BertusBrew
Well-Known Member
The only kombucha I have ever had was GT's and I want to start making my own. Where do I start? I have no clue.
So just to clarify...
You're saying I should go ahead and use this now - the SCOBY and 1 L of the liquid that it's in, and then add 2 L of new tea and sugar to top up to 3 L total in the 1 gal jar?
What is a good recipe for the new tea? For this starter, I used 2 black and 2 green tea bags, and 1/2 cup (I think - maybe 3/4? Don't remember... Should have written it down!) sugar... But that was for 1 qt (or L, basically), of which I used 24 oz...
And thanks for the advice! I like the idea of marking the 1 and 3 L marks on the jar...
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Is that helpful?
What do you use for your bottling bucket? I have a 5 gal one for homebrewing, but I'm thinking I'd want a separate (and smaller) one for the Booch, to keep the bugs separate from the yeast-only beer bucket. I know I could clean it well, but with plastic I hear that it gets small micro-scratches that like to harbor bacteria easily...
kyt, why do you boil the tea again after adding the sugar?
Yup should be right about perfect. If you want to be extra sure, check the pH. If it's at least right around 3.0, you're good to go. Mine is usually between 3.2-3.0 when I start a new batch. Takes about 7 days, or every quarter moon phase.
For the new tea, it's personal preference. I use 1 organic green, and 1 organic black tea bag per 1L of water. I also use 50g of Domino cane sugar per 1L.
For the new tea, since I'll be replacing 10L, I'll pour a gallon of distilled water in a pot to boil while I'm harvesting and bottling the last batch. Typically what I'll do is once the water starts to boil (~100°C) I turn the burner off, and put the bags in the pot.
10L means 10 green and 10 black bags = 20 bags total.
I put the 10 black in first, and set the timer for 30 minutes. When the timer is up I take all the black out, and put the 10 green bags in, set the timer for 30 minutes. I'm usually done doing whatever I'm doing with the harvested batch by then. When the time is up, set the burner to HIGH, take out the green bags, and pour in the 500g of sugar, plus a tablespoon of lemon juice.
Hopefully it won't be too far out of balance (too little yeast, as you mentioned, or too low of pH) now. On that note, which pH strips do you use? I have the ColorpHast ones for brewing, but the 4-7 ones, which obviously don't go low enough for this... Do you use the 1-7 (or is it 0-7?) ones?
I like that ratio. But I'm not going to do such a large batch yet. I plan on just doing the 3L (or quarts, which is close enough at this volume) in the one gallon jar. So do you think I should still let the tea steep for 30 min each? It'll only be 2L I'm boiling/adding, so only 2 black and 2 green bags... So I was thinking maybe 10 min each? Also, would you do less lemon juice too... Maybe just a tsp or even 1/2 tsp for 2L? Thanks!
Check the pH to know when to use the starter. When I started out, mine only sat for 1 week.
The purpose of the starter is to lower the pH of the new brew to levels that inhibit molds and spoilage organism growth, and inoculate the new liquid of course. Pellicle thickness is virtually irrelevant. Since you started with GTs it was ready to go right then, depending on the volume you were planning on using. One whole bottle of GTs is enough to start a whole gallon of new tea.
Recommended minimum volume of starter is 1 cup starter to a gallon of tea.
GTs bottles are 16 oz/2 cups.
You could have been drinking your second batch by now.
Arrg thank you! I started before I even knew this forum existed and all the bloggers claimed it would take weeks to months to begin. Imagine my surprise when after a few days I had a thick scoby on top. So tomorrow I will purchase some more starter and just begin from there. Thanks!
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I've heard people saying you need to burp the bottles periodically to avoid bottle bombs... Is this true? I assume so, because it's not like beer where you know it's done fermenting and all the fermentable sugars are gone/fermented, and you can use the calc and bottle, knowing you'll get a measured amount of CO2 to carb, but not more. There are still fermentables in solution, right, amd yeast and bacteria too (they don't all stay in the SCOBY only, right, but some permeate the liquid?)... So they'd keep fermenting in the bottle, wouldn't they? Or do they stop, having been removed from contact with the SCOBY?
Yea, I can't imagine how tart those people's KT ends up, turns my stomach thinking about it. I'm drinking some right now that was 10-day and it's almost too tart for me, and I drink 1oz of Bragg's every morning. After sitting for a month I'd end up with yeasty vinegar. That might make a good hair rinse or marinade, but not any kind of beverage I'd find refreshing.
And just because your's has sat for too long doesn't mean you can't use it. You'll probably need to add a cup of newer KT to it to get your viable yeast count back up. Sitting for that long in such acidic solution, you may not have enough yeast left for a complete fermentation.
I've heard people saying you need to burp the bottles periodically to avoid bottle bombs... Is this true? I assume so, because it's not like beer where you know it's done fermenting and all the fermentable sugars are gone/fermented, and you can use the calc and bottle, knowing you'll get a measured amount of CO2 to carb, but not more. There are still fermentables in solution, right, amd yeast and bacteria too (they don't all stay in the SCOBY only, right, but some permeate the liquid?)... So they'd keep fermenting in the bottle, wouldn't they? Or do they stop, having been removed from contact with the SCOBY?
Maybe, but I wouldn't count on it. Once you chill them, a lot to sleep. Just put the bottles in a cooler and store someplace cool, like a basement. This will slow them down a little. I've left strawberry KT out on the kitchen floor near a heat vent for a week, and didn't have any trouble with it. But as always YMMV.Well, after searching around the Interwebz some more, apparently the 2F is okay to leave capped, just as long as you are aware of you're added fermentables and keep an eye on things. I was just worried because I leave for a trip tomorrow, and didn't want them exploding on me while I was gone. So I put the bottles in a big pot with a cover (just in case), and will only leave at room temp until I leave tomorrow, at which time I'll throw them in the fridge. When I return, I'll try one, and if not carbed enough, taking them out of the cold and back to room temp should restart fermentation, no?
Sounds good to me.Please let me know how that sounds, and I'll let y'all know how they turn out!
Now I've got the two SCOBYs still in the gal jar - the new, wide one, and my older, narrower one I grew up. Should I pull out the old one, and toss it? Or time for a SCOBY hotel?
Most people start their KT careers with a bottle or less of kombucha, whoever thought you'd need a whole gallon of deteriorating cellulose taking up space in their home, was obviously drunk.
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