(Part 3) Top products from r/Kombucha

It's a safe bet that he does do a second ferment. I like to use fruit-flavored sugar syrups instead of cut fruit or granulated sugar. I make my own syrups, but an exotic storebought one like prickly pear or elderflower or blackcurrant would be cool to get as a gift.

I really like the suggestion of a pH monitor or pH test strips too.

A six-pack of small swing-top bottles so he can bottle his kombucha and give it away as a gift would be cool too. I'd like to give more away to people who are interested, but I never get around to buying more bottles.

EDIT: To add on to /u/zerker6, jaggery (Indian) and piloncillo (Mexican) are two exotic raw sugars I've used for my second ferment - if you've got an Asian or international grocery store, you definitely have more options for sugar. A strong British black tea such as PG Tips, UK-imported Tetley, Yorkshire Tea, or Typhoo could also be interesting.

I start by washing all my glassware and utensils with 7th Generation dish soap. When I researched the process I read that you don’t want to use anti-bacterial soap because it can kill the active culture. I’ll link to the soap below. I will also use white distilled vinegar and wipe down the inside of the glassware.

After everything is clean I start filling my electric kettle from the tap. We have a Brita attachment on the sink to ensure the water is filtered. Depending on how much I am making will dictate how much water I have to heat up. Once the first run of water is boiling I will pour it into the clean jar and add a cup of plain old white refined sugar. I use a wooden spoon to stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Once I have all my hot water ready to go I will use Darjeeling Organic Black Tea (Link Below) and steep for about 10 minutes. Once the tea is steeped I put the lid on the jar and let it sit and cool. I always want it under 80 degrees so most of the time instead of checking it repeatedly I start the process at night and just let the tea sit overnight and cool.

In the morning or once the tea cooled to <80 degrees I will toss in the SCOBY and the starter liquid and put a paper towel over the top of the jar and secure it with butcher's twine. I have been brewing for a couple months now so I have a bunch of scobies and tea set aside in another jar always ready to go. Once everything is together I put the jar someplace dark and let it sit for 10 to 14 days.

My main formula works out like this 1 gallon water + 1 Cup Sugar + 2 Tablespoons of tea.

I have been experimenting with using brown sugar and longer steeping times and I am waiting on the results now. I will update the group if I notice anything substantially different.

That is pretty much process for the first fermentation. If anyone has any insight or advice I am always down for discussion.


https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Darjeeling-Organic-Black-Tea/dp/B014GLC2LS/ref=sr_1_6_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1484375588&sr=8-6&keywords=black%2Btea&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/Seventh-Generation-Unscented-25-Ounce-Packaging/dp/B001FA1NTG/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1484376210&sr=8-1&keywords=7th%2Bgeneration%2Bdish%2Bsoap&th=1

> gs per gallon of water. I'm doing it again this time and my second ferment I'm mixing a couple bottles with ginger and a few more with strawberries to liven it up, though it was awesome without.

Oh that sounds nice and cheap! Is it organic?

As for the flavors - I found Amazon has some great stuff in terms of herbs. I'm sharing in case you or anyone else is interested:

• Raspberry Leaf:http://www.amazon.com/Frontier-Raspberry-Certified-Organic-Ounce/dp/B001VNGO9G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1381112175&sr=8-3&keywords=raspberry+leaf
  
• Lavender Flower:http://www.amazon.com/Starwest-Botanicals-Organic-Lavender-Flowers/dp/B003AYEHIO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381112157&sr=8-1&keywords=lavender
  
• Hibiscus Flower:http://www.amazon.com/Frontier-Hibiscus-Flowers-Sifted-package/dp/B0012BY1NI/ref=pd_sim_hpc_21
  
  

Don't know where you live OP, but lots of stores in the U.S. sell pickles in a gallon jar for less than $10. Eat the pickles, free jar.

Marshall's ALWAYS has large Bormioli flip top bottles for $1.99 each. I've never had a problem with one.

If you're also into fermenting I also just picked up some of the Bormioli 169 Oz. huge Fido jars there as well for $6 each. These would work for Kombucha as well, but the mouth of the jar is a little small for getting the scoby in/out.

Start small. Jar for brewing, a couple bottles for second ferment. See how you like it and continue from there.

I had been adding additional sugar to the bottles for the 3F (or 2F if I skipped the flavoring stage). But that has always been a pain, and is completely hit or miss depending on what kind of flavoring (fruit, ginger, etc.) was used, how much sugar it contributed, and what other yeasts and other bugs it brought with it (I always used organic, fresh/frozen ingredients before this test).

Ginger, for instance, has it's own native yeast that can stall your ferment by killing your kombucha yeast and slowing down the process until its yeast takes over.

