Ask kombucha Dave #10 January 6, 2010

QUESTION:

Hi Dave,

I am getting very vinegary kombucha even after 5 days of brewing.

The amount of tea left under the spigot level must be very sour ( I have been brewing for 4-5 months now).

I now use 1 teaspoon of tea in each tea bag (2 teaspoons total) and I boil them in 1-1.5 gallons of water.

Do you call starter tea the brewed tea under the spigot level?

What do I do?

Thanks!
Marylene

ANSWER:

Hi Marylene,

I would use a little more tea than 2 teaspoons… I would suggest using twice that amount or at least 3 teaspoon when brewing up 1.5 gallons.

If you want your tea less vinegary here are a few options…

1. Use a little less starter tea

2. Reset your starter tea by replacing it with a few commercial bottles of store bought kombucha tea (from a health benefit perspective you will loose out on some of the unique organic acids that only begin to form after day 20 of brewing.. hence the benefits of continuously brewing.. however the stuff has to taste good to you otherwise what’s the point right!). so when things get out of hand this will help you get back to normal.

3. Try straining your starter tea with a cheese cloth or any other type of mesh strainer.. (oil strainer work great too). Than once you have the sediments mostly strained out you can use this new strained starter tea in with your new sweet tea.

4. If you are using a heat mat you might want to cu back and actually lower the temp by using the heat mat only at night when the temp drops or placing it on the bottom of your brewer instead of the wrap around technique. A longer brew time with mellow out the taste.

5. Finally when you add you fresh sweet tea to start a new batch pour some of the starter tea on top to help evenly mix your brew from the get go.

Happy Brewin’,
Dave

PS: And yes, you got it! Starter tea is the brewed tea under the spigot level. 🙂

Drinking Kombucha for Lactose intolerance April 6, 2009

Well I can only speak from my personal experience as follows; Drinking Kombucha has all but wiped out my lactose intolerance symptoms. Does that mean I’m not lactose intolerant anymore? No not at all but I no longer take lactaid supplements and avoid pizza! I drink Kombucha pretty regularly which has lead to my knew found ability to digest lactose products much better.

So what causes lactose intolerance anyway?
Well from my understanding it is a lactase deficiency, what exactly does that mean…I’m no scientist=I do not have any clue.
But what I do know is the Kombucha does contain active cultures which combat the effects of lactose intolerance, so by drinking it regularly I can enjoy all the milk, and pizza I want (although that still may not be such a great idea). I wonder what a kombucha pizza would taste like? My guess: Not very good. I read somewhere that by drinking Kombucha 30 minutes before consuming dairy products you should be covered but that is simply not the case for me as I am not careful at all anymore, as long as I have enjoyed Kombucha tea throughout the week I am fine.

I have not been able to find a ton of information on lactose intolerance and Kombucha, what have you guys heard? The lactose intolerance community deserves to know!

Kombucha the new redbull energy drink…that won’t kill you

Energy drinks!!! Energy drinks!!! Energy drinks!!!
Red Bull! Rockstar! Sobe! These things get you so pumped up you feel like you can do anything! Right!? You guys aren’t going along with me on this. What happened I thought we were all friends here…What do you mean you won’t enjoy a Redbull with me, haven’t you heard that Redbull gives you wings That’s right guys drinking Redbull will actually alter your DNA resulting in a painful growing process where wings actually sprout from your back. The good news is you can fly, the bad news is you have wings and you are destined to live a very lonely life on top of a very high building wondering where exactly you fit it in…then a bird poops on your head and you realize that it’s not with the birds either….What? Redbull, Rockstar, and all the other guys are actually bad for you? I had no idea…Ok maybe I knew of a few people who died from drinking these unhealthy poison drinks and then played sports and there hearts pretty much exploded, but hey those are just isolated incidents right?

RedBull gives you wings

Let’s get real for a hot second people, ENERGY DRINKS ARE POISON. Every now and again if I really need to pull an all nighter full of unhealthy regrets I indulge myself in a Redbull, because they do give you energy. But at what cost?

