??? RE: Starter pot WAS: Re: Proud father

[Guest guest]

>*A kombucha starter pot is a container filled with mature and very

>*acidic kombucha. You make it by letting KT ferment for many weeks.

>*The acidic kombucha is not usually drunk (too sour!) but only used as

>*a starter for new batches of KT.

>

>Hi Margaret,

>

>Thanks for posting, or re-posting this. A couple of questions though.

>

>1) Does the starter have to go into the fridge?

Do you mean the starter pot? No, the starter pot specifically does NOT go

into the fridge. The SCOBYs and starter are much happier on the counter

and not in the fridge.

>2) Can I start a batch today with one scoby, then next week add my

>babies from the rest of today's batches, since by then it has brewed

>some, and make that my starter?

, I'm confused what the question is. The starter pot is for storage

of extra SCOBYs. The idea is to always put in already-fermented, mature KT

into the starter pot to begin with, and then as time goes by and the liquid

evaporates or is used, replacing it also with already-finished, mature

KT. Using only mature KT in the starter pot ensures that the yeast

component of the kombucha does not dominate your brews (adding unfermented

sugar/tea stimulates the yeast).

You don't need to worry about the starter so much if you are just beginning

your brewing. You can use vinegar (killed) as the acidifier if you have a

SCOBY. After the first time, the idea is to save out some of your finished

KT for use as a starter with the next batch.

To get a starter pot going requires an investment of a quantity of finished

KT, but after that, you can pour out your starter for your new batches and

replace that with the reserved liquid from the batch being harvested.

I may be muddying the waters further here. Please clarify your question.

--V

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

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