Guest guest Posted September 29, 2004 Report Share Posted September 29, 2004 Just you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 30, 2007 Report Share Posted April 30, 2007 did you make sure it was room temperature before you put your skoby in the tea? And did you use a starter to help get things started? You should show signs of a new baby growing by 3 or 4 days. I would get another skoby K > Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but I'm brewing my first batch > of KT. I started it on 4/16 and it still smells very tea-ish and not > very kombucha-ish. The scoby is on the bottom with some tea sedament? > on top, there's no baby growing on the top. Should I be worried? > > I brewed with 6 pkg black tea and 1 1/3 c. white sugar. > > Any advice is well-received. > > Grace and Peace, > `tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 30, 2007 Report Share Posted April 30, 2007 Hi Tim The culture sinking to the bottom and no culture forming are not uncommon occurrences in the fermenting of Kombucha. At about 14 days the tea should be getting close. Do a taste test. I use a straw to do this. I stick it down about half way in my brew and taste. If it still taste like sweet tea you may have a problem unless the temperature you fermenting in is low say 60-65 degree. I would taste at 3 day intervals and if no change is noted after 6 to 9 days I think you can safely assume that the culture is bad. Bill >Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but I'm brewing my first batch >of KT. I started it on 4/16 and it still smells very tea-ish and not >very kombucha-ish. The scoby is on the bottom with some tea sedament? >on top, there's no baby growing on the top. Should I be worried? > >I brewed with 6 pkg black tea and 1 1/3 c. white sugar. > >Any advice is well-received. > >Grace and Peace, >`tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 30, 2007 Report Share Posted April 30, 2007 In message <52916f760704300652k7db89987j6f7651158f1462ec@...> you wrote: > Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but I'm brewing my first batch > of KT. Hey, Tim, there are no dumb questions! We take all questions seriously. You are welcome to ask them :-) > I started it on 4/16 and it still smells very tea-ish and not > very kombucha-ish. The scoby is on the bottom with some tea sedament? > on top, there's no baby growing on the top. Should I be worried? It is true that a first brew can take a lot longer to become good Kombucha tonic as the brew is not yet established properly. However, at 2 weeks' brewing, there should be at least a slightly acidic smell and taste. Have you tried your brew (with a straw)? If there is not acidity, then there is a great likelihood that your Kombucha culture is not working right. There could be the following reasons: 1) if you added the starter/culture to your sweet tea while it was still too hot. It needs to be properly cooled (only very slightly tepid, not more than 30C-86F) Heat destroys the bacteria-yeasts microflora. 2) if the culture had previously been refrigerated for a long time, it would take a lot longer to spring back into brewing mode (if at all). 3) Like said quite rightly, if you did not add enough acidic starter along with your scoby. In absence of proper acidic KT distilled vinegar would do the job. This is especially important to avoid mould. 1) is probably the most often made mistake. So, your next step would be to try your brew. If there is no acidity at all, you'll need a new culture, I'd say. Don't give up, Tim! After initial teething problems which a lot of us have had, we have still grown into seasoned brewers... and so will you! Kombucha greetings with blessings, Margret:-) UK P.S. > I brewed with 6 pkg black tea and 1 1/3 c. white sugar. I take it that is for 3 litres/quarts which would be the right amount? -- +------------------ Minstrel@... --------------------+ <)))<>< http://www.therpc.f9.co.uk <)))<>< http://www.AnswersInGenesis.com +----------------- http://www.Gotquestions.org ------------------+ 'I have come into the world as light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness'(says Jesus in 12:46) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 30, 2007 Report Share Posted April 30, 2007 OK, I've done the " straw " test and the " Brew " tastes like sweet tea...there may be a tiny hint of acidity, but that may be just wishful thinking too -- I can't be sure. Of all the potential problems I KNOW it is not...is the one about too hot of a tea-brew at the beginning. I was worried about that and let the tea sit overnight before I added the culture. The culture also came with some starter, but I'm afraid I didn't actually measure how much it was. I started with about a gallon of tea mixture and I suppose I had 3/4-1 c. (about 1/16 of a gallon) of starter. In any case, is there anything I can do? Can I add some vinegar? Anything else? Grace and Peace, `tim On 4/30/07, Margret Pegg <Minstrel@...> wrote: > > In message <52916f760704300652k7db89987j6f7651158f1462ec@...