A note about KT culture

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone!

After speaking w/ a good friend who keeps KT, and discussing a problem she's

been having w/ her culture, i thought i oughtta mention this to the whole group,

as i *bet* this has been a problem W/ others....

Kathy was telling me that her successive cultures of KT were not making good KT

like she used to get, and explained that she thought her culture was just

getting weaker, and that she figured it really was going down-hill. i tasted a

sample......

she was right. but i know why.

Over time, being impatient, she had been decanting batches just a bit too early

(for my taste anyway, however now i know that my taste has good reason behind

it!)... Every time she decanted a batch a bit too early, that particular

starter didn't have enough microscopic biota going to start the next batch. So

that next batch didn't have as much get-up-and-go. so then when *it* was

decanted, the starter for the next batch was even weaker than the one before

it.....so that each successive batch became weaker than the one before it.

now i know for a fact that more than one member here has complained of the

phenomenon of successive KT batches becomming weaker....know i know why! Those

who have this problem just like their KT too sweet (or just are being impatient)

for it's own (and your own) good, meaning that it hasn't been left going long

enough for all the really beneficial atomic-re-arrangements to take place.

If you decant a batch which is still kinda sweet, then not all the sugars have

been converted to alcohol, and the alcohols haven't been converted to the

complex polysaccharides and organic acids, so the brew isn't really very

beneficial. PLUS the fact that there's not enough of a colony of yeasts and

bacteria going to begin a new strong culture.

So what i'm saying is that if you like your KT sweet, then don't complain that

your culture isn't doing so well. It just hasn't gone long enought to create a

sustainable symbiosis. You've gotta get those acid levels up to a certain

point for the benefit of both you and the culture it's self.

i felt this needed mentioned

;-)

Blessings

mark

[Guest guest]

Mark,

I agree with everything you said, I think you have made a very important

observation, and would like to add that I think maybe it has something

to do with temperature, if you recall, we used to think that 75-80°

was the ideal temp. and I believe that is what was adhering to

during his research, and his research said that everything was at it's

peak on day 7-8, So if we are now proceeding at lower temps 73°, then

in reality (I am assuming of course) this lower temp. could add on to

the time it takes to reach it's most beneficial peak.

So, this would confirm your idea that people are harvesting too soon and

thereby weakening the culture. So what I am thinking is that when the

temperature Ideal was changed, someone should have also figured that

length of fermenting time should be changed also.

Luv, Sprite

" When you drink the water, remember the spring. "

 Chinese proverb

Check out my Kombucha Information page, it has links to all kinds of KT

info and more:

<A HREF= " http://www.geocities.com/ladyfangs.geo/Page5.html " >Sprite's

Kombucha Page</A>

[Guest guest]

Very interesting post, Mark. Now I'm wondering about the other

extreme: is it possible to go the other way -- letting it sit TOO

long for the brew to get weakened? After all, what are the beasties

feeding on once their food supply is gone?

Nori

Mark wrote:

> If you decant a batch which is still kinda sweet, then not all the

sugars have been converted to alcohol, and the alcohols haven't been

converted to the complex polysaccharides and organic acids, so the

brew isn't really very beneficial. PLUS the fact that there's not

enough of a colony of yeasts and bacteria going to begin a new

strong culture.

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