Kombucha with just yeast

Hey before I move on to something more advanced I wanted to see if I could make something simple like kombucha. But I don't have a mushroom or premade kombucha to start with. Could I make it without a mushroom with only yeast, or is this a bad idea.
Can someone give me an answer cause I've already started it and don't want to get poisoned or something. I've searched google but i find nothing on just using yeast.

Thanks

[edit] Sorry didn't scroll to the bottom and see the right forum, could someone move my thread for me?

Okay I see now, basically I'm just making hard tea like this. I've put in an order for a kombucha mushroom and it's on the way. I wonder how the hard tea will turn out?

Just buy a bottle of unpasteurized kombucha and put it in a gallon mixture of 1 and a half cup sugar that has boiled 10 minutes, steeped with 6 tea bags for 20 minutes, cooled overnight to room temperature. Don't put the kombucha in until it is room temperature. Cover it with a towel held down with a rubber band at room temperature anywhere from 10 days to 2 weeks. You will have your own "mushroom" after that.

Lookin4space said:

Just buy a bottle of unpasteurized kombucha and put it in a gallon mixture of 1 and a half cup sugar that has boiled 10 minutes, steeped with 6 tea bags for 20 minutes, cooled overnight to room temperature. Don't put the kombucha in until it is room temperature. Cover it with a towel held down with a rubber band at room temperature anywhere from 10 days to 2 weeks. You will have your own "mushroom" after that.

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Hi, there! I'm new to the forum <g>.

When you say "put it in a gallon mixture of 1 and a half cup sugar that has boiled 10 minutes", does that mean no water at all? I'm a raw vegan and haven't had a stove and/or microwave for over 10 years now so I can't manage that part if there is a cooking process. However, I have a kettle that I can boil water in and then just let the sugar dissolve. But just wanted to make sure you really were talking about making some sort of syrup by "boiling" the sugar although I'm hoping it's more along the lines of boiling some _water_ instead with some sugar in it <g>.

But pls advise either way and thanks!

I think the "gallon mixture" implied that it was a gallon of water with the sugar and tea mixed in

mitchell12345 said:

Hi, there! I'm new to the forum <g>.

When you say "put it in a gallon mixture of 1 and a half cup sugar that has boiled 10 minutes", does that mean no water at all? I'm a raw vegan and haven't had a stove and/or microwave for over 10 years now so I can't manage that part if there is a cooking process. However, I have a kettle that I can boil water in and then just let the sugar dissolve. But just wanted to make sure you really were talking about making some sort of syrup by "boiling" the sugar although I'm hoping it's more along the lines of boiling some _water_ instead with some sugar in it <g>.

But pls advise either way and thanks!

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you have a kettle but do you have a coffee maker? i use mine all the time and dont boil my sugar.. just let it fully desolve after steeping the tea bags..

edmanster said:

you have a kettle but do you have a coffee maker? i use mine all the time and dont boil my sugar.. just let it fully desolve after steeping the tea bags..

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Hi, thanks for this! No, I don't have a coffee maker, just an electric kettle since family loves to have tea. I'll take a gallon of just boiled water and add that amount of sugar and tea and let it all dissolve and cool and then will work with that.

I'm going tonight to my health food store to buy a bottle of kombucha. Keeping my fingers crossed that this will work for me and that I get it right. <g> It's too darned expensive to buy all the time but it'll be great to brew my own. I can't wait.

Cheers

Hi Guys,

I posted my response a while ago and I'm sorry for not clarifying the recipe. Actually, now that I've been brewing kombucha for over a year, I've made some observations and some adjustments:

First, though kombucha is traditionally brewed with black tea, you can use most any kind of tea; caffeine, decaf, or even herbal. Avoid oily herbal tea mixes. I personally prefer kombucha brewed with green tea and not black (tastes better to me.)

(Note: all temperatures are in Fahrenheit)

Second, I used to boil the water for 10 minutes to sanitize it, but I found that green tea (the kind I use) tastes better when the water is heated to 180 degrees and not boiled. Since I'm making a gallon or so, the water will stay that way longer than the amount of time it takes to sanitize.

Third, I use 1 and a half cups sugar per gallon of water. I usually add it before the water gets to temperature- say, around 160 degrees or so, so that it will dissolve faster, then stir until it disappears. As for the tea- I use 6 average-sized tea bags per gallon of water. I let it steep for 20 minutes after remving the pot from the heat. The purpose of the tea is not what you think. It just brings the pH to an ideal level for the kombucha "SCOBY" (Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast) to thrive and consume the sugar.

Finally, I cover the pot with its lid and let it sit overnight to let it cool. I've let the pot sit 24 hours before with no problem. When you're ready, just pour in a 20 oz bottle of unpasteurized kombucha (G.T.'s is a good choice, Kombucha Wonder Drink is pasteurized), then transfer the mixture to a glass container. cover the container with a tea towel (linen napkin like used in restaurants) and secure with a rubber band.

The first batch takes about 10 days to mature at about 75-80 degrees. My kombucha has lived in temps as low as 60 degrees or so, but it develops slower. Just keep it at whatever your room temperature is and you should be fine.

When it is mature, you can either drink and replace as you go, or you can bottle it, hold back 2 cups reserve per gallon (plus the "mushroom" that forms), and start another batch. I mix mine with fruit in a Vitamix then bottle in beer bottles. It will get fizzy after a couple of days, then you should refrigerate or else kaboom.

Note: unlike brewing beer which needs to be handled with surgical cleanliness, kombucha is pretty aggressive and most foreign buggies pretty much leave it alone. But be clean anyway to avoid headaches and possible mold.