I started drinking store bought KT after I took a harsh antibiotic. Ever since that antibiotic I hadn't been able to eat any amount of onions, garlic, beans, cabbage, or dairy without HORRIBLE gas, stomach cramps, the runs, etc.. Just a few chips with salsa is all it would take, just the small amount of onion and garlic in the salsa would do it. I tried taking beano and it did nothing to change the effects. Web research pointed me towards Probiotics. I tried taking the probiotic pills available from the store and they definitely helped, but they didn't solve the problem, they just helped. This went on for months until I did more research and which pointed to KT as a possible source of more effective probiotics for my gut. I was skeptical that it would do more than the probiotic pills, but figured I would try it for a week. After a week of having 1 store bought (GT unflavored) KT a day I tried having salsa on my tacos for dinner. Cheese, onions, and garlic...I expected to wake up at 3AM in pain, but didn't. The next day I got a tostada from Taco Bueno for lunch, still no problems. I've been drinking at least 3-4 store bought KTs a week since then and I have no more problems with normal amounts of these previously problem foods!
But this $12-$21 a week KT habit was adding up quick, so I decided I wanted to make my own. I got a mother from a friend and started my own batch. I just bottled it! I got 6 16oz bottles out it which isn't bad for a couple of dollars worth of ingredients and some time. The thing that really has me excited is how amazing it tastes. I had never had homemade KT before, just the store bought stuff, and the difference is night and day. The stuff in the store is so sweet and doesn't have the bite that this stuff does. And talk about easy! This just couldn't get any easier to make. Plus it is going to save me a lot of money not buying it. Right from the start I realized I would want more than one batch going at the same time. So while I brewing a batch with the mother I got from a friend, I tried using unflavored GT's babies/dregs and it is coming along very well! I will soon have two 1 gallon jars of KT going, which should be enough for me to have about 6 16oz bottles a week. I might pick up one more container so I can have enough KT to have one every day, or to experiment with different flavorings and still have the normal ones around. I'm also going to get a container with a spigot, this having to disturb the mother to test just irks me, and the spigot would make it easier to bottle too. I also want to experiment with blending KT with beer, especially some of my sour beers. Making my own vinegar is also a tempting idea. Such a neat thing the scoby!
But this $12-$21 a week KT habit was adding up quick, so I decided I wanted to make my own. I got a mother from a friend and started my own batch. I just bottled it! I got 6 16oz bottles out it which isn't bad for a couple of dollars worth of ingredients and some time. The thing that really has me excited is how amazing it tastes. I had never had homemade KT before, just the store bought stuff, and the difference is night and day. The stuff in the store is so sweet and doesn't have the bite that this stuff does. And talk about easy! This just couldn't get any easier to make. Plus it is going to save me a lot of money not buying it. Right from the start I realized I would want more than one batch going at the same time. So while I brewing a batch with the mother I got from a friend, I tried using unflavored GT's babies/dregs and it is coming along very well! I will soon have two 1 gallon jars of KT going, which should be enough for me to have about 6 16oz bottles a week. I might pick up one more container so I can have enough KT to have one every day, or to experiment with different flavorings and still have the normal ones around. I'm also going to get a container with a spigot, this having to disturb the mother to test just irks me, and the spigot would make it easier to bottle too. I also want to experiment with blending KT with beer, especially some of my sour beers. Making my own vinegar is also a tempting idea. Such a neat thing the scoby!
