(Part 2) Top products from r/Kombucha

Kombucha is fairly forgiving, but the following might help:

• The biggest thing you can do to improve your kombucha is to use filtered water. Buy it filtered in bulk or install an inline filter.
  
• I find it easier to buy loose-leaf tea and a kitchen scale to measure our tea than to count tea bags, but YMMV. The loose leaf can go into a nylon mesh bag like a giant tea bag.
  
• Keep an eye on the temperature of the water that you use to brew your sweet tea - it should be well below boiling to avoid burning the tea leaves. With the 80/20 mix of green/black tea, I try to steep it at 170F for 10 minutes.
  
• Start 1F with a lot of kombucha starter - almost 1 gallon for the 5 gallon batch is a good place to start to make sure the scoby is nice and active. At a minimum, you should be using a half gallon of starter for that size batch.
  
• I like keeping track of the progress of my batches over time (pH, brix, and total acidity). If you feel similarly, get a pH meter, brix refractometer, and a total acidity titration testing kit (I just use some NaOH solution and the pH meter). I'm still trying to figure out a convenient setup for testing that provides a reasonable estimate of alcohol...
  
• Depending on the temperature in your brewing area, you may want to invest in a heating mat and thermostat that can keep the 1F at a consistent temperature. If you use one, wrap it around the sides of the bucket to make sure that both the yeast (which tends to sink) and the bacteria (which tends to float) benefit from its effects. Placing the bucket on top of the heating mat may lead to a kombucha batch that tastes heavily of yeast.
  
• When it comes time for 2F, there are a few options for moving your batch:
  
  • Pour it out: simple, but potentially messy
    
  • Ladle it out: simple, but time-consuming
    
  • Install a bottling spigot: very useful, but it creates the potential for leaks and it can get plugged up with yeast
    
  • Use gravity and an auto-siphon: a little difficult to understand the first time, but after that it's the best solution
    
    I hope that helps :)

GT is a great brand of high quality kombucha. If you are planning on starting your first batch, I would recommend that you use GTs original rather than one of the flavored bottles. You only need between 1 1/2 to 2 cups of starter tea to start your SCOBY, so finding the larger GT bottle would be unnecessary in your case.

As far as your home temperature, kombucha likes it best between 75 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. I use the propagate pro heating pads along with a lamp dimmer switch to keep the temp ideal. Here’s a link if you’re interested: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01ETRWSI6/ref=sxts_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549249522&sr=1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65

Anchor Hocking Heritage Hill Glass Beverage Dispenser with Spigot, 2 Gallon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BWC0E42/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_f4uhAbF8X8STT

1 X Organic Kombucha Scoby - Live Culture by Scoby Kombucha https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009ZW8RP4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_.5uhAb83TMN5D

Unbleached Cheesecloth 9 Sq ft 100% Cotton Reusable-Great Filter or Strainer for Cheese/Kombucha scoby/Glass jar/Wine making https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M612PJU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_j7uhAbFHCHX7S

Adhesive Temperature Strip https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0079JZLP4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i9uhAbJBGF75D

Red Baron Bottle Capper https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001D6KGTK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_xbvhAbFY4CJN3

Beer Bottle Crown Caps - Oxygen Absorbing for Homebrew (Gold) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZSEH8VW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_YcvhAbCE0836F

Bottles Free: Just start saving old beer bottles (not the twist on style bottle) submerge them in hot water for 5 min, labels peel right off.

Sanitizer: White Vinegar, I prefer Star san.

Prince of Peace Tea, Black, 100 Count https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AP70BKC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_divhAbY9D73AP

With these products, you will be good to go and your volume is 2 gallons, so by the time your upgrading after your first batch. For me a 1 gallon container never cut it. With the capper you don’t have to worry about giving your friends a bottle of your Kombucha and never seeing your $4 swing cap bottle again. Just save old beer bottles or ask your friends for them.

To answer your question, the temps you listed are to low. For all brewing temperatures are very important. You want to keep your fermentation in the 70s. Here’s how you fix the problem without keeping your home heater on 24/7.

Round Kombucha Heater Kit for Continuous Brew Crocks & Dispensers. 10" Brewing & Fermentation Heat Mat, Works with any Ceramic, Glass, Stone or Porcelain Containers (10"-120VAC 7-Watts) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072S6XBQJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_1tvhAb04PYXBK

Enjoy... In the long run you will spend less by starting off with the right equipment.

I started with a 1-gallon. After 3 successful brews, I went for this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000RMTG3S

Continuous brew seemed too complicated for me right now. As far as emptying, I'll just siphon it (it'll be ready in the next couple of days).

For 2F, I've been using Honest Tea plastic bottles. For this upcoming large batch, I'm going with something like this

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001DYO4KY/

My local Kroger has similar ones for $7 a jar. Might go smaller, well see. Final bottling in standard 16oz flip tops.

I'd avoid "self-burping" - I want the carbonation.

Hmmm. Some things...

• Stainless steel and food safe plastic are just fine.
  
