Re: Should I stick strictly to the original Betsy Pryor brewing instructions? Or..

May 8, 2007

Kombucha did NOT originate with Betsy Pryor. Kombucha has been handed down

to us for centuries, reportedly originating in the Caucausus region some 3000

years ago or longer. In that time period there was no such thing as

stainless steel, neither was there any refined white sugar, nor were there

any teabags, unless some creative person crafted them from homespun cloth.

Any teas grown were virtually organic, since pesticides were not in use then,

neither were chemical fertilizers, etc.

These cultures were handed down from one family to the next, from one

generation to the next just as they are now being done today. If anyone has

assisted in contaminating the culture I would say it was most likely the person

who wrote that book you are reading. I prefer to stick as close to the

original as possible in a modern world.

Huggs

zoe

Tuesday, May 8, 2007, 6:29:30 PM, you wrote:

> I'm about to acquire my first Kombucha baby and want to get off on

> the right footing. I read Betsy Pryor's book first and she has

> really really strict instructions on how to brew the tea, from using

> only a stainless steel stockpot, to only using white REFINED sugar

> and NON ORGANIC black/green tea bags, to not adding anything else

> in, and using only clear glass containers to store the brew in. So

> i'm kinda confused by all the other webpages and posts by people

> saying how they used organic sugar, molasses, organic tea, added

> vinegar into the culture, or how they used old coloured bottles for

> storage, etc. etc. None of these methods is encouraged by betsy

> pryor, apparently.

> My question is this: since these methods deviate from the " original "

> kombucha as it was intended to be made(well, by betsy pryor anyway),

> how sure can we be that these scobys are of sound quality - in terms

> of safety, as well as nutrient/mineral content? If I obtain a scoby

> from a source which has used all kinds of " innovative " techniques

> like adding organic ingredients or vinegar (which the original book

> warned against doing), then, even if i stick to the vanilla method

> of brewing i'd still be getting, technically, a contaminated scoby

> minus the the full nutritional/mineral/curative properties, right?

> Any comments, please, for a novice? Thank you!

>

May 8, 2007

I have never heard of Betsy Pryor but I'm thinking that kombucha brewing

goes back to a time long before stainless steel, refined white sugar and

non organically grown tea. I am always suspicious of anything that

claims to be THE ONLY RIGHT WAY.

I can't speak for anyone else, but personally I can't see how non

organic tea is better than organic. I don't always use organic, but

that is more of a cost issue than a preference.

The addition of vinegar is just to make sure that the brew is acidic

enough to prevent mold in the absence of a sufficient quantity of acidic

starter. It is never recommended to use a live vinegar, so I wouldn't

worry about contamination from that.

I think most of us do our experimenting with extra scoby's and don't use

those ones for giving away.

All in all I think you should not worry, who knows what the

bacteria/yeast makeup of Betsy Pryors scoby's was and even if you got a

scoby descended from one of hers, brewed in exactly the same way,

chances are that it would be different because of airborne yeasts. Same

as sourdough starter, it can be made in exactly the same way by dozens

of people but ultimately no two are the same because the airborne yeasts

are different from place to place.

Who can really say what the full nutritional/mineral/curative properties

are? What if her way creates a scoby that is deficient in some way? I

am not trying to be obnoxious or anything, I just hate when people put

their opinions down as gospel truth and try to scare others into doing

things their way.

Any KT is better than no KT. As long as your kombucha is not moldy, and

is fermenting your sweet tea I think it is a good thing.

Tasha

Jane Doh wrote: