Re: Rookie here! Question on using a blended tea

[Guest guest]

Hi , and welcome to the world of Kombucha....

I would say for starting out it is best to use plain green and black

teas without any flavorings or other additives.

You can just use Lipton's from the grocery if that is what is

available to you. Many people do use some teas with other ingredients

in them, but as you are a beginner I would recommend using the plain

stuff until you get a feel for the end product.

The plant that tea comes from is called Camellia Sinensis, and the

leaves are the tea. The difference between black and green is in the

processing. Just go ahead and google on camellia Sinensis. All

Kombucha brews should contain Camellia Sinensis.

Go to the files section on our OK website and read up on the basic

recipes and information there. Also go to the photos section and see

what is there. There is a lot of info. If you cannot find the answer

to a specific question, come on back and ask. :-)

Good luck and happy brewing!

Gayle

On Dec 13, 2008, at 2:21 PM, susanw5319 wrote:

> Hello everyone

>

> I'm new here and just recently heard of KT. I ordered some today and

> have been trying to research so I'll be prepared when it arrives. I am

> not a tea drinker ..yet.. so have very very limited knowledge in this

> regard. Is there some place to go to learn what NOT to do? I have some

> tea that my neighbor gave me last year. It's from Boca Jave and called

> Green Passion. It is a blend of green tea, passion fruit, entwined

> with

> the essence of marigold flowers, japanese sencha and siberian ginseng.

> Is it best to use a " purer " tea? Also this is a year old and we are in

> Fl.

>

> Thanks for any input.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

there are very few true no-nos when making KT, but quite a few things that arent

recommended. heres a few:

avoid chlorinated water, filter if you can, let it sit for 24 hours before use,

or boil it if you have to

avoid temperature extremes. much above 80 will give you a yeasty brew, above 86

will kill it. below 70 wont hurt it necessarily, but it wont brew very fast, and

that may lead to mold.

in your first few brews, dont use anything but pure tea. many have experimented

with flavored teas like yours and had good success. others have ruined their

brew. save it for when you know how KT behaves, then try it in a small batch

first, always saving some " pure " stuff in reserve in case your experiment fails.

many people like a blend of black, green, and even white tea. those are all

still camellia sinsesis and that is what true KT is made from. red tea is

something else entirely (roobois) so should be saved for your experimentation

phase.

dont assume that whatever you see growing in the brew is mold. the scoby

starts out as a scummy looking layer on top. yeast strings may float throughout

or hang from the scoby and they can be really ugly, but mean your brew is doing

what it should.

avoid impatience. your first brew may take several weeks before you get a good

scoby. leave it undisturbed until it is at least an eigth inch thick. a quarter

inch is much better, and a half inch even better. dont worry if your first brew

is too sour. it makes great starter that way, and if you just have to drink some

(after all you just waited 3 weeks for it to be done!) just add a little of your

favorite juice and it will by yummy.

avoid leaving your container uncovered for even a short period from the time you

add the sugar to the tea until you have it bottled or consumed. fruit flies

absolutely love it, and will sneak in if given the chance.

dont expect your KT to taste just like whatever commercial brand you have been

drinking, or even like the brew of whoever turned you on to KT. each batch is

different and you will learn how to use its batch depending on its unique

characteristics.

most of all, dont panic. chances are your first brew will be just fine and this

site offers great support. and remember that each of us here have had batches

that failed for one reason or another. you will too, and it doesnt necessarily

mean you did something wrong.

happy brewing

dl

 

________________________________

From: susanw5319 <susanw5319@...>

kombucha tea

Sent: Saturday, December 13, 2008 2:21:18 PM

Subject: Rookie here! Question on using a blended tea

Hello everyone

I'm new here and just recently heard of KT. I ordered some today and

have been trying to research so I'll be prepared when it arrives. I am

not a tea drinker ..yet.. so have very very limited knowledge in this

regard. Is there some place to go to learn what NOT to do? I have some

tea that my neighbor gave me last year. It's from Boca Jave and called

Green Passion. It is a blend of green tea, passion fruit, entwined with

the essence of marigold flowers, japanese sencha and siberian ginseng.

Is it best to use a " purer " tea? Also this is a year old and we are in

Fl.

Thanks for any input.

[Guest guest]

>Thanks to both of you for your encouragement and words of advice.

I'm excited yet at the same time feeling a little overwhelmed. I

ordered online and also ordered some kefir and fil mjolk. In

hindsight I'm thinking I should have started with just one product.

Oh well.... no doubt you'll be hearing from me soon.

Thanks again.

> there are very few true no-nos when making KT, but quite a few

things that arent recommended. heres a few:

>

> avoid chlorinated water, filter if you can, let it sit for 24 hours

before use, or boil it if you have to

>

> avoid temperature extremes. much above 80 will give you a yeasty

brew, above 86 will kill it. below 70 wont hurt it necessarily,

but it wont brew very fast, and that may lead to mold.

>

> in your first few brews, dont use anything but pure tea. many have

experimented with flavored teas like yours and had good success.

others have ruined their brew. save it for when you know how KT

behaves, then try it in a small batch first, always saving

some " pure " stuff in reserve in case your experiment fails. many

people like a blend of black, green, and even white tea. those are

all still camellia sinsesis and that is what true KT is made from.

red tea is something else entirely (roobois) so should be saved for

your experimentation phase.

>

> dont assume that whatever you see growing in the brew is mold. the

scoby starts out as a scummy looking layer on top. yeast strings may

float throughout or hang from the scoby and they can be really ugly,

but mean your brew is doing what it should.

