Starter Tea and Easy Method Does Not Work

[Guest guest]

Happy New Year from Toronto,

After asking 5 different groups for starter tea and a SCOBY, I finally got some

last night from a local. The starter had no smell and was pale yellow, about 3/4

cup. When I tasted it, it was sweet.

Do you think it's dead?

So, I tried to revive it by adding a tablespoon of sugar and an ordinary black

teabag to the room temperature tea. Someone suggested a method of making

kombucha by dunking black teabags in cold water for 15 minutes - that didn't

work.

A few years ago, I read somewhere that you need the hot water to release the tea

into it; I have found that to be true. To contine attempting the revival of the

brew, I added a little cold water, stuck in another teabag, capped it, and then

blasted it with my negative ion generator for several hours. Removed the teabag

4.5 hours later, at 1:30 AM. The solution is now an amber color.

Now it smells funny, not like KT. Usually if you leave water standing, some of

the dissolved oxygen will cause little bubbles in it. There are now little

bubbles in the solution, am not sure whether they are simply dissoved oxygen or

fermentation.

What do you think?

Thanks,

P.S. For those of you who are wondering what negative ions have to do with

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[Guest guest]

Happy New Year!

, if you got the SCOBY, don't even try to use that starter it

sounds to me. In any case, whether you use the starter or not, you need to

use vinegar as well because you don't have the acidity needed. 1/4 cup in

1-gal vessel is what I'd use.

--V

~~~ There is no way to peace; peace is the way ~~~~

--A.J. Muste

[Guest guest]

> Someone suggested a method of making kombucha by dunking

> black teabags in cold water for 15 minutes - that didn't work.

What I suggested was teabags in room temperature water for 30

minutes. Both my daughter and I have used this with green and oolong

tea now for several weeks and it's worked every time. KT is the same

as it was when we spent all the time heating the water to steep the tea.

Lizzie

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/chain3turn/my_photos

http://www.livejournal.com/users/samplerlady/

http://literarylady.blogspot.com/

[Guest guest]

Yes, I did too. It didn't work.

Re: Starter Tea and Easy Method Does Not Work

>

>

>

>> Someone suggested a method of making kombucha by dunking

>> black teabags in cold water for 15 minutes - that didn't work.

>

> What I suggested was teabags in room temperature water for 30

> minutes. Both my daughter and I have used this with green and oolong

> tea now for several weeks and it's worked every time. KT is the same

> as it was when we spent all the time heating the water to steep the tea.

>

>

> Lizzie

> http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/chain3turn/my_photos

> http://www.livejournal.com/users/samplerlady/

> http://literarylady.blogspot.com/

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

> Happy New Year from Toronto,

Wow, is this your new home or are you visiting relatives?

> After asking 5 different groups for starter tea and a SCOBY,

> I finally got some last night from a local. The starter had no

> smell and was pale yellow, about 3/4 cup. When I tasted it, it was sweet.

> Do you think it's dead?

Only way to tell is to let it sit out and see if it forms a skim. Pale

yellow is OK. If you make KT with just green tea and it sits for a long

time it tends to bleach and look like that. Sweet is not an issue either.

But again it's probably best to let the starter sit out and get active.

Then if it forms a baby you'll know it's OK and it will be even more acidic

and less sweet.

> So, I tried to revive it by adding a tablespoon of sugar and

> an ordinary black teabag to the room temperature tea. Someone

> suggested a method of making kombucha by dunking black teabags

> in cold water for 15 minutes - that didn't work.

When starter tastes sweet it's unlikely it needs more sugar. Best thing you

can do is oxygenate it by wire whipping to help it get going again. Also

make sure the temperature is on the high side of 72.

> A few years ago, I read somewhere that you

> need the hot water to release the tea into it;

If that were true then those making sun tea would fail. Sun tea can make

some of the best tasting and most active KT. This is because less air is

removed from the water due to boiling.

> Now it smells funny, not like KT. Usually if you

> leave water standing, some of the dissolved oxygen

> will cause little bubbles in it. There are now little

> bubbles in the solution, am not sure whether they

> are simply dissoved oxygen or fermentation.

> What do you think?

Sounds like it's fermenting. Smells can change dramatically over the first

five or six days of fermentation. This is because the yeast are going

through several stages of fermentation which all produce different

compounds.

Happy New Year y'all,

- Len

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I so wish this next year shows substantial improvement for you in all areas.

Your story makes me very happy with meagre screw-ups I experienced last

year.

The only thing I can suggest that would help you physically (and maybe

mentally) is meditation - at least its free.

pana is a buddhist meditation that can be used to overcome pain as

well as other problems. (Let me know if you would like me to explain it

for you). I have used it to stop toothache being a problem or losing the

tooth.

Visualise what you want and put all of your 5 (6?) senses into the

visualisation (this isn't pana). This is a simple short version of

the method. Don't forget to include a date/time in this. Later never

becomes 'now'.

Good luck

TTFN

Sue (au).

CMRoss wrote:

> Happy New Year Len,

>

> Well, unfortunately, yes, it is my new home. The weather is awful and

> I hate

> it here. All of my sisters live here and won't help or see me; I spent

> Christmas alone.

>

> As you may recall, my car was destroyed, the lawyers incompetent, my

> landlady evicted me; and churches, Social Services, the Red Cross, the

> Salvation Army, and my family etc. would not help me.

> The insurance co. is offering me a settlement of $1.5 K.

>

> The Executors of my mother's Estate owe me thousands of dollars, and

> after

> months of ignoring my frantic pleas for help, finally gave me $2K.

> Gee, that

> lasts less than 2 whole months in today's real estate market. At this

> point

> I don't know if I will ever get my inheritance; I've heard so many

> conflicting stories from them that I don't know what to believe anymore.

>

> The prices in Toronto are horrendous; $5 roundtrip for the subway. Am

> walking hours each day instead. Since I couldn't find a gallon jar for my

> brew, I bought one for precisely double the cost of the exact same

> item in

> the USA - most appliances are double the cost of the USA. (They have

> Subway

> Delis here, and when I asked for jars, they said everything comes in

> plastic). It cost more than $200 to install the phone; transferring my

> driver's license will cost $75.

>

> At this point I am thousands of dollars in debt due to the accident

> and the

> $2K is going fast. Due to my health problems, I cannot work under

> fluorescent light and trying to find work under these circumstances

> has been

> difficult. Tomorrow I start a part-time telemarketing job that will

> pay my

> rent but not the bills.

>

> My late parents were Canadian, and although I am a native of New

> Jersey, I

> have dual citizenship up here. My purpose in coming here is that

> Toronto is

> safer than New York, has better transportation, and affordable healthcare.

>

> Although it takes 3 months to establish residency for healthcare here -

> which means I am stuck until March - at least you can get it. The

> premiums

> are pretty cheap. As you know, all socialized healthcare systems collapse

> eventually, and this one is starting to do so; I figured I'd better take

> advantage of it while I still can. As you may know, if you go on

> Medicaid,

> most American doctors will refuse to see you.

>

> If I could just get a diagnosis for my problem, I could take it from

> there.

> My now retired doctor said there is something wrong with my lymphatic

> system

> and that I need to see an oncologist who specializes in blood disorders

> since they don't have lymphatic specialists in Canada or the US like

> they do

> in Europe.

>

> As for the brew, I blasted it with the negative ion generator, and it

> seems

> pretty happy. It's perked up a lot and is starting to smell and look more

> like KT.

>

> Take care,

>