New to Kombucha Brewing

[Joey_K]

Hello all! I wanted to introduce myself as I am new to this forum as well as to brewing kombucha. I live in South Florida where we keep the apartment relatively cool (between 68 and 72). I have watched several YouTube videos on kombucha and decided to give brewing my own a try. After ordering my 1 gallon jars, 16 oz flip top bottles, black tea and a scoby from Amazon, I finally got started 12 days ago. Unfortunately, I had a very slow first week which I think was because of the coolness of the apartment. So I ordered a heating mat which I placed on the jar this past Monday. Since then I’ve seen some changes happening and hope everything goes smoothly here on out.

I’m considering starting a second jar since I received two heating mats and already have another scoby which I received from online. But as a beginner I have many questions. If you are able to answer any of these, I’d be most appreciative!

For now, I’ll start with the next steps I need to take for F2. I’m confused by how to prepare the bottle for the second fermentation stage. Some say to place in the dishwasher and others say only rinse out and not to use soap. Atm I plan on rinsing out with purified water, perhaps soaking in boiling water and even rinsing with distilled vinegar. I have both 16 oz flip top bottles ordered from Amazon as well as bottles I’d like to recycle from store bought kombucha. Any suggestions on how to prepare the bottles? Do’s and Dont’s?

I’m sure my second thread will be about flavoring the second fermentation. Again, thank you all for your help as I get acquainted with this process!! God Bless you all!

 

[RPh_Guy]

I’m confused by how to prepare the bottle for the second fermentation stage.

If the insides of the bottles are as clean as your normal dishware, then they're fine to use.
Make sure to rinse them out immediately after use.

If you use soap of any kind, just make sure to rinse it so there's no residue.

Cheers

 

[S-Met]

Welcome Joey!

Search through the forums as almost any question you have has probably been answered in a dozen contradictory ways. And when you are thoroughly confused, ask. We will probably only add to the confusion, and for good reason: we all have our own "best practices."

Regarding bottle/vessel prep: learn the difference between clean, sanitize, sterilize. These terms frequently get used interchangeably but really mean different things and there are appropriate places for all of them.

I feel that it is important to understand that you are fermenting which technically is an infection. Not all infections are bad. Be it beer, wine, cider or kombucha, you are intentionally infecting your base to create something new. Sometimes these are specific, other times spontaneous or wild, but either way its an infection.

My point is that you do not need a laboratory grade sterilized substrate. Your goal is to create an environment where your desired infection can outcompete your undesired infections.