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How to make kombucha

Mike..Congratulations & good luck with your first batch of kombucha. I'm certain you'll be enjoying your own fresh delicious brew when it's ready. Sorry, I don't know the science of kombucha. And I haven't experimented with length of time for fermentation. I consistently go from new moon to full moon or full moon to new moon, but I've seen that in the warm weather, the babies are much thicker and the taste is a little more vinegary so I often shorten the fermentation by a day or two in summer and lengthen when the winter is colder. I consistently use about 1-1/2 cups of organic cane sugar, haven't experimented with different sugars or amounts. I haven't tried adding fruit juices either. Oh, and I've never refrigerated a scoby. I had never heard that. Let me know if you learn more on that. I consistently get a kombucha that tastes similar to champagne to me.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Michael Levin on February 5, 2010 at 11:19am

Saroj, Here's the first batch. I am not sure whether this is mold or not. It smells fine, but the look is suspect. What do you think? Thanks! Mike

Permalink Reply by Saroj Earl on February 5, 2010 at 12:17pm

I thought I sent a reply, Mike, but I don't see that it showed up. Let me know if you didn't get a reply to your post and I'll try to reconstruct and repost. Saroj

Permalink Reply by Michael Levin on February 5, 2010 at 12:48pm

Hi Saroj! Thanks, I see your reply just below this. Well, it has been about 2 weeks. I tried tasting the kombucha and it tastes fine. I guess it's OK. I'll strain it, drink some and put some in wine bottles my friend WJ gave me. I'll let it ferment a bit apart from the SCOBY and see what happens. The kombucha tastes pretty close to store bought stuff, only a bit weaker. I thought letting it go longer than 8-10 days would strengthen it, but instead, the moldy looking stuff on top showed up.

Permalink Reply by Saroj Earl on February 5, 2010 at 12:26pm

I don't think you got my reply. Here's what I think I remember saying:

I don't know. It doesn't look like my scobys which are consistently white with small bits of darker scummy slime ... underneath but not on top like your photo. How long did you ferment? I think you started the process Jan 22 so probably it's been two weeks? Maybe you should ask others who have experimented more. Ask the person who gave you the scoby you worked with what his/hers looks like when the process is finished. I'd probably strain & taste test. If it smells good, it'll probably taste good too. I'm interested so let me know what you learn from others or what you discover yourself.

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