first batch complete...

[maaltan]

I have just completed my first batch of kombucha and had some questions. first off my setup:

1. tea: 3 quart sized bags with 1 quart of water an 1.5 cups of sugar boiled for 15 minutes
2. 1 gal cookie jar filled with 2 quarts of iced water.
3. hot tea is slowly introduced into cookie jar (glass is not rated for hot liquid, so i didn't want to crack it)
4. scoby from amazon was introduced with the starter tea provided. ph measured about 3.5
5. culture rested for about 16 days at 66F-70f (cool i know, more questions below)
   

After 16 days a baby scoby was well formed (12 inches in diameter and about 1/2 inch thick) Many gossamer strands of brown yeasty bits throughout the liquid. few bubbles under scoby.

I bottled most of the batch in 16 oz bottles for second fermentation (ongoing)

PH was still about 3.4-3.5. the batch was still very sweet. i would describe it as a light fruit tea (maybe peach) consumed while fresh bread is being baked..

Now my questions/concerns:

• temperature: Can someone recommend a setup for a warmer that would fit into a kitchen cabinet. I see a bunch of stuff on amazon, but fakespot.com says most of the reviews are crap. I typically keep my house about 60 in the winter, so this will be needed soon.
• Yeast strands: When i started the next batch i filtered out discarded most of the yeast strands since they were not attached to scoby. Was this the correct thing to do
• Bottling: Since it was still sweet, i didn't add additional sugar. Within 4 hours of bottling large yeast strands start to form from top (as in several inches). Is this normal, Is there any way to prevent it?
• General tips: Please let me know if there is anything you spot in my setup that can be improved.
• PH meter: i got a $20 meter off amazon. it is quite wonky (it takes several minutes for the ph to stablize) . I have not calibrated it yet since i don't yet have metric measuring tools to create the calibration solutions. Could this be the source of my problem?

thanks in advance

 

[dangenlo]

I have just completed my first batch of kombucha and had some questions. first off my setup:

1. tea: 3 quart sized bags with 1 quart of water an 1.5 cups of sugar boiled for 15 minutes
2. 1 gal cookie jar filled with 2 quarts of iced water.
3. hot tea is slowly introduced into cookie jar (glass is not rated for hot liquid, so i didn't want to crack it)
4. scoby from amazon was introduced with the starter tea provided. ph measured about 3.5
5. culture rested for about 16 days at 66F-70f (cool i know, more questions below)
   

After 16 days a baby scoby was well formed (12 inches in diameter and about 1/2 inch thick) Many gossamer strands of brown yeasty bits throughout the liquid. few bubbles under scoby.

I bottled most of the batch in 16 oz bottles for second fermentation (ongoing)

PH was still about 3.4-3.5. the batch was still very sweet. i would describe it as a light fruit tea (maybe peach) consumed while fresh bread is being baked..

Now my questions/concerns:

• temperature: Can someone recommend a setup for a warmer that would fit into a kitchen cabinet. I see a bunch of stuff on amazon, but fakespot.com says most of the reviews are crap. I typically keep my house about 60 in the winter, so this will be needed soon.
• Yeast strands: When i started the next batch i filtered out discarded most of the yeast strands since they were not attached to scoby. Was this the correct thing to do
• Bottling: Since it was still sweet, i didn't add additional sugar. Within 4 hours of bottling large yeast strands start to form from top (as in several inches). Is this normal, Is there any way to prevent it?
• General tips: Please let me know if there is anything you spot in my setup that can be improved.
• PH meter: i got a $20 meter off amazon. it is quite wonky (it takes several minutes for the ph to stablize) . I have not calibrated it yet since i don't yet have metric measuring tools to create the calibration solutions. Could this be the source of my problem?

thanks in advance

Use http://trustwerty.com to find products that are trustworthy by reviews on Amazon.

Be also careful with the cheap meters, they usually go haywire within the start from my own experience.

 

[carolinea]

Congrats on finishing your first brew!

For a heater I use a brew belt (available on Amazon). It's much less expensive than kombucha heaters and it will warm 3 jars at once. It says not to use on glass but I do anyway. You can double wrap for more heat . Definitely get a temp strip if you're not using one. Aim for 75-85 degrees all the time.
Yeast strands I don't generally filter out from starter unless there are a ton. I don't usually get them in my bottles, but I don't think it's cause for concern. Filter them out or leave them depending on preference.

For future batches, higher temps will speed things along. Wait to bottle until you like the level of sweet sour.

For initial setup, I like to add the additional water in the same pot as the tea, then pour it all in together to the jar and it'll be room temp. Won't affect your brew but it's easier.

I don't use a PH meter and my brews turn out well. I'd concentrate on getting the temperature right, that's probably the source of any issues.

Good luck with future brews!

 

[carolinea]

Also, 1.5 cups of sugar is a lot. I usually use 1 cup per gallon. I'm not sure what you mean by boiled for 15 minutes, but I usually just boil the water, then turn off heat and steep for 20 minutes, then add sugar. If you have a one gallon jar Id recommend filling it almost to the top. Add water after the starter tea if necessary.