<52916f760704300652k\ 7db89987j6f7651158f1462ec%40mail.gmail.com>> > you wrote: > > > Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but I'm brewing my first batch > > of KT. > Hey, Tim, there are no dumb questions! We take all questions seriously. > You are welcome to ask them :-) > > > I started it on 4/16 and it still smells very tea-ish and not > > very kombucha-ish. The scoby is on the bottom with some tea sedament? > > on top, there's no baby growing on the top. Should I be worried? > > It is true that a first brew can take a lot longer to become good Kombucha > tonic as the brew is not yet established properly. > > However, at 2 weeks' brewing, there should be at least a slightly acidic > smell and taste. Have you tried your brew (with a straw)? > > If there is not acidity, then there is a great likelihood that your > Kombucha culture is not working right. > > There could be the following reasons: > > 1) if you added the starter/culture to your sweet tea while it was still > too hot. It needs to be properly cooled (only very slightly tepid, not > more > than 30C-86F) Heat destroys the bacteria-yeasts microflora. > > 2) if the culture had previously been refrigerated for a long time, it > would > take a lot longer to spring back into brewing mode (if at all). > > 3) Like said quite rightly, if you did not add enough acidic starter > along with your scoby. In absence of proper acidic KT distilled vinegar > would do the job. This is especially important to avoid mould. > > 1) is probably the most often made mistake. > > So, your next step would be to try your brew. If there is no acidity at > all, > you'll need a new culture, I'd say. > > Don't give up, Tim! After initial teething problems which a lot of us have > > had, we have still grown into seasoned brewers... and so will you! > > Kombucha greetings with blessings, > > Margret:-) UK > > P.S. > > I brewed with 6 pkg black tea and 1 1/3 c. white sugar. > I take it that is for 3 litres/quarts which would be the right amount? > > -- > +------------------ Minstrel@... <Minstrel%40therpc.f9.co.uk>--------------------+ > <)))<>< http://www.therpc.f9.co.uk <)))<>< > http://www.AnswersInGenesis.com > +----------------- http://www.Gotquestions.org ------------------+ > > 'I have come into the world as light, so that no one who believes > in me should stay in darkness'(says Jesus in 12:46) > > -- The content of this e-mail may be private or of confidential nature. Do not forward without permission of the original author. -- Rev. Tim TenClay, IAPC, NATA #253 Dunningville Reformed Church (www.dunningville.org) Blogs: http://www.tenclay.org/blog ...org/baby ...org/ragbrai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 30, 2007 Report Share Posted April 30, 2007 I have heard a good rule of thumb is 10% of your brew. So with 3 qts of sweet tea, (thats 96 oz) I use about 10 oz starter. (my original instructions I got off a webpage said 6 oz starter with 3 qts of tea. Which is slightly less than 1 cup. You would think though by now, something would be happening on the surface. I get things happening within 3 days. A film starts to appear, and it slowly thickens. K > OK, I've done the " straw " test and the " Brew " tastes like sweet > tea...there > may be a tiny hint of acidity, but that may be just wishful thinking > too -- > I can't be sure. Of all the potential problems I KNOW it is not...is the > one about too hot of a tea-brew at the beginning. I was worried about > that > and let the tea sit overnight before I added the culture. The culture > also > came with some starter, but I'm afraid I didn't actually measure how much > it > was. > > I started with about a gallon of tea mixture and I suppose I had 3/4-1 c. > (about 1/16 of a gallon) of starter. > > In any case, is there anything I can do? Can I add some vinegar? > Anything > else? > > Grace and Peace, > `tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 30, 2007 Report Share Posted April 30, 2007 HI, I think my KT is making. I am not sure. It's been 5 days. I have it in a cupboard with no heat, undisturbed. It has trendil like brownish threads or globules underneath my scoby and a white looking skin underneath. Where is the baby supposed to be? It is hard to see because it is slightly cloudy. I seem to be able to detect a slight vinegary odor, kind of apple cidery smell. I didn't think it was supposed to make KT that quickly. Does this sound like it is doing what it is supposed to? This is, obviously my first time. I feel like I am babysitting! HA HA Judy K <kmk55@...> wrote: I have heard a good rule of thumb is 10% of your brew. So with 3 qts of sweet tea, (thats 96 oz) I use about 10 oz starter. (my original instructions I got off a webpage said 6 oz starter with 3 qts of tea. Which is slightly less than 1 cup. You would think though by now, something would be happening on the surface. I get things happening within 3 days. A film starts to appear, and it slowly thickens. K > OK, I've done the " straw " test and the " Brew " tastes like sweet > tea...there > may be a tiny hint of acidity, but that may be just wishful thinking > too -- > I can't be sure. Of all the potential problems I KNOW it is not...is the > one about too hot of a tea-brew at the beginning. I was worried about > that > and let the tea sit overnight before I added the culture. The culture > also > came with some starter, but I'm afraid I didn't actually measure how much > it > was. > > I started with about a gallon of tea mixture and I suppose I had 3/4-1 c. > (about 1/16 of a gallon) of starter. > > In any case, is there anything I can do? Can I add some vinegar? > Anything > else? > > Grace and Peace, > `tim --------------------------------- Ahhh...imagining that irresistible " new car " smell? Check outnew cars at Autos. --------------------------------- Ahhh...imagining that irresistible " new car " smell? Check outnew cars at