Tastes like medicine...

[Guest guest]

I keep having trouble with my brews tasting like " Cloroseptic " type

medicine. It is very troubling, I try to make my self drink it, but I

just can't.

If i let it go more than a week, it takes on that flavor. I am used to

leaving it go a month in the winter time. But I can't get away with it

right now. If i change it after a week, it still tastes like too much

tea - it isn't doen yet.

Anyone, have any helpful hints?????

Thanks a bunch.

P.s. I am going on my 3rd year. So, whats up?

debbee

[Guest guest]

Hi Debbee...

Honestly, from the information, I don't know what to tell you or

suggest...

Hopefully someone else will jump in with an idea or two...

Has anything at all changed recently? Water, tea source, sugar,

environment?

I'm also not quite sure what you mean when you say 'Chloroseptic type

medicine'....

Hoping we can figure this out.... :-)

Gayle

On Dec 31, 2008, at 11:14 AM, greenteakombuka wrote:

> I keep having trouble with my brews tasting like " Cloroseptic " type

> medicine. It is very troubling, I try to make my self drink it, but I

> just can't.

>

> If i let it go more than a week, it takes on that flavor. I am used

> to

> leaving it go a month in the winter time. But I can't get away with

> it

> right now. If i change it after a week, it still tastes like too much

> tea - it isn't doen yet.

>

> Anyone, have any helpful hints?????

>

> Thanks a bunch.

> P.s. I am going on my 3rd year. So, whats up?

>

> debbee

>

>

> ------------------------------------

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Debbee and EveryOne,

Sounds like the chemistry of your brew has changed...are you using the

same tea, sugar, etc. that you used in the past or have they changed?

If you have any Kombucha tea and or SCOBYs from the past you could try

starting another batch separate from the batches you don't like.

Never force yourself to drink Kombucha!....it should taste good to

you, if it doesn't you should listen to your body. Perhaps by changing

back to your old KT or if you don't have any available ask someone

with whom you shared your KT when it tasted good to you. You can also

ask on this list or look in the FILES section in a folder called

Kombucha for free to find someone to share a new start with you.

Happy, Healthy New Year!

Peace, Love and Harmony,

Bev

Kombucha Manna Drops

100% Organic

http://www.bestweb.net/~om/kmi

>

> I keep having trouble with my brews tasting like " Cloroseptic " type

> medicine. It is very troubling, I try to make my self drink it, but I

> just can't.

>

> If i let it go more than a week, it takes on that flavor. I am used to

> leaving it go a month in the winter time. But I can't get away with it

> right now. If i change it after a week, it still tastes like too much

> tea - it isn't doen yet.

>

> Anyone, have any helpful hints?????

>

> Thanks a bunch.

> P.s. I am going on my 3rd year. So, whats up?

>

> debbee

>

[Guest guest]

I thank you for the replies:

The only thing I can think of as far as anything different:

I am strictly using green tea, instead of mixing green and black tea as I had in

the past.

It is the same water, sugar, jar, and amounts.

I have noticed all along, that anytime the parent would get too old on the

bottom, it would

take on a hint of medicine taste. So I always make sure that it isnt' too old,

or that there isn't alot of brown goobers. So I thin it out alot more that I use

too.

But the baby doesnt' seem to be growing as excerburant as before either, I have

noticed.

I wonder if I should start over.hmmm....

I appreciat you guys.

debb

[Guest guest]

May I suggest you try black tea to see if it's the green that makes a

difference? If it is the green tea then I suggest that you cut back the

amount of tea bags that you use. I try to drink green tea for the obvious

reasons, but I find that when I brew it too strong it too tastes like

medicine, so I have to be careful and not bre it too strong.

I also decant and put in the fridge my brew around day 6. It used to be

longer, but I found that it was getting too acidic too soon. Great for salad

dressing but not for a daily drink. I also suggest that you try diluting the

KT when it tastes too strong. We don't drink it plain. Usually it is mixed

half and half with unsweetened grape juice, but even then sometimes it gets

a little strong and I hit it with a splash of cold water.

