a thoughtful web.
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking.   Login or Take a Tour!
comment by elizabeth
elizabeth  ·  2787 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: August 10, 2016

    My kombucha turned out well

Great to hear that! Ours wasn't great: didn't account for the fact that it was a very hot week and 7 days was too much in this weather. Turned out too sour :(

Have you tried adding flavors to it yet?





OftenBen  ·  2787 days ago  ·  link  ·  

That's unfortunate :[ I was told to think of it more like a pet than a beverage. I kept mine in a cupboard next to the fridge.

After the 10 day ferment, I added crushed lemons and ginger root, let them steep for an additional day, then filtered it.

I'd like to try with green tea next time.

elizabeth  ·  2787 days ago  ·  link  ·  

One thing that worked quite well tho was a tip given to me by our Russian friend: after the 7 days we filtered it and bottled it with a couple of raisins. It ferments some more and adds some nice carbonation :)

OftenBen  ·  2787 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Hmm. Does it change the flavor at all?

Mine had a little bubble to it, not a lot. I ascribed that to the 10 day versus 14 day ferment though, rather than any dearth of sugar.

elizabeth  ·  2787 days ago  ·  link  ·  

It made it slightly sweeter but added carbonation for sure. It's an important factor for me because I feel I've slowly been cultivating a soft drink addiction after Asia (you get sick of water when you drink about 3 litres every day) and I feel it would be a great/healthier alternative. I've heard of simply mixing it with carbonated water after, but I don't want to dilute the taste too much.

I think we'll be firing up our 2nd batch today. We'll add a bit more sugar and taste it after 5 days this time.

It's strange that my friend told me about a 6-10 days ferment not 10-14... What ratio sugar/tea do you put?

OftenBen  ·  2787 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I make a 2 gallon batch, 1 cup of sugar for every gallon of water. Pardon the Imperial measurements.

I'll try the raisin thing with a bottle of the next batch. Does 'a couple' literally mean 2 raisins?

elizabeth  ·  2787 days ago  ·  link  ·  

We put 4-5 for a half a litre bottle. But I'm no expert on this ;)