Guest guest Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 >Ted, I got my starter from the same place. I started my first batch >last Saturday (May 27th). So, today is the 4th day but I don't see >any changes in the mixture yet. > >The starter came in a small plastic tube, about the size of an index >finger. It seemed pretty small as a starter for a gallon of tea. >Does anybody have any experience with the starters from >kombuchaamerica.com? I wonder if I'm being impatient. Ibrahim, I'd say yes, you're being impatient. With that small an amount of starter, it's going to take longer for the brew to get going. Did you add some (killed) vinegar into the top to assure acidity? What was in the tube, a piece of SCOBY and some liquid? --V ~~~ There is no way to peace; peace is the way ~~~~ --A.J. Muste Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Well, I've got mine in a corner and it's sitting on a heating pad set on low. Temp is about 81 degrees F. I had growth already before the night is out. What I did was I boiled my water and then let it sit over night. We have city water. Although I have a water filter, I still boiled it to get the chlorine out. I'd wait it out. From all the comments I've seen, wait it out. Just make sure the container isn't in direct sunlight and in a nice warm spot. Ted --- idelibalta wrote: > Ted, I got my starter from the same place. I started > my first batch > last Saturday (May 27th). So, today is the 4th day > but I don't see > any changes in the mixture yet. > > The starter came in a small plastic tube, about the > size of an index > finger. It seemed pretty small as a starter for a > gallon of tea. > Does anybody have any experience with the starters > from > kombuchaamerica.com? I wonder if I'm being > impatient. > > Ibrahim > > > > > > Well, first batch started. I started the decaf > green > > tea this morning around noon and just about 10 > minutes > > ago mixed it all up. I transplanted my bulgarian > > carrot chile peppers into the garden, so the > perfect > > spot is the heating pad where to chile plants used > to > > be...perfect 82 degrees. > > > > I got my starter from > http://www.kombuchaamerica.com/. > > > > Looking forward to next sunday! > > > > Ted > > > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Take the guess work out of picture hanging! http://www.hanggup.com Ted Wagner's Electric Telegraph Reference Library http://www.trwagner.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Just as a side note, the growth is first around the sides near the top...it's slowly growing in toward the center. Ted --- idelibalta wrote: > Ted, I got my starter from the same place. I started > my first batch > last Saturday (May 27th). So, today is the 4th day > but I don't see > any changes in the mixture yet. > > The starter came in a small plastic tube, about the > size of an index > finger. It seemed pretty small as a starter for a > gallon of tea. > Does anybody have any experience with the starters > from > kombuchaamerica.com? I wonder if I'm being > impatient. > > Ibrahim > > > > > > Well, first batch started. I started the decaf > green > > tea this morning around noon and just about 10 > minutes > > ago mixed it all up. I transplanted my bulgarian > > carrot chile peppers into the garden, so the > perfect > > spot is the heating pad where to chile plants used > to > > be...perfect 82 degrees. > > > > I got my starter from > http://www.kombuchaamerica.com/. > > > > Looking forward to next sunday! > > > > Ted > > > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Take the guess work out of picture hanging! http://www.hanggup.com Ted Wagner's Electric Telegraph Reference Library http://www.trwagner.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Vinegar is probably ok. I used 1/8 of a cup so it wouldn't be so tart. I used organic apple cider vinegar. Ted --- idelibalta wrote: > > > > > > > >Ted, I got my starter from the same place. I > started my first > batch > > >last Saturday (May 27th). So, today is the 4th > day but I don't see > > >any changes in the mixture yet. > > > > > >The starter came in a small plastic tube, about > the size of an > index > > >finger. It seemed pretty small as a starter for a > gallon of tea. > > >Does anybody have any experience with the > starters from > > >kombuchaamerica.com? I wonder if I'm being > impatient. > > > > Ibrahim, I'd say yes, you're being impatient. > With that small an > amount of > > starter, it's going to take longer for the brew to > get going. Did > you add > > some (killed) vinegar into the top to assure > acidity? What was in > the > > tube, a piece of SCOBY and some liquid? > > > > --V > > I did add about a 1/4 cup of organic apple cider > vinegar. I used the > vinegar as is without doing anything. Could this be > the reason why > nothing is happening? How would I kill the vinegar? > There was > nothing about this in the instructions I received. > > There was a small scoby and some liquid in the tube. > > Thanks. > > Ibrahim > > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Take the guess work out of picture hanging! http://www.hanggup.com Ted Wagner's Electric Telegraph Reference Library http://www.trwagner.