kombucha and water kefir made with honey or sorghum

[ltlmrs]

I would like to stop using sugar in my kombucha and water kefir and replace it with an alternative sweetner. My reasoning is simply a dislike of being dependent on sugar cane which is not native to this area. I'm always trying to think of ways we can be less dependent on cheap international trade...

Anybody have success with this long term? I've heard that you can use honey but I'm concerned about what that does to the scoby and/or grains when used long term...

TIA!

[openpollination]

I know that with water kefir, if you use honey it will slowly kill the grains because it's antibacterial... and the grains have bacteria in them!

I've had good luck using brown rice syrup (which is local to me, in the bay area of CA) and molasses with my water kefir.