I love Kombucha and I think I am ready to start brewing mine as it si so expensive. What do I need to get started? What is the started fluid.
1711849
buy a used book by Betsy Pryor & Sanford Holst titled Kombucha Phenomenon it is cheap and well worth the money.
1711850
IMHO you would be wise to consider purchasing this SCOBY with starter tea and instructions as well as a few other perks. You could be enjoying or at least starting stage two flavoring in two weeks of receiving and starting your first round of kombucha and then having the original scoby and the new scoby to start your next two batches. You would be looking at longer than that to get your first SCOBY.
1711851
The starter fluid is shipped with the mother. It is saved from each batch of komboucha. About a cup.
1711852
You need to buy a starter kit. It comes with the "mother" (the culture) and the starter fluid. Buy the kit and follow the instructions. Pretty simple and much cheaper. It is a one time buy, the "mother" will birth children after children, practically an endless supply. Good luck!
513070
Don, there Juice in the kit, along with all the other ingredients you need, such as yeast, finings, sorbate, etc. what you need is a plastic fermenting pail, a glass or Plastic approved 6 gal carboy, and some other misc stuff. I would recommend getting a starter kit that comes with all that like the one here: http://www.amazon.com/Deluxe-Wine-Making-Quality-Durable/dp/B000FBOWQW it's about $100 at Amazon.
1286088
I have the he version for my kombucha. The spigot is plastic and it's terrible, I just tried cleaning it out and it still barely drips. I plan to buy a stainless less steel spigot also offered on Amazon. I have always read that stainless steel is actually preferable for kombucha brewing, even compared to glass and especially plastic.
688146
Oh, I have no idea - I've never really gotten into Kombucha. Basically, though, you can treat this exactly like standard tea. If you can make kombucha out of tea, give this one a shot!
1342818
This kit is ingredients only with corks. You need a starter kit that has all the hardware like primary fermentation bucket Carboy hydrometer siphoning hose corking tool. Etc. they sell those fore about $100
1835408
It should be sweet when you start, then loose sweet as the tang develops. If yours starts out not sweet I might ask what recipe are you following? I put 1 cup organic sugar to 1 gallon kombutcha. To get started, I purchased some at the store, then brewed mine to that taste. In Oklahoma it took about 10 days to 2 weeks, in AirConditining. if its 105 where you are, it wouldn't take near as long. I brew mine till the sweet is almost gone and the tang has started. then I bottle it with some juice for a 2nd go, this time with a lid. only about 2 days this time, then in the fridge.
1836529
Been a while, since I visited the company website--suggest you do that, too!--but I know it was good for any brewing liquid in a glass container that needed no more than 78-80 degree F temps. I prefer 80 exactly for kombucha, so have had to rely on this ONLY during the winter, when ambient temps are far below 80 and when I use a seed mat to boost brewing temps up to 70-80 (or I'd never get kombucha in a week or two . . would take FOREVER). Just know the strip tops out at 78-80, so if your brew needs more than that, look elsewhere for a monitoring product. Good luck.
2252684
Here's a good website for any problems with your brew; http://users.bestweb.net/~om/kombucha_balance/#Too Sour
1026101
I do not know what Kombucha is so I am unable to answer this question for you.
1662807
I make Kombucha from them as well and there is no trick just give it a good pull, maybe use a plastic lever of some sort. You might want to use one hand to hold down the top as you flip it so it does not explode.
1243373
No. I've brewed kombucha and would suggest you look for a sun tea jar instead of this item. The spigot is already installed.
1593272
You should not use an airlock for kombucha. The scoby needs oxygen, and it will (as long as it isn't shaken too often) will form an oxygen barrier for the kombucha. It would be good for keifer though, if you make that also.
801340
You will need basic brewing equipment. ..A kettle, a bucket, airlock, bung, hoses, siphon, carboy, sanitizer. ..Probably missing a few things but the good news us is that there is a kit for most of this stiff as well. ... That is how we started out.
2233529
You have to be happy with your purchase. Your coffee and the process have to be enjoyable. Good luck...
1806693
Hi Jessica, This should be a perfect time to order a starter kit as the weather is cool and Scobies go dormant when they are cold, so it is better shipping weather for them. Just make sure you have all your jars & tea & everything, (as my scoby came in a plastic zip-lock...) Keep the scoby and starter tea refrigerated until you give it away, as at room temperature it will keep fermenting. Your kit will probably come with good instructions but it will help if you read up on it first, especially if the gift recipient is new to Kombucha (which I didn't so I brewed my first batch rather blindly...:-)) My favorite web sight with really clear instructions is royalkombucha.com., I learned a lot there. Hope this helps - what a great gift idea - I LOVE my Kombucha!
1650292
If you have the rest of the kit, all the right items that you need to brew are probably in there. That being said, sanitation is KING when you are brewing. Keep it clean, or your hard work will be all for naught, and your beer will taste like sadness. Seriously! Cleanliness!!
784250
I make and bottle Kombucha and have used these replacements and they work good, tight to start with, just flip open and closed several times and they do well.