Autos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 30, 2007 Report Share Posted April 30, 2007 hi Tim.. i'm a newbie too. one of my first brews also was sweet and that was after 3 1/2 weeks. the brew was staying around 68 - 70 degrees. it never did taste too vinegary. but - the baby made the most vinegary KT you can imagine. and in only a little more than 3 weeks. i need to bottle it NOW - but i'm tired. only thing is i always was gettin a baby scoobie. its give and try and eventually ya get it. have fun. Arielle > > > > > Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but I'm brewing my first batch > > > of KT. > > Hey, Tim, there are no dumb questions! We take all questions seriously. > > You are welcome to ask them :-) > > > > > I started it on 4/16 and it still smells very tea-ish and not > > > very kombucha-ish. The scoby is on the bottom with some tea sedament? > > > on top, there's no baby growing on the top. Should I be worried? > > > > It is true that a first brew can take a lot longer to become good Kombucha > > tonic as the brew is not yet established properly. > > > > However, at 2 weeks' brewing, there should be at least a slightly acidic > > smell and taste. Have you tried your brew (with a straw)? > > > > If there is not acidity, then there is a great likelihood that your > > Kombucha culture is not working right. > > > > There could be the following reasons: > > > > 1) if you added the starter/culture to your sweet tea while it was still > > too hot. It needs to be properly cooled (only very slightly tepid, not > > more > > than 30C-86F) Heat destroys the bacteria-yeasts microflora. > > > > 2) if the culture had previously been refrigerated for a long time, it > > would > > take a lot longer to spring back into brewing mode (if at all). > > > > 3) Like said quite rightly, if you did not add enough acidic starter > > along with your scoby. In absence of proper acidic KT distilled vinegar > > would do the job. This is especially important to avoid mould. > > > > 1) is probably the most often made mistake. > > > > So, your next step would be to try your brew. If there is no acidity at > > all, > > you'll need a new culture, I'd say. > > > > Don't give up, Tim! After initial teething problems which a lot of us have > > > > had, we have still grown into seasoned brewers... and so will you! > > > > Kombucha greetings with blessings, > > > > Margret:-) UK > > > > P.S. > > > I brewed with 6 pkg black tea and 1 1/3 c. white sugar. > > I take it that is for 3 litres/quarts which would be the right amount? > > > > -- > > +------------------ Minstrel@... <Minstrel%40therpc.f9.co.uk>----- ---------------+ > > <)))<>< http://www.therpc.f9.co.uk <)))<>< > > http://www.AnswersInGenesis.com > > +----------------- http://www.Gotquestions.org ------------------+ > > > > 'I have come into the world as light, so that no one who believes > > in me should stay in darkness'(says Jesus in 12:46) > > > > > > > > -- > The content of this e-mail may be private or of confidential nature. > Do not forward without permission of the original author. > -- > Rev. Tim TenClay, IAPC, NATA #253 > Dunningville Reformed Church (www.dunningville.org) > Blogs: http://www.tenclay.org/blog ...org/baby ...org/ragbrai > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 30, 2007 Report Share Posted April 30, 2007 Evening Tim At this point I don't adding vinegar would do any thing. Your starter was a little on the low side. I like to use about 5 oz for each quart of sweet tea. This is on the high side but it works for me. I see two possibilities. First ferments with a new culture can take longer than subsequent ferments. Second is that the culture you received was defective. I would give your brew about an additional 9 days tasting about every three days. If you do not notice a change in flavor during that time then I would suspect the culture is defective, Bill >OK, I've done the " straw " test and the " Brew " tastes like sweet tea...there >may be a tiny hint of acidity, but that may be just wishful thinking too -- >I can't be sure. Of all the potential problems I KNOW it is not...is the >one about too hot of a tea-brew at the beginning. I was worried about that >and let the tea sit overnight before I added the culture. The culture also >came with some starter, but I'm afraid I didn't actually measure how much it >was. > >I started with about a gallon of tea mixture and I suppose I had 3/4-1 c. >(about 1/16 of a gallon) of starter. > >In any case, is there anything I can do? Can I add some vinegar? Anything >else? > >Grace and Peace, >`tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 1, 2007 Report Share Posted May 1, 2007 In message <452380.19675.qm@...