The only hard part of making kombucha is getting starter culture. Here’s an easy way to do that:
Get a bottle of K.T.’s [or any non-pasteurized brand] . . . remove the cap, cover with cotton [or paper towel] and rubber band, set in warm spot [room temperature is fine] for about 3 weeks [or less] and a nice baby culture will grow on the top! Simply pour the entire contents in your . . . tea and sugar mixture.
I noticed the same thing with Rejuvenation Company kombucha stored at room temperature for a few weeks. To speed up culture growth transfer the kombucha to a container with a wide mouth, so that it gets more oxygen. Adding sugar, a few teaspoons/cup of kombucha, might help.
Seth, thanks for providing me with a piece of your Kombucha starter. I placed it in a wide-mouth glass jar with some black tea and sugar about a week ago and a nice mother has formed on top. I tasted it last night and it is still too sweet so I’ll let it sit some more and keep tasting it every few days until it’s sour enough for my liking. It already smells great!
This is basically the method I used to get started. I just went the “speedy” route and brewed some fresh sweet tea, let it cool to room temp, put it in a widemouth gallon sized jar (same size I’d ultimately use for a full batch), cover, and wait. I’ve now on batches two and three of kombucha — this is probably five weeks later?
I’ve done two batches now and starting on my third. The first I took down too soon and it was too sweet because of it. I simply judged it wrong during testing. I should have let it ferment longer. It took 9 days. It had 1 1/4 cup sugar and 10 green tea bags and 1/4 cup white vinegar. The second batch I used 1 cup sugar and 8 tea bags (lipton) and 1/4 cup white vinegar. This one took 9 days too but this time I was better at judging the sweetness when I finished it. Interestingly this second batch had a fizz to it, even in the big gallon jug as I was pouring it into 16 oz ball jars for the fridge. But after it’s been in the fridge even with lids, the fizz went away.
This next batch I’m starting today I’ll use 1 cup sugar and 10 lipton tea bags. At the end I plan on leaving a few of the 16 oz ball jars of finished tea at room temp for a few days before refrigerating. I’ve read this will give it fizz.
All batches I use a gallon wide mouth jar, put in a Coleman ice chest with part of a heating pad inside. I have a digital thermometer inside and I keep it around 80 degrees, plus or minus a few degrees. My first batch I used a starter culture from Kombucha America. The second and now my third batch I use the mushroom from the old batch. I rinse it off using spring water first.
My goal is to get it to taste like GT’s original version. So far mine have not had as much flavor or tasted as strong as I’d like.
Too much info?
Dan
I just noticed on the side of the GT’s bottle it says “cultured for 30 days”. Now this is interesting because everything I’ve read online and the instructions from Kombucha America all say the same thing, from 7 to 10 days to culture. If 30 days is what it takes to get something like GT’s, I’m wondering how much of each ingredient they use at the start. Could they be using quite a bit more sugar, so when it gets to 30 days, although the sugar is gone you have a much tastier beverage?
Dan
Dan, I’ve varied the number of tea bags (per two quarts water). 3 is too weak, 5 is too strong. So I use 4. The flavor I get is just as good as GT’s, if I wait a few weeks or more.
Ah, so I’ve just been a little impatient sounds like. I’ll let this batch go longer this time. How much sugar do you use for two quarts? And do you use vinegar or some tea from a finished batch or none of these?
Thanks