Hi all,
Ive many friends who have had great success at making Kombucha on a regular basis. One friend swears that it is a great liver cleanser and has it every morning. I have yet to get into a solid routine of making Kombucha but am interested to hear of others experiences, how they make it, the vessels used, how it is stored etc. Many thanks, Bridge
Replies
I wouldn't try plastic, as I feel the acid would react with it and taint the flavour?.
I made it for a few months, but like all cultures I get sick of feeding them eventually lol. \The key seems to be not to leave the brews too long, otherwise all the sweetness goes and its more like vinegar. I have made it with black tea mostly and found it is nicer with some ginger root added whilst brewing the tea ( strain before adding to the mother), also tried green tea with some success. the mothers actually last for several weeks in a jar in the fridge, I retrieved one from the murky recesses when my main culture got mouldy and it revived fine. I think that mould is one of the main hazards with it, discard if it looks or smells off at all.
I used bottles from blackcurrant syrup to store the drink in the fridge, it gets fizzier the longer it is left.
The dregs and old mothers I used to put in a plastic barrel in which I put bones and shells, to see if they would dissolve as an experiment, must check that out!
I kept a kombucha bug for about 2 years, 10 years ago in Warrington, Otago. I kept it in a plastic bucket covered with a tea towel in the pantry - I never noticed any taint. Week after week it gave us several litres of the lovely brew, which I bottled in 1.5 litre coca cola bottles (well rinsed) - once again, no noticeable taint. There was nothing better to drink on a summer's day, straight from the fridge, after mowing the lawn.
I use to brew kombucha, a friend gave me a 'mother' starter and I kept it up for over six months. It is very easy to do in a very large glass preserving jar. The mothers with keep in the fridge for several days if you are not starting again immediately or to slow down the new mothers you take off the top, these can be given to others for new batches or to increase your brews. Mostly I made the tea ones but played around a bit with different types of tea and different amounts of other juices added. Unfortunately I lots my mothers in an earthquake when all the jars hit the floor! Perhaps someone has tried plastic?? :)