> you wrote: > I think my KT is making. I am not sure. It's been 5 days. I have it > in a cupboard with no heat, undisturbed. It has trendil like brownish > threads or globules underneath my scoby and a white looking skin > underneath. Where is the baby supposed to be? It is hard to see > because it is slightly cloudy. I seem to be able to detect a slight > vinegary odor, kind of apple cidery smell. I didn't think it was > supposed to make KT that quickly. Does this sound like it is doing what > it is supposed to? Yes, Judy it sounds just as it should be! Brownish threads and globules are completely normal and signs of an efficacious brew. My ugliest brews are also the nicest tasting usually ;-) Yes, after 5 days there will be the typical pleasantly acidic smell in a normal brew. I would gently try it with a straw by day 7, which is very often the best day to try and sometimes harvest as well. If it's still too sweet for your taste, just give it another day or 2. You are right on cue! Blessings for a happy day, Margret:-) -- +------------------ Minstrel@... --------------------+ <)))<>< http://www.therpc.f9.co.uk <)))<>< http://www.AnswersInGenesis.com +----------------- http://www.Gotquestions.org ------------------+ ...whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, adnirable, excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things! (Phil.4:8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 I couldnt sleep, thought id just gte up and google stuff. I have been taking bio-HRT for more than a year now and started on iodoral last february. many other supplements etc.. last nite in the shower, I found a small amount of blackish discharge from my nipple.. so now im worried that i could have breast cancer. I wont be able to call the Dr till tues afternoon, and Im not sure WHICH Dr to call. any comments would be welcome, Im going to go do some googling now. (its 4am) Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 Dear Kathy, Check to see if the other nipple has discharge. If it's bi-lateral it may be that you are detoxing and less likely to be a cancer (you'd have to be pretty unlucky to have one both sides). Put a hot flannel over the other breast to re-create the conditions of the shower. Do this two or three times as if you are having a soak in the bath or a really long shower as hot as you can bear. This is an old trick used to unblock milk ducts when breast feeding. Wait a bit and see if you can squeeze something out. A bit of massage can help as well. (Sorry to be so directive!) Also discharge from the nipple does not always mean cancer. I had discharge/milk coming out of my breasts until my son was two and I stopped breast feeding him at six months. I quite often had blocked ducts when breast feeding and used to get them "unblocked" in the shower by putting hot water on my breast. It could also just be a cyst. According to one of my doctors (radiologist) they are full of all sorts of yuck. I think cancers are hard and compact and although they cause nipple discharge I have never heard of it being black. May be it is coming out because you are taking iodine and your have shrinking/bursting breast cysts. Hope this helps, MacG. From: Kathy <sunbriar@...>iodine ; hrt-nhrt Sent: Tue, 3 November, 2009 10:11:34Subject: problem? I couldnt sleep, thought id just gte up and google stuff. I have been taking bio-HRT for more than a year now and started on iodoral last february. many other supplements etc.. last nite in the shower, I found a small amount of blackish discharge from my nipple.. so now im worried that i could have breast cancer. I wont be able to call the Dr till tues afternoon, and Im not sure WHICH Dr to call. any comments would be welcome, Im going to go do some googling now. (its 4am) Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 Kathy - Sara is right....this site below may help ease your mind a bit. The breasts are loaded with toxins of all kinds - a natural route to get out of the breast is through the nipple: http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/49522/discharge-worry cathy > > Dear Kathy, > Check to see if the other nipple has discharge. If it's bi-lateral it may be that you are detoxing and less likely to be a cancer (you'd have to be pretty unlucky to have one both sides). Put a hot flannel over the other breast to re-create the conditions of the shower. Do this two or three times as if you are having a soak in the bath or a really long shower as hot as you can bear. This is an old trick used to unblock milk ducts when breast feeding. Wait a bit and see if you can squeeze something out. A bit of massage can help as well. (Sorry to be so directive!) > Also discharge from the nipple does not always mean cancer. I had discharge/milk coming out of my breasts until my son was two and I stopped breast feeding him at six months. I quite often had blocked ducts when breast feeding and used to get them " unblocked " in the shower by putting hot water on my breast. > It could also just be a cyst. According to one of my doctors (radiologist) they are full of all sorts of yuck. I think cancers are hard and compact and although they cause nipple discharge I have never heard of it being black.  May be it is coming out because you are taking iodine and your have shrinking/bursting breast cysts. > Hope this helps, > MacG. > > > > > ________________________________ > From: Kathy <sunbriar@...> > iodine ; hrt-nhrt > Sent: Tue, 3 November, 2009 10:11:34 > Subject: problem? > >  > I couldnt sleep, thought id just gte up and google stuff. I have been taking bio-HRT for more than a year now and started on iodoral last february. many other supplements etc.. last nite in the shower, I found a small amount of blackish discharge from my nipple.. so now im worried that i could have breast cancer. I wont be able to call the Dr till tues afternoon, and Im not sure WHICH Dr to call.  any comments would be welcome, Im going to go do some googling now. (its 4am) Kathy > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2009 Report Share Posted November 4, 2009 thank you for the link to that website. I went in and looked around, still need to be worried. have an apt on friday to check it out. Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.