Does Kombucha have a place in Tea Brewing?

[We Solidarity]

Hey guys! I'm proud to announce i'm going to be the parent of a brand new Kombucha SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast)! I've never brewed my own kombucha before, but understand they reproduce a new culture every 1-3 weeks. I'm looking forward to branching out my colony of kombucha to friends - but i'm also wondering what benefits might be had to adding culture to my teas.

When i did research on kombucha, I found out that the colonies excrete TONS of different b-vitamins, as well as tons of different acids including butyric acid, oxalic acid, and, what health researchers believe to be the most important part of kombucha, glucaric acid. Glucaric acid is present in many fruits and vegetables and is being researched for it's potential as a cancer treatment.

If I wind up getting her this week I'll hopefully be able to throw her next culture into a tea. Hoping to run a side by side experiment but I need to find someone around here with a microscope. Keepin my fingers crossed on that one the girl i'm getting it from has her own sense of time...:rolleyes:

 

[GR33NL3AF]

Sounds like a great experiment, keep us posted!

 

[homebrew420]

I have heard of it being used however I would be wary of its highly acidic nature. It turns the tea into vinigar if left for too long. Though you already know this i m sure. Not sure if would help anymore than a standard tea . Give it a shot.
Komuch is fun and delicious and may add some B's tothe tea. Good luck. I miss brewing "buch. Did it for years.

Peace

 

[Thoth]

Very interested to hear how you go with this experiment. Keep us posted!

 

[We Solidarity]

will do! Homebrew I was thinkin a full culture would probably make the tea pretty acidic, especially with all the aeration that will really kick such a concentrated culture into warpspeed.

I'd probably only add the culture for the last 5 or 6 hours of brewing, and def have some concentrated kombucha drank to add as well. If anything kombucha sounds like it could make a great ph down on tea days.

 

[Seamaiden]

I've read of others using kombucha as part of their EM-1 programs, as well as composting, etc. I would not be surprised to learn it has incredibly beneficial effects for plants.

 

[neverbreak]

kombucha interests me but in a more "i don't want that shit near me" kind of way. not that i don't trust that it's good for ya, but it looks so far from appealing. actually it looks disgusting. so better to use it on my plants than me!

neverbreak

 

[Seamaiden]

I can totally see it freaking certain people I know out, completely. Especially if it moved...?

 

[Fraktaal]

Hahaha!! Moving kombucha -makes me laugh. :p

I like making kefir. The world of fermentation is wonderful. Don't see kefir having any use in growing though, other than keeping the growers themselves healthy!

 

[Seamaiden]

I love kefir! We've been getting this Middle Eastern style kefir that I spread on toast, then top with my homemade eggplant caponata and a couple of fried eggs, over easy. OFF THE HOOK!

 

[kushsmoker30]

I love kefir! We've been getting this Middle Eastern style kefir that I spread on toast, then top with my homemade eggplant caponata and a couple of fried eggs, over easy. OFF THE HOOK!

LOL ur making my hunger worse!!:mad:

 

[YarraSparra]

I love kefir! We've been getting this Middle Eastern style kefir that I spread on toast, then top with my homemade eggplant caponata and a couple of fried eggs, over easy. OFF THE HOOK!

Spreadable kefir? How thick is that stuff?!
And eggplant caponata...please do elaborate! :D

YS

 

[homebrew420]

I had read of it being used as a pH down, pretty strong I would imagine. I think your right on with adding in the last few hours maybe even immediately prior to use. The cultures do poorly in an aerated fluid because of high oxygen levels.
Hope you give a shot would love to hear how it turns out

Peace

 

[Thoth]

The cultures do poorly in an aerated fluid because of high oxygen levels.

Never having made kombucha, I'm surprised that you say that. I was under the impression that it needed regular shaking to aerate it.

 

[homebrew420]

Thoth now that i think about it, 'Buch should do well in an aerated solution. You would most likely not be able to create a solid SCOBY. Doesn't matter for this purpose. Good catch bro.

Peace

 

[derelict]

cool experiment dude! love my kombucha, it's rad stuff. would be sweet if it were useful for growing too.

 

[Seamaiden]

SCOBY?

Spreadable kefir? How thick is that stuff?!
And eggplant caponata...please do elaborate! :D

YS

It's very thick, like... thicker than a good Greek yogurt-thick. It's very thick. Nothing like 'pouring' it, you either spoon it or spread it.

The eggplant caponata was a combination of recipes that I probably should have written down. Eggplant & tomato-based, with green & black olives, capers, onions, garlic, and a wee bit of brown sugar and cinnamon, just a wee bit. Oh, and sufficient vinegar to allow me to can it (pressure canned for safety, eggplant isn't acidic enough to be safely canned any other way). I'll have to see if I can recreate the recipe.

 

[psilobuds]

scoby = symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. the backbone of how kombucha and kefir are made. the strange thing is, no one actually knows how they originated as attempts to create scobys from scratch have failed (i think one guy managed to do it, but with different bacteria and yeast - he couldn't make one with the same ones found in kefir).

let us know how your experiment goes mate!