never bought their sugar from a store (processed sugar) but used natural organic sugar. Did you use apple cider vinegar?

This gets into the complicated weeds of it, cane sugar is probably the right food for store bought american scoby. Though some Jun strains do feed off of raw honey.

Free shipping

And it comes in a bag of starter liquid too !

If you live near Albany, NY I'll give you a baby and some fresh tea for free - just bring a clean jar and lid

Or a your local coop may sell starter kits

joseph stanley Great! I hope you find the videos helpful! 😊

You Brew Kombucha One question my wife bought a scoby online and the recipe they gave her used white vinegar. Does this mean it’s making vinegar not Kombucha? Should I locate a new scoby ?

You may not need to. I think it’s worth a shot to try brewing a batch with it. Full disclosure, the source I bought my scoby from also instructed using vinegar. But I just made sure to never use vinegar in my own process and it turned out just fine. But if you do run into repeated problems with it or if it gets too sour too fast, then you may want to find a new scoby at that point.

Thanks for your note. If you like using vinegar and you like the way your kombucha tastes, that's perfectly fine. But vinegar is not something I can recommend to anyone who wants their scoby to remain a pure kombucha scoby. You're correct that kombucha (when left to its own devices) eventually turns into vinegar. But it turns into *kombucha vinegar* -- which is very different than distilled vinegar. Not all vinegars are alike (as I'm sure you know distilled vinegar is different than apple cider vinegar and balsamic vinegar, etc.) Likewise, distilled vinegar is not the same as kombucha vinegar (or starter tea), so we can't assume they can be treated interchangeably. You're also correct that you need acidity in order to get the pH to a low enough to ward off harmful pathogens, but that's where starter tea comes into play. Strong previously brewed kombucha (especially if it's from a scoby hotel or if it's super acidic) is the best way to drop the pH to a safe enough level. I disagree that "adding distilled vinegar isn't going to hurt anything" -- it could actually hurt a lot, and I've spoken to enough home brewers and commercial brewers who've used vinegar to make me pretty confident that it's not something I'd ever recommend. You're right that kombucha needs acidity, but if you can provide acidity through kombucha, why risk it by adding distilled vinegar (which brings completely different vinegar enzymes into the picture)? Over time, vinegar users report that their brews have imbalances or get too acidic too fast (which makes sense, because over time, now their scoby is a vinegar scoby, not a kombucha scoby). So ultimately, it's up to you. If you like using vinegar, that's totally fine, but it's not something I can (in good conscience) recommend to others.

I started my first scoby with Apple cider vinegar. Great kombucha!

I'm glad it turned out great! But using apple cider vinegar is generally regarded as a risky move by most home brewers. Using any type of vinegar can degrade your scoby over time and turn it into a vinegar culture instead of a kombucha culture. So it may be fine for one (or even two or a dozen...) batches, but more often than not, it'll cause problems down the line. If you happen to like your kombucha on the acidic side and don't mind the taste of vinegar, then it may be just fine for you. But do be careful and be on the lookout for vinegar eels -- apple cider vinegar in particular can cause the growth of vinegar eels in kombucha, which is why it's not recommended.

Decrease in pH mostly hinders bacterial growth. There are plenty of yeast and mold species that can grow in very low pH.

Lots of home brewers use a plain, clean coffee filter instead of cloth to cover their containers. As long as it's breathable, but covers it entirely so that dust/insects can't get in, it's good!

I use a paper towel and a rubber band

I opened my tea today and there was a whole pile of dead ants on the top of the scowby. So now I have to flipping sit and sieve the tea and then bottle t and rinse my scowby of ant and start all over again! So annoyed 😠.

Coffee filter is better than paper towel or almost anything else

I use a square of plain white muslin cloth

It sounded like It lol, i had to rewind it She said "fuss"

@@shaniaedmonds1984 actually I believe she said "futz"

35 degrees celsius is not cool enough? so in puerto rico i would have to put it in the fridge for it to cool down enough, or do it in the night time during winter when its a bit cooler... or do it in a room with air conditioning

Jimmy R kombuchahome.com/how-to-brew-kombucha-high-temperatures/

My mistake I did not let it cool down. Huhuhu

Or just brew your tea in a concentrate with a couple cups of water, then add room temperature water or ice cubes til it's the temperature of your finger or cooler. Add your tea to your vessel and add remaining water, and voila

That could be useful if you want to gather the yeast (to cook with).

I do share with my family and friends that since making it 2 1/2 yrs ago I have had only 2 minor colds. My age is 61. I also never had the flu shot. I agree it's not a cure all but I believe it keeps the flu bug away for me anyways. I drink 16oz a day, a long with water and coffee.

Juanita James Same. This is most likely an “American Doctor” who only thinks the pharmaceutical industry are/is “cure all’s”. I drink kombucha everyday for 2 years and have not gotten sick one time. I’m 30.

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Laura Jackson 😍 ❤️

If you use Splenda, you'll be starving your scoby. Splenda isn't sugar and the scoby can't process/eat the chemicals in Splenda. Check out my video on sugar for more details if you like. :) www.youbrewkombucha.com/sugar

Beverlee Jones if the final result(second fermentation)is not sweet enough you can add Splenda with the fruit of your choice...First fermentation doesn’t happen without cane suggar...

Try Palm sugar. I brew mine with that. It’s low on the glycemic index so it won’t elevate your blood sugar as much as cane sugar.

I think people may be needlessly concerned about how much sugar they are consuming when drinking kombucha. Keep in mind that the scoby is eating and processing the sugar! Just because you put 1-2 cups of sugar into your batch does not mean that you are consuming that sugar 10 days later. The scoby is a very active little community and the vast majority of the sugar you put in the batch has already been digested.

Splenda is toxic!!!

Exactly! :) But lots of people unfortunately think that vinegars can be used interchangeably when it comes to brewing kombucha -- which isn't accurate. So while other vinegars (like distilled white vinegar and even balsamic vinegar -- though I can't imagine anyone wanting to use balsamic in kombucha...), are OK to lower the pH, other vinegars are not made of the same chemical compounds as kombucha vinegar. So that's why I always advocate for using starter tea (a.k.a. kombucha vinegar) over any other type of vinegar when it comes to brewing kombucha.

You Brew Kombucha I

Mother of vinegar and a kombucha scoby are very different. The process is similar, the outcome is similar but whats in it is different. Same goes for kefir grains. The vinegar taste is the by product of yeast and bacteria digesting simple sugars, but the yeast and bacteria are different between them.

Shark