HTH's

On Wed, Dec 31, 2008 at 12:14 PM, greenteakombuka <debbeec@...> wrote:

> I keep having trouble with my brews tasting like " Cloroseptic " type

> medicine. It is very troubling, I try to make my self drink it, but I

> just can't.

>

> If i let it go more than a week, it takes on that flavor. I am used to

> leaving it go a month in the winter time. But I can't get away with it

> right now. If i change it after a week, it still tastes like too much

> tea - it isn't doen yet.

>

> Anyone, have any helpful hints?????

>

> Thanks a bunch.

> P.s. I am going on my 3rd year. So, whats up?

>

> debbee

>

>

>

--

M

upstate NY

[Guest guest]

That is a great site, thanks!!! I definantly have some starting points. One

being adding black tea, the other kind of sounds like I need to increase yeast

activity. I am going to work on that. I am excited, its given me a new boost.

Great site!!!!!!!!!!!1

thank you, thank you.

This group has been GREAT for me.

debbee

[Guest guest]

Neat info - and the light dawns for me!

- After reading 's answer/post, I did a search and [

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oolong ]

woke up to the possibility that the taste of the tea could change the

taste of the Kombucha!

" *Oolong has a taste more akin to green tea than to black tea: it lacks

the rosy, sweet aroma

of black tea but it likewise does not have the stridently grassy vegetal

notes that typify green

tea. It is commonly brewed to be strong, with the bitterness leaving a

sweet aftertaste.* "

- I had checked all the following and the only thing that I could find

different was a slight temperature change

in the house.

- After reading a post that KT's bottled kombucha has 'Lactobacillus', I

did a search on that

and LAB ferments are common and can be in tea but do not seem to be one

of the normal

bacteria that frequents kombucha but, I added some powder from capseled

acidophilus to one of my 7 jars, to see what would happen

- Went out and spent money for high dollar organic, loose leaf Oolong

tea, hoping that

things would change and they have changed, so I thought I had the answer.

- Did not even consider that the primary ferment's taste could be

changed by the type of *TEA *in the same way that, the secondary

ferment's taste can

be changed by adding juice or fruit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

variables that 'I' was obsessing over

Organic Tea vers. Store / box type tea

PH,

sugar ratio,

sugar type,

temperature,

ratio of starter to new tea,

light allowed to get to the fermenting kombucha,

air exchange by coffee filter or cloth,

length of ferment,

type of water - my city tap or filtered from 'Water Mill',

-- Will add type of tea to my check list in the future!

So Simple, green tea or other types of tea will be monitored, *My

*problems are solved.

Good Luck to Debbee, I hope this simple thing will be her only problem,

as well!

Thank You, !

aka Piper

USDA zone 8; Waco, TX

Marcella wrote:

> May I suggest you try black tea to see if it's the green that makes a

> difference? If it is the green tea then I suggest that you cut back the

> amount of tea bags that you use. I try to drink green tea for the obvious

> reasons, but I find that when I brew it too strong it too tastes like

> medicine, so I have to be careful and not bre it too strong.

>

> I also decant and put in the fridge my brew around day 6. It used to be

> longer, but I found that it was getting too acidic too soon. Great for salad

> dressing but not for a daily drink. I also suggest that you try diluting the

> KT when it tastes too strong. We don't drink it plain. Usually it is mixed

> half and half with unsweetened grape juice, but even then sometimes it gets

> a little strong and I hit it with a splash of cold water.

>

> HTH's

>

> On Wed, Dec 31, 2008 at 12:14 PM, greenteakombuka <debbeec@...> wrote:

>> I keep having trouble with my brews tasting like " Cloroseptic " type

>> medicine. It is very troubling, I try to make my self drink it, but I

>> just can't.

>>

>> If i let it go more than a week, it takes on that flavor. I am used to

>> leaving it go a month in the winter time. But I can't get away with it

>> right now. If i change it after a week, it still tastes like too much

>> tea - it isn't doen yet.

>>

>> Anyone, have any helpful hints?????

>>

>> Thanks a bunch.

>> P.s. I am going on my 3rd year. So, whats up?

>>

>> debbee