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 I didn't process my vinegar. I just used organic apple cider vinegar. Ted --- idelibalta wrote: > OK, thanks. I also used filtered tap water and > boiled it. Then I let > it cool for about 6-7 hours before adding the > starter and the > vinegar. > > BTW, mentioned killing the vinegar. What > kind of vinegar > did you use and did you process it before using? > > Thanks. > > Ibrahim > > > > > > > > > > Well, first batch started. I started the > decaf > > > green > > > > tea this morning around noon and just about 10 > > > minutes > > > > ago mixed it all up. I transplanted my > bulgarian > > > > carrot chile peppers into the garden, so the > > > perfect > > > > spot is the heating pad where to chile plants > used > > > to > > > > be...perfect 82 degrees. > > > > > > > > I got my starter from > > > http://www.kombuchaamerica.com/. > > > > > > > > Looking forward to next sunday! > > > > > > > > Ted > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > Take the guess work out of picture hanging! > > http://www.hanggup.com > > > > Ted Wagner's Electric Telegraph Reference Library > > http://www.trwagner.org > > > > > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Take the guess work out of picture hanging! http://www.hanggup.com Ted Wagner's Electric Telegraph Reference Library http://www.trwagner.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 >What I did was I boiled my water and then let it sit >over night. We have city water. Although I have a >water filter, I still boiled it to get the chlorine >out. Ted, seriously, the first thing water filters do is remove the chlorine. You might check with the maker, but it's unheard of that a water filter doesn't remove chlorine. --V ~~~ There is no way to peace; peace is the way ~~~~ --A.J. Muste Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 >I did add about a 1/4 cup of organic apple cider vinegar. I used the >vinegar as is without doing anything. Could this be the reason why >nothing is happening? How would I kill the vinegar? There was >nothing about this in the instructions I received. Apple cider vinegar (ACV) that is not heat treated (pasteurized) has its own bacterial action that is believed to possibly compete with the KT organisms. Most ACV that is sold is already pasteurized, but if yours is organic and says " live " vinegar, it was not. People have used live ACV without a problem, however, so don't worry at this point. If vinegar is live, it should be simply brought to a boil and cooled. The organisms die long before the boiling point is reached, so there is no need to keep boiling it for 10 minutes. But that would not explain the lack of activity. I strongly believe it's because it was a small starter. Do you see any bubbles or anything at all forming? It seems like you should probably see something, unless it's very cool in your environment. Sometimes looking down on the brew one doesn't see the film developing on the surface. If you look at the brew from the outside, and look up toward the surface, you may see a film forming. Don't disturb the jar tho. It's possible that your starter underwent high heat on its way to you and may not be viable. Was the SCOBY firm or floppity? Also, are you certain that you added sugar to your mixture? I've had a couple of people forget the sugar lately, and in that case, you won't see much activity. Plus, I observe that it always takes longer for a brew to get established for the very first time in someone's environment. Definitely, do not panic, have patience, and just continue to observe. Don't throw it away or anything like that. --V ~~~ There is no way to peace; peace is the way ~~~~ --A.J. Muste Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 31, 2006 Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 >I just used organic apple cider vinegar. Oops! ~~ Tilt ~~ - Hi FirstTimers and Welcome to the Wonderful World of KT:) You're already getting some wise advice so I'll stick to some fundamentals of starting off to avoid some pitfalls. You only need the vinegar the first time out to keep the batch acidic enough to stop mold and as this is the vinegar's ONLY function don't risk the organic fruity stuff. As Vi pointed out, use pasteurized vinegar, or boil it, as you don't want any live vinegar culture in it. Once you have enough real KT thereafter you can use the tart starter to keep the acid up, which means the pH low [ below 5]. However, if you only have a tiny SCOBY as a start then it's a good idea to begin by making a STARTER batch first; Use one TEA bag, green or black will do, but avoid fancy or herby teas. Pour in one cupfull of boiled WATER. Two tablespoonsful of pasteurized or boiled VINEGAR. Three tablespoonsful of refined white SUGAR. Dissolve and cool to room temperature and remove tea bag, Add SCOBY last. Put into a one quart jar and cover with a coffee filter fastened with an elastic band, and leave it alone for 2 Weeks. Now you will have a perfect starter for your first one gallon real batch and you'll never need vinegar again. If you need to keep the temperature up, build a small cheap incubator by putting a 25 watt light bulb on a safe solid stand into a bushel sized tub and setting your brewing crock into the tub beside the lamp. Cover the tub partially so it can still breathe and you have the inside temperature in the correct range [around 76F. or 25C. give or take a few degrees]. The light will not affect the brew, according to Colleen's FAQs. I use the incubator Summer and Winter as a KT nursery, putting the lamp on only in the cold weather. Definitions; KT~ Kombucha Tea, the finished brew. Starter~The Liquid KT. SCOBY~ Acronym for Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast. In this group we use the term to refer to the Solid and everything it contains. There is much folklore, opinion, some science and a whole lot of anecdotal experience regarding the function of this " mushroom " . Some call it a `baby' and nurture it as if it were an offspring and the end product of the brew. The other extreme calls it a cellulose cast off from the KT and it's function is as a surface cover to seal the brew from the outside