Kombucha newbie Qs

[tboroson]

Ok, I've got my first batch of 'bucha bubbling away. I'm so psyched! It all looked pretty obvious from the webpages I read, but now that I'm In The Process, questions are occurring to me.

The scoby I got was a tidy, thick pancake, maybe a little bigger than my palm and a half inch or so thick. I assumed that the "babies" would be the same. But now looking at more webpages that have photos of the process (previous pages only had a description), I see the "baby" covering the entire surface. I'm guessing it's usual for the scoby to be the size of the surface, whatever size that would be? So, my little pancake must have been brewed in a fairly narrow jar? Or does the baby tighten up and thicken if you continue to brew with it?

Second, is the baby fully formed and ready to spring into action after the batch in which it is formed, or do I need to continue to grow it with the mother scoby for a few batches?

Third, how do you save babies in case I accidentally damage my working scoby? I know with kefir grains, I merely put a tablespoonful or two into a baggie and freeze them for safekeeping. Can I do the same with a kombucha scoby?

Finally, is the plural "scobys" or "scobies"?

[lilsparrow]

I can not answer even one of your questions since I only twenty minutes ago discovered what kombucha is. Would be so kind to post a link or two to the pages you mentioned with pics? Thanks.

[tboroson]

http://www.kombuchatea.co.uk/kombucha-fermentation.asp

[Laurel723]

:

Sorry, I'm not any help either, but since I hope to be acquiring a baby scoby soon, Im scribin so I can find out.....

[moneca]

I'm interested too since my scoby is coming any time now. I'd really like to make mine with raw honey, but am assuming that it has to be dissolved in the tea which would require heating. That would destroy the enzymes.

[tboroson]

You should be able to dissolve the raw honey without heating it to the point where you'll destroy the enzymes. When I want to use honey without heating it much, I put it in a small bowl and put that in a larger bowl of hot tap water. I stir occasionally. As it warms up it becomes more runny and incorporates into liquids more easily. Add some lukewarm tea and stir, then add all that to the majority of the tea.

[AJP]

Yes, the new SCOBY forms on top of the liquid and assumes the shape of the container. How thick it gets depends on the container and natural variations in the culture - mine grows slower and is thinner in the winter.

Read up before using anything other than refined sugar to brew it, I've read of people having problems with other sweeteners. The sugar is only there to provide an energy source for the SCOBY, if fully brewed there should be almost none left in the final product (you can experiment, tasting at different times to see when it loses its sweetness, mine takes about a week). I've read a lot of opinions from kombucha brewers that say unrefined sugars and honey interfere with the process, encourage mold, etc. I've only ever used refined sugar for making kombucha (like Organic Florida Crystals or Trader Joe's Organic Sugar), so can't say from experience. I'd advise you to keep a spare culture from a sugar batch stored in the refrigerator in case you have one go funky using an alternative sweetener.

I don't know if they can be successfully frozen and be alive after thawing, I keep one in reserve in the fridge in a glass jar, floating in kombucha, and replace it with a new one now and then. I think a baby is fully formed after one batch if it seems substantial enough to handle the volume of tea you want to culture. I wouldn't try to use a thin, weak, winter-time baby to brew a full batch, but when mine is going full bore the babies are sometimes even bigger than the culture from which they grew.

As for the plural, since SCOBY is an acronym (Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast), it would be SCOBYs, I believe. Although acronyms that assume common usage, like radar or scuba, usually become "real" words and aren't written in upper case any longer. I can't think of any that end in "y" to compare usage. Just flyin' by the seat of my pants on this one, but I'd write it SCOBYs.

[saratc]

I'm guessing it's usual for the scoby to be the size of the surface, whatever size that would be?

Yes, I brew mine in a very wide mouthed gallon jar, and my SCOBY baby is usually 10 inches wide the width of my jar.

Second, is the baby fully formed and ready to spring into action after the batch in which it is formed, or do I need to continue to grow it with the mother scoby for a few batches?

I've read that sometimes the baby isn't fully mature if you try to use it to brew right after it's formed, so you should brew once with the mother and baby together. But I think it's fine to use the baby right after it's formed; the brew may just take a bit longer to be ready.

Third, how do you save babies in case I accidentally damage my working scoby?

I haven't heard of freezing the SCOBY either. I store mine in the fridge in a glass pyrex container with the top on, covered in kombucha. Once in awhile, I pour out the kombucha and add fresh sweetened tea.

I too use refined sugar. The person who I got my SCOBY from said I should brew at least a few batches with refined sugar and make sure the batches are turning out good before trying other sugars. After the first couple of batches, I got over the mental aversion to refined sugar, especially since from the taste, I can tell most of the sugar's gone by the time I drink it.

[moneca]

Thanks mamas!

[cobluegirl]

hmmm....I store my extra scobies in a gallon jar with some tea...in my cupboard... are they supposed to be in the fridge??

[trmpetplaya]

We got the baddest, cheapest, Western Family white sugar 'cause we're poor and it was $5 for 10lbs : and we didn't let our first batch brew long enough because it was pretty sweet So this time we're leaving it for a bit longer

love and peace.

[trmpetplaya]

Oh, btw, where does one get inexpensive gallon jars? The lady we get our milk from has them, but she likes to get them back...

love and peace.

[tboroson]

You could ask at a deli for a pickle jar.

[Laurel723]

So if you make too much tea, can you just pull your scoby out and store him for a few days until you need to make more? I am envisioning my ultrapicky hubby refusing to even taste it...(but that'll just leave more for me!!!) (This sounds like a really dumb question reading it back through, if it is I apologize....)

[cobluegirl]

yes you can store her in some tea in a jar...fridge or not the fridge..
no such thing as dumb question..only dumb ones are the ones not asked....

[cobluegirl]

what about a movie theater? ours back home used ot get pickles in them..and just give them way..or you can check goodwill or a second hand store type..

[megincl]

What kind of tea are you all using for kombucha? Are there folks use decaf versions? I'd love to make some, but no caffeine in this house.........

Thanks!
megin

[AnnC]

Originally Posted by megincl

What kind of tea are you all using for kombucha? Are there folks use decaf versions? I'd love to make some, but no caffeine in this house.........

Thanks!
megin

I've been making it for quite some time, and here's my understanding:

Use black organic tea. Don't worry about caffeine, the scoby eats it, or neutralizes it or something -- anyway, it's gone. Use organic tea because there is much less fluoride in organic tea than regular.

Use white refined sugar -- that and the regular black tea is what creates the glucoronic (sp?) acid that is so good for you. This is the ONLY thing I use white refined sugar for.

The baby scoby will take the shape of the container opening, but it doesn't matter what size the mother is. The baby is ready to use after it's fully formed after 7 to 10 days.

I use a wide mouth gallon Mason jar. I just hold one out from my milk, and give it back when I'm finished. If I made it more often, I would buy a jar from my pickle supply place.

Store the scoby in a glass jar in kombucha to cover in the fridge. If you leave it at room temperature, like anything else, it will continue to ferment.

I would not freeze the scoby -- it should keep in cold kombucha in the fridge for a long time, and it can be dehydrated, because that's how I got one scoby, it was dried and I had to reconstitute it.

Ann

[Josette Marie]

what does kombucha taste like?

Is it worth all the effort?

[cobluegirl]

We think it tastes a little like apple cidar with a hint of vinegar...but it depends upon how long you let it brew..we like it tart so we leave it for a few weeks.
the effort is little and the benefits of the drink are well worth it.