What I was doing was transferring the kombucha after the 2F flavoring stage via siphon to my bottling bucket (https://www.amazon.com/Gallon-Bottling-Bucket-Spigot-Beer/dp/B000E62H8I/ -- but these can be had at your local brew shop for about $12), straining out the solids along the way, and adding enough simple syrup (sugar dissolved in a very little bit of water) to the brew, and very gently stirring to mix -- but not enough to introduce too much oxygen (oxidation can stall / prevent your bottle ferment). I then transferred from the bottling bucket using a small hose attached to the spigot that went to the bottom of each bottle... again, as to not introduce additional oxygen.

So came out great, and others never carbed up at all, leaving me with overly sweet 'buch from all the added sugar -- and excessive sugar is something I was trying to avoid by drink kombucha in the first place.

I got sick of it all, and after reading a lot about force carbonation and how easy it is, I decided to not work about carbonation until I get my new kegerator and keg setup up and running. Every time I talk to someone who has done it with kombucha, or who homebrews beer, they immediately say force carbonation in kegs is the only way to go, and that I'll be so much happier not dealing with bottle carbing.

I'm not saying that you can't perfect the carbonation in bottles method... clearly many here have. But even when I didn't use a carboy in between for flavoring and flavored with fruit right in the bottles, the results were always inconsistent, and not worth all the time wasted on sub-par results.

Like all of what I've ever done in my kombucha brewing, I'm looking for the most efficient, cost-effective (not cheapest), and replicable processes, with the eventual goal of being able to make a quality, consistent brew every time. And frankly, I love figuring all this out and continually refining the process. It's a huge scientific puzzle with tons of variables, and it's a blast!

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 have a 2 gallon glass container, with a metal spigot on the bottom. I fill it most of the way with tea, and let it ferment. When it's done I fill up bottles for 2F from the spigot, and leave about 1L remaining. Then I simply pour more sweet tea on the top. I haven't quite got there yet, but I expect that I'll be cleaning out the whole thing every 3-4 months just to remove the yeast from the bottom.

This one on Amazon looks like it has a metal spigot. I had to replace my plastic one when I was cleaning some pellicle from it, so I think that a metal spigot is a good choice.

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 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

I did the same thing, and lots of reused bottles from store bought kombucha. The other bottles I use are same style but 12oz and they've lasted just the same. Good for trying out lots of flavors or loaning out to friends.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YB6D84Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_pHNbzbNJ60HD2

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

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

> 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.

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

Van,

Are You saying that the Grolsch beer-bottles has a better cap than these ones from Amazon (I purchased last week):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YB6D84Y/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Update: I paid $25 for a 12 pack but now the price is even more expensive on Amazon. I am still within the 30 day return window but I feel sorry for Amazon that they will lose money because its such a bulky package to ship back to them and expensive shipping Im sure.

I use heating strips — hard to tell in the pic. I’ve got black fabric headbands around them to cover the big green text printed around the outside of them ‘cause it bugged me haha. I have the three strips plugged into an extension cord which is plugged into an Inkbird digital thermostat (probably not 100% safe, but I wasn’t buying 3 thermostats haha). I have the probe taped to the outside of the middle jar (since I don’t like the idea of leaving it submerged in the brew). Heat strips: here ; thermostat here

Sure, that should work. Just make sure that you clamp down all your hoses and double- and triple-check for leaks. Keep some extra hose clamps on hand. They should be super tight, but not so tight that they cut through the tubing.

Personally, I just buy ginger juice. I was buying the 5oz bottles from Whole Foods but using roughly 3/4 a bottle every batch. Now I just buy it in a big 32oz container off Amazon.

​

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HYJR9YK/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.

Tart ginger flavor in a quart-sized bottle: The Ginger People Organic Ginger Juice, 32 Ounce (pack of 1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HYJR9YK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_MO6PDbJZ24493

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 got this one recently. I live in Alberta, Canada and the temperature had dropped quite a bit. My house is normally at a 12°C. With the seedling mat, my kombucha sits at a 28°C.
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B073F33ZRD/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_qx9RDbP8TCPDG

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

When I brew in bulk, I do like the beer homebrew folk do and use an auto-siphon with a bottle filler attachment. The siphon goes into the bucket, held just above the bottom to avoid the dead yeast, and stays far enough below the surface to (mostly) avoid the yeast strands, everything staying still and not mixed around. When a strand does sneak through, it gets caught in the bottle filler tip and can be easily wiggled out if problematic. It makes filling bottles extremely clean and simple. But unless you're brewing 3+ gallons in a single container, it's probably not worth the effort and I end up just using strainer + funnel.