Kombucha Tea - gave it a taste

[Dace]

I leave a bit of the just-finished batch and the scoby...then top it off with a fresh batch of tea.

 

[freemotion]

I wash the jar each time and rinse it well.

For longer-term storage in the fridge, I put the scoby in filtered water to cover and put a tight lid on it. No finished tea and no feeding. I had an old one, over a year, probably, that revived nicely recently when my current scoby went moldy on me.

For shipping to someone to get them started, yes, put finished tea in it. This acidifies the fresh tea and sugar enough to keep pathogens out while the tea acidifies, so your newbie kombucha-maker will need some. I put the new tea in the clean jar, add the scoby, and carefully pour some finished tea on top, the cover with a paper towel and a rubber band. I write the date on the corner of the paper towel.

 

[Dace]

Wait! We need to remove all the tea and scoby and wash between brews? Oooooppps. I have not been doing that.

 

[miss_thenorth]

I haven't been doing that either, and I'm still alive

 

[freemotion]

You don't need to, I just do. I bet you could go for years without washing it. The kombucha is actually a good cleaning solution in itself. It's just me!

ETA: I don't like looking at the fingerprints and kitchen dust on the outside of the jars, mostly. And the stringy kombucha sludge grosses me out.

 

[Dace]

OK, I feel better now

 

[ToLiveToLaugh]

WOO HOO! I officially got a scoby from a commercial bottle of kombucha! I just poured a bottle of original flavor into a wide mouth glass jar, covered with a muslin towel and rubber banded on, and stuck it in a cupboard for 4 weeks (would have been less, but I was out of town). When I got back, a nice gray layer of stuff was floating on the top! So I brewed up some sweet tea and floated my little scoby on top, and poured some of the original liquid in. Hopefully in a little more than a week I'll have kombucha! I also put the jar with the remaining liquid back in the cupboard because I was in a rush. I'm also just curious to see if I can get a second scoby from it. Or maybe I'm just lazy!



But the point is: yay, I have a mushroom!

 

[Javamama]

Is everybody still liking the kombucha? I bought a jar at Whole Foods and I could not get past the vinegar/beer smell. It made me gag. I gather that's NOT how it's supposed to be? As someone who really doesn't like beer or wine, is there hope?
I have a huge patch of lemon balm that I could use in it if I could believe that I might actually like my own brew.

 

[framing fowl]

Java, I tried several different kinds from the store before taking the plunge to start my own. Some of them made me gag like the green tea one and others I loved like the ginger infused ones. I don't enjoy even the smell of alcohol and I noticed that there was a definite difference between some of the drinks. Even sometimes the same brand and flavor would taste different. I guess it's just the different "vintages". I would give it another go or try homemade maybe?

 

[noobiechickenlady]

I've never had storebought, but I love my homemade. The kids even like it, straight up, no mixer. DH mixes his with regular tea or fruit juice.

I'd brew up some lemon balm tea & mix it with the kombucha, see if you like it better.