Guest guest Posted May 19, 2001 Report Share Posted May 19, 2001 Hello Cheryl - I use stainless steel for the boiling and steeping. While steeping I sterilize the materials that will be used next... Then it is strained into a large (dinner plate sized) food-grade plastic container to ferment the tea and then glass (a " sun-tea " bottle with bottom spigot) for storage (in the dark in the fridge). The " mushroom " (really a culture) can be trimmed to fit the container if necessary. One may improvise as needed. The tricky part is making sure everything is sterile-clean before making the tea (including your hands - use sterile gloves). Use powdered chlorine to make a solution for the cleaning and also clean the gloves you are wearing with it. Failure to have a sterile starting point will almost insure the culture will " go bad. " Even so, I've been able to resurrect one by trimming off the bad mold that can form and starting over. Keep an eye on the culture (a quick peak - not to disturb the dust). If spots start to form that's the bad mold growing. The K culture will just grow larger until it fits the container. I've had a " shroom " in a container in the fridge for about 5 years now and it is still alive and kicking. Keep the culture and tea away from light (store in amber-colored bottles or keep them in the dark). The culture may be stored in it's own tea in the fridge. Some tips: the culture likes oxygen so a wide-mouthed shallow container (as opposed to a tall, narrow-mouthed one) helps in that regard. It will be covered by cloth or a paper napkin (single ply) to keep out flies, dust, other bacteria, etc., with a rubber band holding it tight and sealed, while allowing it to breathe during the fermentation. Do not break the top layer of the culture. Assure the smooth, shiny, light upper surface (that's the side the culture grows on) lies uppermost, and the brownish, rougher layer lies underneath. Find a good source for the culture (ask around for recommendations). Not all cultures are alike (like beer, the cultures are many and varied). I got my culture and a complete kit (container, etc.) and " the " book (by ) with complete instructions for making the tea from Maritime Brew and Wine: 5528 Kaye Street Halifax, NS (Nova Scotia, Canada) (902) 454-UBRU (8278) . Their web site is: http://www.ubru.ca/ (never mind the site - it is not useful for purchasing or browsing that I can see). A really excellent book on the " care and feeding " is " Kumbucha " by Gunther W. , 150 pages, ISBN 3 85068 337 0. Printed and published by Ennsthaler, A-4402 Steyr. Happy brewing! Best regards, -=mark=- p.s. I like your signature line. True...so true. ;>) At 03:06 PM 5/18/2001 -0700, you wrote: >Dear Friends, > >I am quite thrilled to be the proud owner of a Kombucha mushroom which I >obtained yesterday. Do any of you have experience in making Kombucha tea? [snip] Thanks in advance, Cheryl Grenon Eat Right. Exercise. Die Anyways +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + It's not the goal you seek but the path you take which brings happiness + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 19, 2001 Report Share Posted May 19, 2001 Having read Mark's method--mine will seem like a " by the seat of your pants approach " !! I got my kombucha starter from G.E.M.cultures--address in the back of N.T.-- after the first batch, made following directions, this is what I do: Strain kombucha into glass bottle for fridge. Pour slightly warm tea made following the directions back into kombucha jar. Every other month or so I change my kombucha jar--otherwise what I'm doing is really " chain-kombucha-ing " --in essence pouring off the old and adding new. It doesn't seem to matter about the old " mushroom " --as a new one forms on top of the culture--I let them add up and if someone wants one I have to give away that way! Or I can harvest the oldest one and start another batch if I need extra. I cover the top with a paper towel secured with a rubber band. Mine cultures in an upper kitchen cabinet. That's basically it. I've never had mold. It always works. This probably is scary to some of you--but's that my method! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 30, 2002 Report Share Posted July 30, 2002 Norie, Doesn't Kombucha Tea have the same healing properties and immune enhancers as well as a great quanity of vitamins and minerals as the capsule form of the product? My Father once had stomach cancer and went to Japan to get healed. It workdfed he lived on into his 70's. I understand that herbal therapy in Japan is considered a standard of treatment. Thanks Carroll-Bower, National Toxic Mold Coalition and Doundation ntmc0.tripod.com norie <nfukuda@...> wrote: > Has anyone tried Kombucha Tea?Yes, kombucha is tea made from kelp.It's a little salty and is more like a broth than a tea.People who have an aversion to seaweed or a fishy/sea-like taste may notlike it. But the flavor is very mild.Sometimes you can find it combined with ume, or Japanese plum, calledUme-kobucha, which is a sweet/sour broth-like tea, which is also tasty.According to my resources, kelp is a great source of B12 for vegans. Toquote from a book on Japanese Herbal medicine (of same title, by Rister):'...kelp....reduces and softens 'substantial phlegm'...that interfere withbreathing and the accumulations of lymph that cause swelling in the neck.Kelp gently stimulates urination and relieves swelling throughout thebody...effects are extremely mild.'Am curuious to know what sparked your interest in Kombucha.I rely on Kampo (Japanese Herbal meds) for treating gastric reflux and otherailments and have had great success.Norie (in Tokyo)FAIR USE NOTICE:This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 31, 2002 Report Share Posted July 31, 2002 > Doesn't Kombucha Tea have the same healing properties and immune > enhancers as well as a great quanity of vitamins and minerals as the > capsule form of the product? > My Father once had stomach cancer and went to Japan to get healed. It > workdfed he lived on into his 70's. I understand that herbal therapy in > Japan is considered a standard of treatment. Thanks Hello , Yes, kelp does have a lot of healing properties, but I can't find anything in my references of it's use as an immune enhancer. My references do mention that it shouldn't be taken too much because of the iodine content, and that iodine can inhibit thyroid activity. Because of this, it should be consumed only once a week.. That is wonderful about your father's recovery by treatment in Japan! Herbal therapy has unfortunately been largley phased out of the western medical education/industry. But it's still available and one usually has a choice of being treated by one or the other. The herbs of course take longer to have an effect, so many people go with modern meds, which is very unfortunate. Norie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 31, 2002 Report Share Posted July 31, 2002 --Thanks Norie, appreciate the information. - In @y..., " norie " <nfukuda@m...> wrote: > > > Doesn't Kombucha Tea have the same healing properties and immune > > enhancers as well as a great quanity of vitamins and minerals as the > > capsule form of the product? > > My Father once had stomach cancer and went to Japan to get healed. It > > workdfed he lived on into his 70's. I understand that herbal therapy in > > Japan is considered a standard of treatment. Thanks > > Hello , > > Yes, kelp does have a lot of healing properties, but I can't find anything > in my references of it's use as an immune enhancer. My references do > mention that it shouldn't be taken too much because of the iodine content, > and that iodine can inhibit thyroid activity. Because of this, it should be > consumed only once a week.. > > That is wonderful about your father's recovery by treatment in Japan! > Herbal therapy has unfortunately been largley phased out of the western > medical education/industry. But it's still available and one usually has a > choice of being treated by one or the other. The herbs of course take > longer to have an effect, so many people go with modern meds, which is very > unfortunate. > > Norie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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