Drinking Kombucha tea gives you energy!!! Oh yeah that’s right, that healthy little glass of Kombucha gives you natural energy and if consumed regularly you should feel your energy levels sky rocket and you won’t feel like you just licked a bad toad. I actually tried Kombucha brewed with Yerba Mate the other day and wow I was feeling so good, it was such a euphoric energy buzz, it felt really great. Whenever I have a Redbull there is almost always a sence of guilt/am I going to die effect that comes with it. So let’s stick to Kombucha, Yerba Mate, and Tea for our energy.

FAQ: Problems Brewing Kombucha February 9, 2009

Bubbles and Holes
We are used to seeing photographs of perfect Kombucha cultures and we are also used to seeing pictures of perfect looking people, but like people cultures are not always perfect, physically. These bubbles which sometimes looks like the bubbly crust on a pizza are simply air pockets. You can expel the air by gently applying pressure and pushing the bubble to one side of your culture. If your culture has a hole or two don’t worry it should still yield some awesome tea.

Mold
Yuck. Nobody likes mold but unfortunatley sometimes mold likes Kombucha, although rare. When this happens I recommend starting over with a new culture, our bodies take in mold consciously and unconsciously all the time but when we can avoid it, it’s usually best to. This just means that something went wrong in your process. In general avoid leaving your culture exposed to air for a long period of time when you harvest, keep covered with a cloth, and leave it away from any plants.

HOT TEA!!!
Placing your culture in hot tea before it has been given a chance to cool down risks killing your culture. You should always let the tea cool down first, if you are impatient trying place the pot of boiling tea into your sink filled with ice, although I would recommend just waiting.

Worn Out
When your culture is looking a little weak and worn out, chances are it’s time to give it a funeral and move on with it’s child. Your cultures should continue to multiply so don’t be afraid to throw them away when they die.

Population Problem
Cultures will continue to grow on top of one another. The tea you have it in however, will not continue to multiply. If you plan on keeping your cultures you need to give them their own jars to thrive in. Don’t be afraid to share the love with your friends and neighbors though. If you don’t have any friend maybe this is a good way to make some.

Thin Cultures
When you go to harvest your culture and it appears too thin chances are it means it was too cold. Your best bet is to keep the temperature between 70 and 90° F. In winter it might help to ad more starter tea to kick start the process.

Freezing
Unless you have an industrial, quick freeze unit DO NOT FREEZE YOUR CULTURES. Your culture will starve to death you are better off giving it away.

Vacation
Just so happens we have a video on this subject. Check it out Below:

How much Kombucha Should I drink? February 3, 2009

How much Kombucha should I drink? Is a bottle from the store ok to drink in its entirety in one sitting? The answer to this and all of these questions delivered to you right after this commercial break…

Today’s Kombucha blog posting is brought to you by “Water”. Water America’s favorite past time is now available in all sorts of flavors. Trick your kids into thinking they are drinking something unhealthy! Water, Yum! Available for free or be silly and pay for it!

Ok were back! So…how much kombucha should you drink? I can’t actually answer that because, well, it depends on your body. Anytime you introduce something new to your system you should do so gradually. I ignored this when I first started drinking kombucha and in the interest of letting you finish your lunch today…I got “the runs”. Some people are even allergic to Kombucha although a small percentage. I would recommend having no more than a 4oz glass of kombucha upon first introducing it to your system. You can then gradually increase the amount having no more then around 32oz in a day. It took me about a month or two to allow my body to get acquainted with kombucha, now I’m drinking it like “Water”. I’m drinking plenty of water too though, it’s always important to never abandon our old friend H20, no supplement or health drink will ever replace drinking lots of water. It’s every important to always stay hydrated. Kombucha tea is amazing, I won’t let you say i’m telling you it’s not! I won’t! BUT let’s also drink water!