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Donna, I have been making kombucha for about a year now. Do the cultures ever get old? I am not sure what is happening with my kombucha. After about 10 days or so of fermenting there still is no new baby culture growing on the top. There is just a thin flim. What does this mean? Is my kombucha tea any good or do I need to throw it out and get a new culture and start over? This is the second time this has happened. There is no mold or any vinegar flies. I use to get thick new cultures on top. I also use the warming belt since it is still quite cool. i have my gal jars in a small cabinet. Is it possible they are not getting enough air circulation? Need some help!!!
Hi Ann,
This happened to me once and I found that I needed a new culture. What you can do is get an original Gts synergy kombucha and add it to your brew. There is not enough cultures to make your brew. Did you let your brew go for to long before using it again a couple times? I am not sure why this happens. The cultures on mine seem to not be strong enough. I got a new starter from a friend and that took care of it. That was about 5 years ago. Find someone who has one or get an original GTs synergy (make sure it’s original and not fruit flavored) and add that to your brew and see if it will start to culture again. Add the whole bottle. Let me know how it goes.
Yep, booch is the bomb! So I attended your kefir workshop at Nature’s Pantry last month and am still “encouraging” my kefir grains to reach a quantity that’ll allow me to ferment more than two cups at a time–still figuring kefir out. In the mean time, my wife and I have been going kombucha crazy. We’ve always purchased it as a rare treat, but recently started brewing our own. We actually grew our first scoby from a store bought bottle of kombucha.
So I am second fermenting/flavoring/bottling my booch. I have been using the grolsch swing-tops. I know you recommend them and use them yourself, so…
Question #1: Do you burp your kombucha while it’s fermenting in the swing-top bottles? I read one source that stated (I’ll attempt to quote…don’t recall the source):
“grolsch bottles don’t require burping even with a very active brew, because the clamp top allows excess pressure to escape…”
My caution alarm sounded and I have yet to test that statement. During the second ferment, I burp my kombucha daily when it is a very active brew and less when it’s less active.
Question #2: When “burping” your booch, how long do you leave the top open before clamping it shut again? Should it literally be like a burp–i.e. open/close quickly? With a recent brew, upon opening to burp it, it fizzed over and I lost a bit of my precious liquid, so I left it to continue to ferment thinking that I had lost some of the carbonation. The taste was still great, but I was a bit disappointed with the resulting carbonation (fear not, my carbonation expectations are fair).
…Gallon Jars of brew litter our counter tops. I can’t wait to get a continuous brewing operation going in a large cask…
-Darin
(the long-winded one)
Hi Darin, You don’t need to burb your kombucha if you use those grolsch bottles. You can however do this if it makes you feel better.
If you want them to calm down and not lose the fizz refrigerated them before you open them.Don’t laeve them open very long it will make them lose their bubbliness. Do it quickly.I am a fizz girl and I live for the foaming fizziness of kombucha. I love it that you like it too. Happy fermenting.
Hi Donna! I love kombucha, and crave it. Unfortunately it causes hives and allergic reactions for me, not sure if this is because I am allergic to mold, type of Kombucha, etc. I want to use and make my own fermented foods and kefir’s but find almost no information on the internet to help me determine what my allergic reaction might be caused by. Would you have any links or information to recommend regarding this subject? I appreciate your help!
It would really help you to start eating other fermented foods first if you are having a reaction to kombucha.Many times these reaction are from adrenal stress and often go away after fixing the gut. Try cultured veggies and kefir first and see how you do. Fix the gut and the adrenals will follow.
Donna,
I have a couple of questions. I started my first batch of kombucha 2 1/2 weeks ago. I want to flavor it when it is ready. I grow blackberries and raspberries in my yard. Last year I had so many that i pressed the juice out and froze it. can i use that juice to flavor my kombucha?? Also, i make ricotta at home. can i use that whey to make cultured vegetables or does it have to be kefir whey. i went on vacation and my grains died even tho i refrigerated it with extra milk so i don’t have kefir right now. can you get kefir whey from store bought kefir?
thanks, look forward to hearing from you.
You can use your frozen juice to flavor your kombucha. Works great. You can’t use whey from ricotta because it doesn’t have enough bacteria in it and it is also heated which destroys bacteria. Store bought kefir doesn’t seem to have very much whey. I have tried to make cheese with it and it doesn’t work. You can try it and see and there is good bacteria in it to culture with.
Donna, I am trying to find quality kefir grains. Where can i get them? Thanks!
Here are some options for you. Shared Kefir Grains: http://www.torontoadvisors.com/Kefir/kefir-list.php
Heal Thyself has a community of people willing to share kefir grains. http://heal-thyself.ning.com/group/introtoferments
You can purchase your grains here. Cultures For Health. http://www.culturesforhealth.com/starter-cultures/kefir-cultures.html
Hello~
My kefir is Separating alot. I am still eating it, but why so much seperation? Can I do something different? Have been adding more milk…
Thank you!
It is one of two things. The temperature is warmer now so things ferment faster. Or your grains have grown and you need to add more milk or take out some of the grains. You can also ferment it less when you see it start to separate.
I have made my first batch of cultured veggies and love them. I stored my whey in the refrigerator from my kefir and it has been in there about 3 weeks. can i still use this for making more cultured veggies or is it too old?
Also where would i find the leaves you mentioned for making my pickles crunchy?
That is pretty old it is best to use whey within a few days a week at the most. You can find the leaves in your yard on oak trees and also blackberry, cherry,or raspberry bushes.
Hi, what tea bags do you recommend?
I get organic tea bags from costco. They have green and black and I use a mixture of both.