Nasty Brew
 

I had my family taste my first kombucha brew and none of them liked it. I tried it before them and noticed that it was both too strong and too sweet. I used a pungent brand of black tea (PG Tips) along with the recommended amount of sugar. Do you prefer the taste of kombucha made with green or black tea?

I personally prefer a blend of teas. I use Rooibos Red,Gunpowder green,Yerba Mate, and Iced tea blend(Black and Orange pekoe blend) all in my Kombucha. Many prefer all green tea and say it has a milder flavor.

If its too strong try mixing it with fruit juice, 4 oz Kombucha and 12oz Juice, most people prefer it this way or so i have read.

I like both but I've found green teas to produce a smoother, more mellow flavor that more people find palatable. Try an organic Kukicha green tea, comes out great and seems to produce healthier/thicker scoby's and better carbonation in my experience.

I like a mix of mostly green tea

How long does this take from pitch to glass?how can wines vary so much?

Kombucha is normally done in 7-10 days for a easily drinkable product, but can be left go for 30+ days for a product more like Vinegar. The longer it is brewed the more sour it becomes.

It isn't a wine or beer, when done properly there is next to no alcohol in the finished drink because it is converted into organic acids by the bacteria portion of the Scoby.

My next brew was gross too. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I fermented it for 10 days and a super healthy looking baby developed. Unfortunately, the batch is undrinkable. It is too vinegary and full of sediment. I prepared another brew two days ago with half green and half black tea. I hope it turns out okay. The SCOBY in one of the jars sunk and its thinner than the other one.

Try this, use 1 and 1/2 cup sugar and green tea only, and bottle after 5 days. The sediment is normal and very good for you, btw it is going to have SOME form of vinegar like flavor.

I reduced the fermentation time to 7 days and that seemed to help a lot. Then I bottled the kombucha for the secondary fermentation. I made 2 with ginger and 2 with pineapple juice. The ginger ones turned out great, but the pineapple was gross for some reason and caused a MASSIVE explosion when I opened the bottles!

I don't like any black tea at all in mine, or at least very very little. The tannin bite really comes forward in the finished tea. I like green tea, not brewed too strong, honey, and ginger