Jenn said

Would anyone like to learn brew their own kombucha?

I have brewed my own kombucha for nearly a year now and I really enjoy it. I enjoy the brewing process because it appeals to my inner hillbilly/ mad scientist, and of course I love drinking it.

A very kind person got me started on my brewing journey and I’d like to pay it forward. So, if any of you tea maniacs want to give it a go please let me know. I’d be happy to send you a little starter kit with everything you’ll need to get started save:

- A brewing vessel (I’ll guide you as to what you’ll need)
-Tea (any plain preferably organic black, green, or red tea will do)

I’ll also be glad to provide you with any support you may need, and if you’d like to treat this exchange like a tea swap all the better! I love trying new teas and I’d happily try any sample you’d like to share.

I know that I can ship scobies, (the starter culture), stateside. If you’re in Canada or elsewhere in the world, please PM me and I’ll look into the shipping regulations.

\o/ kombucha!

26 Replies
kuanyin said

I might, I had been looking for some when I moved back to Kansas City about 12 years ago and even in the health food stores they had never heard of it.

I used to brew it and my only hesitation is that it gets kind of time consuming and I would need a large jar. It sounds good though!

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Jenn said

It’s a pleasure to meet you kuanyin!

You’re right about the process becoming time consuming. At one point, I had two brewing stations going at once and that was crazy! I actually took a break for awhile which worked out fine because I kept the scobies alive in starter liquid for another day. You can continue adding sweet tea when the starter liquid starts to evaporate, and your scoby can stay alive and happy for years.

You just let me know if you want me to send you a scoby. I’d be happy to do a whole starter kit for you if you’d like, but it sounds like you’re an old pro :)

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I have actually always wanted to try this. Maybe we could work out a trade.

Jenn said

Yay! I’m going to revise and expand my brewing instructions today, and I can probably have a kit sent out to you by Wednesday. Let’s just wait until you receive your kit, and you can determine then if what I’ve sent you is worthy of a swap. Kombucha starter kits can be pricey, and I understand that’s how some people make a living, but I was given my first scoby and I’m really just interested in paying that kindness forward. Plus, it’s just cool to pass on knowledge like this and bring out the hillbilly/ mad scientist in others :)

You’ll need the following to get started:

- A glass jar or bowl ready to immediately put your scoby in when you receive it. The scoby is alive and it needs oxygen to keep the cultures active.

- A glass brewing vessel that can hold 9 cups of fluid, with NO METAL that might come into contact with the kombucha. Large glass beverage dispensers that have plastic spigots work perfectly, and they tend to be on sale this time of year.

- 4-5 tsps. of unflavored black, green, or red tea. I recommend NOT using expensive tea because it won’t make a bit of difference for the fermentation process. Simple, pure, and preferably organic tea will do just fine. I would use a black tea for the first brew batch.

I can’t wait to see the flavors you come up with for the secondary fermentation! You’re like a wizard or a genius in the flavor mixology department. No pressure ;)

Please PM me the address I should send your kit to.

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Jenn got me started with it and has been a huge support over these past few weeks. :) Plus, I’ve found that I enjoy being able to control the amount of fermentation and it tastes even better than the ones from Whole Foods. (Well, except my Assam fiasco, but that’s another story.)

Jenn said

Why are you so sweet? I’m going to PM you later today with some suggestions to cut the vinegary flavor, and no more Assam tea for the booch! El cheapo organic black tea only :)

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yssah said

is Jenn or anybody doing this still around? :)

http://www.thepaleoreview.com/2012/08/scoby-watch-week-1-report.html
Apparently you can grow your own SCOBY. No need to buy the thing. Just buy commercial kombucha and make sure it is still active and go from there.

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I just happened to be sitting here at my computer, drinking a bottle of Brooklyn Tea “Straight Up” kombucha, a blend of organic black, green and white tea which is delicious. They sell both full kits and supplies for brewing your own Kombucha along with instructions, here: http://kombuchabrooklyn.com/

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Is it really all that difficult to homebrew Kombucha? I definitely wouldn’t mind trying it sometime if it’s fairly straightforward. I’m not necessarily the best when it comes to complicated/nitpicky stuff, haha!

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I was going to try earlier in the year, but the two deterrent factors for me was keeping it at the right temperature while brewing and likelihood that I would wind up drinking more than I should weekly (as it is whenever I buy a bottle I tend to drink it all, it’s so good). It is kind of expensive to buy ready made bottles, but at least that way I also get to try different flavors and brewers’ takes on Kombucha and limit my imbibing.

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Dustin said

I have tried brewing it a couple of times, but I’m doing something wrong because I end up with mold on top. :/

This site: http://www.happyherbalist.com/brewing_kombucha.htm has information about why mold forms.

Personally I avoid ordering from any retailer who sells any form of Homeopathic. But that is just me.
Why?
In India I had a nutjob give me a homeopathic for rabis after having a tiny dog bit. As an aside a kind Indian shopowner poured fenny (Goa coconut or cashew alcohol which was actually quite decent and ridiculously cheap compared to other alcohols which are highly taxed.. and is 100+ proof when triple distilled) on it and said if I believed in the spirits he would have lit it. Unfortunately he didn’t as that would have lit and killed the (if any) tiny amount of bacteria and I wouldn’t have accrued hefty medical bills for rabbis vaccine/inoculation.
Anyway. Said nutjob (who was actually quite entertaining as she was from the coast of wales) gave me a homeopathic for it. As I had previously no knowledge of this I asked what in the world I was taking before I took the (obviously placebo just saying) pill. She proceeded to talk about it and show me her case for her travels from her mom which had 50+ homeopathics. She specifically pointed out that there were ones for Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B and was quite proud of this, but then complained that there was not (yet) one for HIV.
May just me be and I hope I did not offend anyone, but I just don’t care for that lunacy thus don’t support merchants who sell that phony bullcrap nonsense.

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Bumping 2 year old threads! :\ Made me add to my list of things to get too. Wish I could try some Kombucha before I brew it.. Guess I will have to order a bottle online :)

momo said

Go to Whole Foods and get a bottle from Buchi Kombucha. Last I checked it was on sale too.

You’ve got jokes momo. While Buffalo, NY, was a bustling city in 1900 (it was then the 8th largest state in the US actually), we now lack modern niceties such as Whole Foods.

http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=kombucha&find_loc=New+York%2C+NY#find_loc=Buffalo,+NY&show_filters=0

Unfortunately that market closes mid-december. St. Catherines isn’t so far I suppose?

momo said

Your location says Atlanta! Sorry then, you prob won’t find that one up there anyway then because the company’s based in NC and I don’t think they’ve gotten that far yet. Maybe check that Brooklyn one posted above? I think I saw a where to find link.

Of course that link is just to where they have it on tap not where it’s in bottles. Bah.

yssah said

and what’s wrong with bumping old threads yappy? i just happen to be good at using the search button is all :P

Bumping super old threads tends to be forum faux pas :)

You’ve got several Wegmans in Buffalo, yappy, they sell a number of brands of kombucha, (and are probably the best supermarket in the state).

I’m fairly new to Steepster but most Boards prefer members to search for topics that have already been discussed rather than start new duplicative threads. I could see where merchants here might prefer new topics so they can flog their current, in stock wares, but for informational topics, reviving old threads only adds to the general body of knowledge.

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