Kombucha Herbal Tea Question

[Micah2oo4]

Yeah so I just started, Brother's girlfriend gave me a Scoby. I was wanting to use White Tea. However my White Tea that I have is mixed with Hibiscus, Lemon Grass, and Dried Pomegranate, and was wondering if these herbs are safe? I am turned off to using green/black tea due to the toxic levels of Fluoride in them. So was hoping to do a mix of black and white (mostly white). Will these herbs kill the scoby?

 

[CHERYLinND]

From the actual scientific articles I can find on fluoride, you'd have to be a heavy consumer, like more than 4 or 5 cups a day, to have a problem with the possible elevated fluoride.

 

[Micah2oo4]

I try to avoid fluoride anyway, especially the part that it causes yellow crystals to form around your pineal gland.

so are any of those harmful to the scoby?

 

[Adambroder]

I'm afraid I don't have an answer but would like to add to the question and ask if linden flowers might be harmful? For my first batch of Kombucha I thought I'd use linden flower tea from the tree just outside my home, however I read that herbal teas should be used in small amounts along with black tea or another type of non-herbal tea. That being said, would a small amount of linden be ok to use with the majority being black tea?

 

[porcupine73]

Supposedly it is the oils in herbal teas that the scoby may not like. Ideally any additional things like fruit or flavorings would get added for the second ferment. I don't know if white tea would alone would be nourishing enough for the scoby's long term health. I use a mix of pu-erh, black, green, white and rooibos. If the fluoride comes from fertilizers, organic teas may be lower in fluoride.