Vian

My scoby sunk! I think I moved it too much and it sunk down in the jar, will it be ok? Also, I ended up with three 32oz. bottles for my second fermentation. My plan, since I'm continuous brewing, is to remove about 26 ounces of kombucha from my large jar (holds 1.8 gallons, but I don't think I'll ever have it full to the top) every 4 days, then add about 6 ounces (20%) fruit juice or puree, and let it ferment again for 4 days, then put it in the fridge. Each bottle is 32 ounces, so I'll be able to drink 8 ounces of kombucha per day, 4 days worth from each bottle, then the next bottle should be ready. Obviously, this is how it would work in a perfect world and I know I'll have to do some trial and error to get the timing right. Depending on how fermented the kombucha is after the first 7 days, I may have to draw all 3 bottles at once so it doesn't turn to vinegar, lol. My house is pretty warm, so I expect the scoby to work quickly. Also, the bottles I got say to hand wash only. I don't have a dishwasher anyway, but I would be afraid to boil them for sterilization. Would it work pretty well to fill them with really hot water from the tap with some bleach in them to clean the bottles before bottling my kombucha? Should I bleach and clean the bottles each time I fill them as well?

That's a great idea getting used beer bottles with those swing-top lids from bars! I might call around and see if I can come up with anything

Would bottles like this work for bottling up my kombucha? I believe they are 32 or 34 ounces. They are a bit pricy, but they are local and I wouldn't have to pay shipping, and I have a cupon for $10 off a purchase of $30, so I could get like 5 of them for $20. http://www.worldmarket.com/product/square-glass-bottle-with-clamp-stopper.do My other option is just using quart mason jars with plastic lids, but the plastic lids are not air tight...

I DID IT! I GREW A SCOBY! Even messing up and using a black tea with orange oil in it, this baby still grew in about 6 days! I'm going to let it thicken up a bit more before I move it into my big jar, but wow, I'm so excited! It literally appeared overnight. I checked on it yesterday and there was nothing but a little blob of something floating at one side, then today it's a beautiful milky film almost covering the whole top! I covered the jar with paper towel and put it in the top shelf of my kitchen cabinet to keep it dark and warm. YAY!

The local people who were selling scobys on craigslist here said they don't have any more to share, but they will in about 2 weeks. Now I have to decide if I want to just wait for a piece of their scoby, or keep trying to grow my own from GT's... I was thinking of going up to the big natural market place and see if they have any of the alcoholic GT's that people were talking about having better luck with.

I ended up running around a big strip mall here to various stores, Big Lots, TJ Max, Target, Pier 1, etc. Almost all of them had some kind of glass drink dispenser, ranging from $20-$60. I ended up getting this one at TJ Max for $16.99 The spigot is plastic, and it holds about 1.8 gallons and it fits under my cabinets! It's full of water to make sure the seal around the spigot wasn't leaking.

Does anyone around here do continuous brew kombucha? Essentially, you fill a large drink dispenser (kind with a spigot at the bottom) with your sweet tea and scoby, let brew like normal, then pull some of the liquid from the bottom into bottles for the second fermentation and add fresh sweet tea in the top in an ammount equal to what you removed. I was thinking of trying this method and was wondering if a container like this would work http://www.amazon.com/New-Wave-Enviro-Gallon-Refrigerator/dp/B001UJMOH2/ref=pd_sim_k_2 I'm afraid that the shape of it would create too much surface area that the scoby would have to cover or something...

who mentioned vinegar eels? I haven't seen anything about those...I used to grow them on purpose to feed to baby fish (I keep freshwater fish). You keep them in jars with a mix of apple cider vinegar and water.

It says oils in herbal teas should never come in contact with the culture, so I guess that means I have to start over. Oh well, it's all about learning, right? On the bright side, I found someone locally that sells scobys for $10, so maybe I can get one there...

Hmm, I didn't think of the oils in the tea. Should I start over? I also have plain green and white teas with nothing else added. I wonder if the oils could go rancid and ruin it...

Thanks! I got my bottle of GT's Original yesterday and put it in a quart mason jar with a paper towel on top, held in place with the mason jar ring and put it in my kitchen cupboard. I also added a cup of sweet tea to it, I used Tazo Focus for my tea because I had it. It is black tea with roasted Yerba Mate, orange essence, and cocoa peel. I had a question though, I love vanilla, and last year made my own vanilla extract as gifts for family at Christmas. I have several bottles of vanilla extract left (I used grade B madagascar vanilla beans and Costco brand vodka, which is basically Grey Goose). I'd really like to try a cherry and/or peach with vanilla flavor for my Kombucha. Now, I also had a few beans left over from making the vanilla and stuck them in my granulated sugar canister to infuse the sugar with vanilla. Would any of the vanilla flavor survive if I used the vanilla sugar to feed a batch of kombucha? Or would the vanilla extract be ok to use?

I just bought some GT's Guava Goddess kombucha to try it (never had kombucha before at all) and it's really tasty! Now I totally want to start making my own. I think I'll buy a bottle of the original unflavored one and start trying to grow my own scoby! I drank half the bottle this afternoon and am feeling slightly buzzed, lol. "Trace amounts of alcohol" my behind!

I am interested in trying Kombucha! I should probably buy some from the store and taste it to make sure I like it, lol, but it sounds really fun! I was wondering, do you have to use black tea, or would green tea work? Or white tea? I have a box of 100 ceylon white tea bags just waiting to be used.