  
• 1/8th cup sugar per 8 ounces would be 2 cups per gallon which is double what's normally recommended. Not a problem if you like it sweet though.
  
  
• Fuck fruit flies. And their dirty little maggots. Really.
  
  
• Taste testing is the only reliable method to find when your brew is mature to your tastes. Until you are experienced anyway. I recommend people test every couple days after 6-7 days until they know how their specific brew goes as things like specific tea used and ambient temperature can change the speed of things quite a bit.
  
  
• I really need to experiment with the flavor steep idea. I just 2F with my fruit in the bottles. Curious if it would make a difference to do both.
  
  
• Get yourself some nut milk bags. They make amazing filters for straining your puree out. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N2Q4O08/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  
  
• Most instructions recommend saving 2 cups of brew per gallon as starter to get the pH of your new brew low to reduce the risk of contamination getting a foothold.. I personally do 4 cups per gallon because I do fairly large brews of 4 gallons and it helps it get a quicker start.
  
  
• You should make it clearer that you need to set your starter aside before you flavor the brew.
  
  OK... this became a list. Sorry if I came off as a dick, trying to be constructive.

I got this one - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RMTG3S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04__o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Pretty good deal. Really nice jars - very happy with them.

Davidson's Tea Bulk, English Breakfast, 16-Ounce Bag https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000SARJF6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_mlRPAb15ETT5A

Ive heard that unflavored (Flavored teas tend to spoil booch) black tea has the optimal nutrients that feed the yeast and bacteria. Green tea is a second best for brewing. I may do that down the line. I have some gunpowder green tea. Im going to keep using black tea for several cycles of my continuous brew to keep it strong and robust.

This Anchor Hocking Heritage jar is the best wide-mouth fermenting vessel I’ve found. It comes in sizes from 1/2 gallon to 2 gallons. The glass is thick, sturdy, well-made. It has a perfect lip around the top for holding your cloth cover down with a large rubber band

Btw, do yourself a favor, get the two gallon. The half and full gallon will quickly not be enough Booch, once you get into it

I bought this kit on amazon Deluxe Kombucha Brewing Kit - Six Swing Top Bottles, Stainless Steel Funnel, Custom Bottle Brush & Our Original Brewing Kit: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00STZ3KCI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

1. I didn't feel like ordering everything a la carte and 2 just because it made it easy to start.
   
   It has worked great. The instructions are easy to use and I just bought bulk loose leaf tea for my next batches.

I got this kit from Amazon and it was pretty much foolproof. A little pricey, but it comes with everything you need, and very easy to follow instructions. Lurking this sub helped a lot, too! :)

Cane sugar is the go-to for making kombucha but you just have to make sure that if you use plain white sugar the packaging says “cane sugar” as sometimes white sugar is actually genetically modified sugar beets.

Coconut sugar has many variations in grades and production methods but is also an acceptable sugar to use. It is recommended that if you choose a brand to try out that you do so on an experimental batch in case you get mold growth or the relationship with the SCOBY is not working out.

Source:
The Big Book of Kombucha

This might be a better investment. I use this for my 2F and it works great. You may also want to get a Air lock and a siphon as well.

This book has tons of recipes and talks about other teas you can use. I got it for my Kindle via my library so check yours 😁

The Big Book of Kombucha: Brewing, Flavoring, and Enjoying the Health Benefits of Fermented Tea https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Z8CZPKU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Rp58Ab23Z665J

okay, so there's another culprit here. Temperature swing can definitely cause some things. You have one of those heat mats? I use a setup like this. My jar is down in a 5kg keg I got from some chemicals for my lab. [Flavor chemicals]

https://www.amazon.com/VIVOSUN-Seedling-Digital-Thermostat-Standard/dp/B016MKY7C8/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=heat+mat+and+thermostat&qid=1572988692&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExSUY5U0hYMTBUM0ZCJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjQwNTgxMThVVVI1Q1NTNEc1SiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTU1NTY1MVZCSFUxSkVRTFBSJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E58AU2Q/ref=dp_cerb_1

and the upgraded spigot

https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Works-SSS010-Dispenser-Replacement/dp/B00IX87W1Q/ref=pd_bxgy_79_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00IX87W1Q&pd_rd_r=PHD3PQHTJ8DCN27WQFT4&pd_rd_w=jvTjE&pd_rd_wg=JrLUy&psc=1&refRID=PHD3PQHTJ8DCN27WQFT4

i signed up for the free trial of prime to get free shipping

I just threw this one on my jar two evenings ago - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ETRWSI6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_BtkPCroPGxTDN

My brew wouldn't get above 70 on its own, so I purchase this warmer. It's keeping my brew around 82-84, but I can't control the heat level.

I'm also unsure if the temperature reading is reflective of the actual liquid temperature or the temperature of the glass since the warmer is being applied to the temperature gage.

I'm assuming the internal temperature of the liquid is less than the reading suggests, being that it is much easier to heat the glass vs. heating the contents of the jar.