>

> avoid impatience. your first brew may take several weeks before you

get a good scoby. leave it undisturbed until it is at least an eigth

inch thick. a quarter inch is much better, and a half inch even

better. dont worry if your first brew is too sour. it makes great

starter that way, and if you just have to drink some (after all you

just waited 3 weeks for it to be done!) just add a little of your

favorite juice and it will by yummy.

>

> avoid leaving your container uncovered for even a short period from

the time you add the sugar to the tea until you have it bottled or

consumed. fruit flies absolutely love it, and will sneak in if given

the chance.

>

> dont expect your KT to taste just like whatever commercial brand

you have been drinking, or even like the brew of whoever turned you

on to KT. each batch is different and you will learn how to use its

batch depending on its unique characteristics.

>

> most of all, dont panic. chances are your first brew will be just

fine and this site offers great support. and remember that each of us

here have had batches that failed for one reason or another. you will

too, and it doesnt necessarily mean you did something wrong.

>

> happy brewing

> dl

>

>

>  

>

>

>

>

>

> ________________________________

> From: susanw5319 <susanw5319@...>

> kombucha tea

> Sent: Saturday, December 13, 2008 2:21:18 PM

> Subject: Rookie here! Question on using a blended tea

>

>

> Hello everyone

>

> I'm new here and just recently heard of KT. I ordered some today

and

> have been trying to research so I'll be prepared when it arrives. I

am

> not a tea drinker ..yet.. so have very very limited knowledge in

this

> regard. Is there some place to go to learn what NOT to do? I have

some

> tea that my neighbor gave me last year. It's from Boca Jave and

called

> Green Passion. It is a blend of green tea, passion fruit, entwined

with

> the essence of marigold flowers, japanese sencha and siberian

ginseng.

> Is it best to use a " purer " tea? Also this is a year old and we are

in

> Fl.

>

> Thanks for any input.

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

These are some links that helped me, the ones with pictures were a great

support.

At least one of these links is in the files section, I did not see the

others.

My house is cool right now and I found that if the container is 4 inches

wide then I can

only put in 4 inches of tea or else the wild yeasts seem to take over.

Has anyone else had

this problem? I am using bottled Kombucha and adding sugar as a starter,

have started adding

about 1/4 cup vinegar to increase the acidity.

Kombucha

http://www.therpc.f9.co.uk/family/scobygrow/Day1.html

http://www.geocities.com/kombucha_balance/

http://www.kombu.de/anleit-e.htm

http://www.seedsofhealth.co.uk/fermenting/kombucha.shtml

http://users.bestweb.net/~om/~kombu/

http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/Realthing.html

Links - http://www.geocities.com/ladyfangs.geo/Page5.html

Also pictures of bad ferments

http://www.happyherbalist.com/pictures.htm

http://happyherbalist.com/gallery.htm

" And finally the mushroom itself. Many potential high value markets

exist for thin film bacterial cellulose, including

acoustic diaphragms , artificial skin, artificial blood vessels, liquid

loaded medical pads, super-sorbers and specialty

membranes. Potential markets for bacterial cellulose produced as pellets

in agitated culture include the mining industry,

the oil industry, foods, and the pulp and paper industry.

[source: Production of Bacterial Cellulose from Alternate Feedstocks. D.

N. M. A. Hamilton. May 7, 2000 – May 11,

2000 "

http://users.bestweb.net/~om/kmi/Genuine%20Kombucha.htm

" When Prof. Henneberg recommends using pure cultures, he means by that

nothing more than cultivating both constituent part - Bacterium xylinum

and the Pombe yeast - separately, and only then bringing them together.

Preparing the beverage at home, of course, one has to continue working

with the already combined constituents of the culture.

The sum up, one may say: The principal constituents Schizosaccharomyces

pombe and Bacterium (Acetobacter) xylinum are both unhesitatingly attested

in the writings of the experts. An exception to this is Wiechowski (1928),

who considers Bacterium gluconicum to be the principal bacterium and

Bacterium xylinum next in order of importance. Irrespective of these,

other bacteria and yeasts are mentioned as being constituent elements,

whose presence however varies. "

aka Piper

USDA zone 8; Waco, TX

susanw5319 wrote:

> Hello everyone

>

> I'm new here and just recently heard of KT. I ordered some today and

> have been trying to research so I'll be prepared when it arrives. I am

> not a tea drinker ..yet.. so have very very limited knowledge in this

> regard. Is there some place to go to learn what NOT to do? I have some

> tea that my neighbor gave me last year. It's from Boca Jave and called

> Green Passion. It is a blend of green tea, passion fruit, entwined with

> the essence of marigold flowers, japanese sencha and siberian ginseng.

> Is it best to use a " purer " tea? Also this is a year old and we are in

> Fl.

>

> Thanks for any input.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you for the information.

Mike

> > Hello everyone

> >

> > I'm new here and just recently heard of KT. I

> ordered some today and

> > have been trying to research so I'll be prepared

> when it arrives. I am

> > not a tea drinker ..yet.. so have very very limited

> knowledge in this

> > regard. Is there some place to go to learn what NOT to

> do? I have some

> > tea that my neighbor gave me last year. It's from

> Boca Jave and called

> > Green Passion. It is a blend of green tea, passion

> fruit, entwined with

> > the essence of marigold flowers, japanese sencha and

> siberian ginseng.

> > Is it best to use a " purer " tea? Also this

> is a year old and we are in

> > Fl.

> >

> > Thanks for any input.

> >

> >

>

>

> ------------------------------------

>

>