Kombucha conservation

[smety]

Hey there!
I was thinking about conserving kombucha drink after the second flavouring fermentation. In the fridge, it can last for a couple of months, but at room temperature, it will blast out or go bad. Do you have some tips on how to conserve it? I need to stop the fermentation somehow, I know it will probably kill the living culture in it, but I'm okay with that if it keeps the original flavour and fizz.
Before I'll start experimenting on my own, I would be more than happy for some advice.

Thanks for all the answers!

 

[rushpapers]

To store at room temp you must either pasteurize, to kill the culture, or add potassium sorbate to stop the yeast from reproducing. Potassium sorbate can be purchased as an organic if you're looking to keep your booch organic.

 

[smety]

To store at room temp you must either pasteurize, to kill the culture, or add potassium sorbate to stop the yeast from reproducing. Potassium sorbate can be purchased as an organic if you're looking to keep your booch organic.

I already tried pasteurizing but I'm not happy with the result much... It has lost some of the fizz and it tastes a bit different. I'll give it a try with the potassium sorbate, thanks!

 

[eminsasani97]

Hi Everyone
I have a question. I am brewing 8 lt of black tea kombucha and I did something stupid, I used all my fermented kombucha for bottling and left only half a cup as a starter for the next batch. So I went to the grocery to get some kombucha but they only had unflavored raw Green tea kombucha. So I used 2 cups of that for my new batch as a starter. Today is the second day and I’ll attach the pictures. Do you think this green tea kombucha will work for my black tea brew? Thank you so much.

 

[rushpapers]

It will work, as long as you used enough. What was your starting ph? It should be at least as low as 4.2. It would be better if it was below 4.

 

[eminsasani97]

OK great thank you for your reply I was really worried. I am not sure about the pH because it was not mentioned on the bottle but it’s a kombucha so it should definitely be lower than four.
Can I ask one more thing. Other batches that I’m doing got fizzy on the third day and the color changed so quick and I can see bubbles constantly going up from the bottom of the jar, I tried to take the pictures but in pictures you can’t see the bubbles. normally this happens like in a week. is this normal can it be related to warm environment? . I will attach the pictures. to me it seems like I everything is developing much faster than it should be and it worries me. Is everything fine or am I having problems? thank you..

 

[rushpapers]

You need to test the pH, otherwise you're winging it. When you mixed the store bought kombucha with the batch you created it then had an unknown pH. You describe it as progressing normally which is good, but you might not always be so lucky.

Multiple factors are going to affect the way the kombucha matures including: heat, cold, exposure to sunlight, darkness, oxygen, lack of oxygen, sugar content, nitrogen content, available yeast, available bacteria, etc.

The way to tell if it's "done," is to test it: testing the pH, tasting it, testing the brix, observing how it looks, etc.

You need to invest in a pH meter. A digital costs about $20. You'll need to also buy buffer solution to calibrate the meter.

 

[eminsasani97]

OK thank you so much, I’ll get one right away .