Kombucha Questions

[rawradisaurous]

I recently started making my own kombucha and I have some questions:

I know that it has a little bit of alcohol in it. Can I do something to either control the amount of alcohol or, on the other hand, purposely make it an alcoholic beverage?

I have drank kombucha occasionally over the years but I am now BFing. I have been having 1-2 cups a day and have not noticed any symptoms of detox. Should I still be careful? Or just drink lots of water and be okay? What can the toxins do to my son? Cause developmental delays or disease? Kidney problems? How long does detox usually take? (I eat alot of fish and processed foods).

What are some good kombucha recipes to make a mild and fruity drink?

What fruits meld well with it? Which ones don't?

I am considering reccomending it to my MIL because she has alot of health problems and has started to drink wine instead of taking her prescription narcotics. If I can make it slightly alcoholic, maybe it will make her feel better while improving her health? Or will it make her feel even worse because her system is so toxic?

Is there such a thing as too much probiotics? I am drinking alot of kefir and kombucha. Is that bad? Do they pass through breastmilk? I am drinking alot of these things AND giving my son a probiotic baby powder because he has some nasty digestive problems. He's been getting alot better but I don't want to over-do it.

Thanks so much for the help!

[krankedyann]

The general consensus seems to be to avoid KT if you have metal/mercury fillings.  Especially if pregnant or nursing.

For mild and fruity, I'd do a short fermentation then put it into a Grolsch or other lock bottle with 5% fruit juice, 95% KT for a short, secondary ferment.

The issue with too much probiotics is if it causes detox reactions- headaches, diarrhea, constipation, flu symtpoms, etc...  Outside of that, my personal opinion is that there is no such thing as too much.

The alcohol content is controlled by brewing and storage times and temps.  Maybe someone more knowledgeable than me can help you on that.  I can tell you that if a lock bottle accidentally gets pushed to the back on the fridge, if I find it a few months later (blush) it's definitely gone hard.  I have designated shelves for items and I don't always catch things when doing rotation.  I never do a total emptying of the fridge unless we have a big spill.

For your MIL, if you decide to try it, start with 1/2 tsp a day, then 1/2 tsp twice a day and VERY slowly work your way up.

[rawradisaurous]

Thank you for the information. Once your kombucha went "hard" did it still taste good?