Growing kombucha and kefir grains

valley ranch

valley ranch

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Hi, I have just gotten into brewing Kombucha. I think you'll need to start with a Scoby or at least live kombucha, most store bought will no longer grow a Scoby. Keep and eye on Craigslist or buy one. If one of us are close we would give you one.
I was given a cut of Scoby and it started well, I'm drinking some as we speak/or write.
Each of the bottles I set out when I start a new batch develops a small one, I eat them, they're quite crunchy.
What state are you in?
Lucky mentioned Synergy will work it may work. Best of luck.


Richard
 
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@XtreemLee, next time you try, I think if you only use the scoby, tea and cane sugar for the first few brews, you may have a better chance of getting it to ferment properly. I have read that honey may have impurities and/or enzymes in it that can inhibit the fermentation. After all, honey is antibacterial, so that kind of makes sense. (but then, mead is made with honey, so who knows?)
Theoretically, the scoby uses up the sugar, so by the time you drink it, there wouldn't be much left.
Many of the old hippies that were drinking kombucha in the 60s and 70s are purists, and wouldn't try de-caf, raspberry tea, honey, etc. It was probably great the way it was, with a joint.;)
 
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I had a previously rocking lemon ginger honey green tea, but it never formed a solid scoby it was just in the sediment. When I added fresh tea it looked like someone was stirring it. I'm not sure I had a true Kombucha but it was tasty.

I don't eat sugar, honey is my only option...
 
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I treat my food as medicine, so in my opinion honey has the best attributes as a sweetener because so many secret little goodies come packed in it, and also because I can get local raw wildflower in bulk for 2.75 a pound, so my half gallon mason jar cost less than $20 to fill.

and lasts less than two weeks, which is why I am not going to bother raising bees, supplying myself would be a full time job...
 

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valley ranch

valley ranch

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ExtreemLee, I have read that honey has antibodies or enzymes that kill the culture in scoby, sounds right.
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Have you read: Chanson de roland {song of Roland} The muslims had conquered Spain and were mistreating/killing the Christian spanish. The Christian armies of Charlemagne crossed the mountain range from France and thumped the Islamic army and received the promise of Treasure and that he the pagan king would convert to Christianity and the end to ill treatment of the population. Tired of fighting this was accepted. Roland and those under his command were the rear guard as the Christian armies entered the pass on the way back to France. In the Islamic attack on the rear guard, Roland was killed. After the Christian armies returned and the Battle of Roncevaux in 778 took place, knowing they would not be able to carry Roland's body back, they removed his heart, placed it in Honey to preserve and it was carried back without corruption.
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This shows that bacteria and yeast are deterred by the composition of honey.
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I've started a small brew from a dehydrated culture, to see if I can reconstitute the culture.
 
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valley ranch said:
ExtreemLee, I have read that honey has antibodies or enzymes that kill the culture in scoby, sounds right.
------------------------
Have you read: Chanson de roland {song of Roland} The muslims had conquered Spain and were mistreating/killing the Christian spanish. The Christian armies of Charlemagne crossed the mountain range from France and thumped the Islamic army and received the promise of Treasure and that he the pagan king would convert to Christianity and the end to ill treatment of the population. Tired of fighting this was accepted. Roland and those under his command were the rear guard as the Christian armies entered the pass on the way back to France. In the Islamic attack on the rear guard, Roland was killed. After the Christian armies returned and the Battle of Roncevaux in 778 took place, knowing they would not be able to carry Roland's body back, they removed his heart, placed it in Honey to preserve and it was carried back without corruption.
--------------------
This shows that bacteria and yeast are deterred by the composition of honey.
--------------------
I've started a small brew from a dehydrated culture, to see if I can reconstitute the culture.
Click to expand...

When you encase something in a honey "bath", you are preserving it by preventing any bacteria to reach it more than killing any bacteria present, and the environment wont allow for much deterioration until anaerobic bacteria get a hold of it, but those cultures are very slow growing. There are scoby's available that eat honey and make what's called "Jun" tea. I just haven't worked up the "need" to spend $30 on a scoby, I did have a brew going with honey, infact I was using green tea, honey, and fresh lemon and ginger juice and it took four days to eat the 1 pound of honey per gallon of tea. It just wasn't a traditional floating scoby, it was more in the culture in the bottom. I though I could improve so I let it go :(
 
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