I'd be curious to hear if anyone has experience with this warmer. I'm open to tips and tricks.

Edit: Spelling

I've been buying Davidson's Organic Tea -- English Breakfast https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000SARJF6/ and Gunpowder Green https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000SATIFA/ -- from Amazon. Good prices, plus it's Certified Organic and Fair Trade Certified.

A mini strainer like this https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000LNTRRS/ref=psdcmw_13840231_t1_B001713L84 would be the easiest solution

I use Star San. It's a very popular option for sanitation.
Clean container and remove any debris, rinse with water thoroughly, spray on Star San/water mixture and let it dry.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0064O7YFA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_LEszybWX7Q1CR

depends what your definition of 'reasonably large batch' is. Get yourself a dozen swing-top bottles, these are designed to withstand pressurization and won't blow on you - say no to shrapnel! 🤣🤣

> I would strain the 'booch through some butter muslin or cheese cloth when pouring into a glass to get most of it. A coffee filter would work in a pinch but might taste paper-y.

A tea strainer works great for this and is I think simpler, can usually just be rinsed out after, though I also don't really care for putting solids in.

They sell those on Amazon for around $10 - $12, may as well give it a shot for that cheap price

Like thsi one

https://www.amazon.com/Seedling-Ohuhu-Waterproof-Hydroponic-Germination/dp/B01MDQP0Q1/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1510790524&sr=8-4&keywords=seed+heat+mat&dpID=417MtURLLNL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

You can find this in local stores for like $24. http://amzn.com/B00E58AU2Q edit: FYI lid comes off, spigot is plastic.

I have three of these. Cheap and effective.

Swing-top lids are good too.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01I47DW50/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_vWYXzbKYSVRHG

I use a seed mat heater lightly placed around the vessel. I bought one with a regulator on amazon. This one works well for my 2 gallon vessel. VIVOSUN 10"x20" Seedling Heat Mat and Digital Thermostat Combo Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016MKY7C8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_HEelybCXF3F8D

Actually my sister bought it for me from amazon.com. I had seen similar at Walmart. Here is a link to the item if you're interested.

Yup, that's probably your problem then. I highly recommend a simple airlock like this:

https://www.amazon.com/SocalHomeBrew-Plastic-Piece-Airlock-Pack/dp/B000E60G2W

There are other methods you can use, but this is the simplest and least likely to blow up. If you want a really basic set-up to get started, just get an empty two-liter soda bottle, poke a hole in the lid to fit the airlock and then brew your kombucha with that. You might want to pasteurize the kombucha before you add the champagne yeast to minimize the possibility of introducing unwanted yeast strains and bacteria, but that's up to you. You'll probably get alcohol either way.

Here ya go, it's working well so far.

The fridge is hooked up to a temperature sensor, so it only runs when the internal temp is above 75 degrees F. The temp controller turns off the fridge when the temp gets to 75 degrees F.

I'm going to add a heating mat to the inside back wall of the fridge so the temp controller can warm up the fridge when it gets below 75 degrees F

here's the temperature controller I use.

I got the container and spigot from Amazon.

Home Essentials 2 Gallon Nantucket Drink Dispenser https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G8SE35Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_iWLSI79AwUlJr

1 X Stainless WorksTM Stainless Steel Beverage Dispenser Replacement Spigot(Polished Finish) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IX87W1Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_uBiUYY3aaLXgU

Amazon, here's a link https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DN6001G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.bigappleherp.com/Flex-Watt-Heat-Tape
Here is even cheaper. The video on kombucha kamp she is pretty much blowing smoke "i worked with an engineer". I'm sure she did talk to someone, but that's just standard heat tape that's very common in multiple industries, brewers, gardeners and reptile owners use them, she's just repackaged them for kombucha.
You can even get a thermostat for them instead of a dimmer and it will control the heat at the temp you want.
http://www.amazon.com/Grow-Pro-Thermostat-Germination-Temperature/dp/B0134W0MDK/ref=sr_1_sc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1449697228&sr=8-3-spell&keywords=thermostat+heat+pag
I use this for my reptiles, you can get a whole setup with thermostat for cheaper then the kombuchakamp version, heat tape is dirt cheap.

Another option is to use airlocks for the second phase

fermenter: 30L

Temp controller

Tap

Here you go.

I use [this guy] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0001WV010/ref=sr_ph_1?qid=1462405231&sr=sr-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=seedling+heat+mat) and [this thermometer] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0134W0MDK/ref=sr_ph_2?qid=1462405231&sr=sr-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=seedling+heat+mat)

I use these and just tape on instead of using the adhesive

Adhesive Temperature Strip https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0079JZLP4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_d4q9yb59F65J8

Yeah for a funnel, it's not a big deal. The worry is leaching metals into the drink (which can kill the bacteria or be toxic for heavy metals). You can get a stainless steel funnel on Amazon.

Then a nut milk bag covering the funnel works well. E.g. https://www.amazon.com/Pack-Multiple-Reusable-Strainer-Cheesecloth/dp/B01N2Q4O08