TeaChat

Indeed... managed to do a "first stage bottling" tonight -- transferred the liquid from the original containers to new ones to sit another 2 days w/o the SCOBY in it before final rebottling and into fridge. Got a nice fizz when pouring. SCOBYs were not as gross as I thought, and came out well in a disc-shape.

I made a new batch that I'm waiting to cool a little bit more before putting the SCOBYs in -- this one I made using 2 TBS Gunpowder and 2 TBS Keemun Rhapsody (for the tea brew, I mean). This one should go a lot faster now that I have fully formed SCOBYs...!

Drax wrote:So I was planning to set up my first batch of konbucha this weekend. A friend of mine brought back a canister from Japan as a gift. It's called "konbu cha" and is in granule form.

All the instructions I've seen online start with a SCOBY (or a mother mushroom).

My question is -- will this actually make konbu cha? Or is it just something that's going for the konbu flavoring....?

It *does* appear to contain konbu cha in the ingredients...

I found the manufacturer's website with some info here (http://www.itoen.co.jp/products/kobetsu.php?id=75) -- the can I have is the orange one, about 10 down, the tokusen konbu cha (特選　こんぶ　茶）.... the package one right below it has more of a description (including wording that makes it sound like it's an additive... not necessarily for starting your own SCOBY).

Anybody know?

Drax, the "Kombucha" granules you have are what we consider Kombucha in Japan. The Kombucha that most people know around here is not the same thing - in Japan, we call it "koucha kinoko" or "black tea mushrooms" (because its a funghi).
Japanese kombucha is dehydrated & powdered kombu, or kelp. Sometimes it can be dehydrated kombu broth. You can drink it hot (it'll be salty) or use it for cooking, when you need an umami boost. I use it when I make seafood pasta

For those in Seattle interested in trying a good Kombucha go to Ballard's farmers market on Sundays and find the 'Community Kombucha' booth - fantastic stuff made with love. He sells mother kits too.

I finally got to try tea from the first batch today. It was pretty good! A bit less fizzy than I expected, given how much it fizzed on the first bottling. Maybe I poured too quickly. But as a whole, I thought it turned out quite well.

I added a few pieces of ginger to some of the less fizzy jars, so we'll see how those turned out.

TEAcipes -- yeah i figured out about the seaweed kombu stuff after a few days. I tasted the tea before i dumped it down the drain and it was pretty salty! I think I'll stick to using it for cooking...

tenuki -- depending on how expensive the starter kits are, you can get the same effect out of a 'raw' bottle of the tea itself. It just takes a little bit more time, and you need to dump in a little vinegar into the first batch. I only say that because some people are selling kombucha starters for $40 online, whereas I started up my own w/ a $3 bottle of tea.

Good stuff! I will definitely be continuing this...

Detailed steps on making kombucha, with videos and bottling instructions.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to- ... -Kombucha/

The mixed community floc (mother) appears to mature and develop layers that are compositionally different with respect to species and chemistry.

You may wish to allow the mother to 'mature' to compare liquor results, keeping the scoby intact for a number of brewing cycles before discarding a portion in the next brewing batch. You need to 'waste' a portion to keep debris and senescence (aged, inactive, nondividing cells) under control as the scoby thickens over many culture passes.

Note the comments on the 'tentacles' and their need to reform with each scoby transfer.

The ones from 'Community Kombucha' are reasonably priced but not available on the net unfortunately. Shouldn't you be adding a bottle of unpasteurized kombucha to start your own mother instead of adding vinegar?

Sourdough will be back in vogue next year at this rate.

Good website for kombucha info, starter kits, and a useful webpage describing herbals that can and shouldn't be added to your kombucha culture.

http://www.organic-kombucha.com/Using_h ... kombu.html

The latest...

Well, my mother has finished forming, it's been one day shy of 3 solid weeks.
I removed the mother today and placed it in a bowl with a bit of the kombucha it had formed in.
I washed the jar, made some sweet tea, and put the mother in.
In about 7 days I hope to have the first batch ready to bottle.
Here's some photos:
The mother before I removed it from the batch it formed in.

The mother in a bowl before being put in the new tea.

Sugar, cold water, tea, and the mother.

The mother in the new tea.

Side view of the mother in the new tea.

Shiverz
Drax,
Drax,

Ya' still with us mate???

woozl wrote:Shiverz
Drax,
Drax,

Ya' still with us mate???

There is no Drax, only Zuul!

the horror

ok im gunna do it

coloradopu wrote:ok im gunna do it

What, make kombucha?

Wow, that's a pretty serious looking creature there!

Of course the most important question -- how does the tea taste??

I'm on my third batch at this point. I need to do a new cycle this evening. This will be the first time that I get nice solid offspring in order to pass on to somebody else...

I've had kombucha, but not my own. That first batch was just to grow the mother. It was sitting there for 3 weeks as opposed to 7-10 days.
I should be able to bottle next Wednesday, then drink it on the following Sunday or so. My jar isn't too big, so I figure I'll be able to do smaller batches more often.