contaminates. Science has indicated that it is in fact a cullulose sponge with different yeast and bacteria concentrated into various layers so therefore, to be balanced, the scoby if cut, should be cut as a cross section rather than a slice. On the other hand, many generations of KT have been cultivated by using starter alone without SCOBY with no apparent difference in the end products. I personally did an eleven month experiment with a paralell, control batch and couldn't tell the difference in the end products. However, having said that and done that, at this time I still toss one SCOBY into every batch. I hope you enjoy participating in this list, and as you try it yourself , you can form your own opinions. And while you are waiting that first two weeks, and then ten days more for your first useable batch if you read all of Colleen's FAQs, which you'll bump across while perusing this site, you'll be an expert before you even taste it. rusty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 31, 2006 Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 Interesting. So, after the first batch, you no longer need to use vinegar but use the " bottom of the barrel? " Ted --- lwinmorgan wrote: > >I just used organic apple > cider vinegar. > > Oops! > ~~ Tilt ~~ > - > > Hi FirstTimers and Welcome to the Wonderful World of > KT:) > You're already getting some wise advice so I'll > stick to some fundamentals > of starting off to avoid some pitfalls. > > You only need the vinegar the first time out to > keep the batch acidic > enough to stop mold and as this is the vinegar's > ONLY function don't risk > the organic fruity stuff. > > As Vi pointed out, use pasteurized vinegar, or boil > it, as you don't want > any live vinegar culture in it. > > Once you have enough real KT thereafter you can > use the tart starter to > keep the acid up, which means the pH low [ below 5]. > > However, if you only have a tiny SCOBY as a start > then it's a good idea to > begin by making a STARTER batch first; > > Use one TEA bag, green or black will do, but avoid > fancy or herby teas. > > Pour in one cupfull of boiled WATER. > > Two tablespoonsful of pasteurized or boiled > VINEGAR. > > Three tablespoonsful of refined white SUGAR. > Dissolve and cool to room temperature and remove > tea bag, > > Add SCOBY last. > > Put into a one quart jar and cover with a coffee > filter fastened with an > elastic band, and leave it alone for 2 Weeks. Now > you will have a perfect > starter for your first one gallon real batch and > you'll never need vinegar > again. > > > If you need to keep the temperature up, build a > small cheap incubator by > putting a 25 watt light bulb on a safe solid stand > into a bushel sized tub > and setting your brewing crock into the tub beside > the lamp. Cover the tub > partially so it can still breathe and you have the > inside temperature in > the correct range [around 76F. or 25C. give or > take a few degrees]. > The light will not affect the brew, according to > Colleen's FAQs. > I use the incubator Summer and Winter as a KT > nursery, putting the lamp on > only in the cold weather. > > Definitions; > KT~ Kombucha Tea, the finished brew. > Starter~The Liquid KT. > SCOBY~ Acronym for Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria > and Yeast. > In this group we use the term to refer to the Solid > and everything it > contains. > There is much folklore, opinion, some science and a > whole lot of anecdotal > experience regarding the function of this > " mushroom " . Some call it a `baby' > and nurture it as if it were an offspring and the > end product of the brew. > The other extreme calls it a cellulose cast off from > the KT and it's > function is as a surface cover to seal the brew from > the outside > contaminates. > Science has indicated that it is in fact a > cullulose sponge with different > yeast and bacteria concentrated into various layers > so therefore, to be > balanced, the scoby if cut, should be cut as a cross > section rather than a > slice. > On the other hand, many generations of KT have been > cultivated by using > starter alone without SCOBY with no apparent > difference in the end products. > I personally did an eleven month experiment with a > paralell, control batch > and couldn't tell the difference in the end > products. > However, having said that and done that, at this > time I still toss one SCOBY > into every batch. > > I hope you enjoy participating in this list, and as > you try it yourself , > you can form your own opinions. > > And while you are waiting that first two weeks, and > then ten days more for > your first useable batch if you read all of > Colleen's FAQs, which you'll > bump across while perusing this site, you'll be an > expert before you even > taste it. > > > rusty > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Take the guess work out of picture hanging! http://www.hanggup.com Ted Wagner's Electric Telegraph Reference Library http://www.trwagner.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 31, 2006 Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 <Interesting. So, after the first batch, you no longer need to use vinegar but use the " bottom of the barrel? " Ted - Only in a manner of speaking, Ted, but common practice is to draw your starter from the top of the batch as the " bottom " often collects spent yeasts and you want them as live as possible. rusty >Interesting. So, after the first batch, you no longer need to use vinegar but use the " bottom of the barrel? " Ted --- lwinmorgan wrote: > > You only need the vinegar the first time out to > keep the batch acidic > enough to stop mold and as this is the vinegar's > ONLY function don't risk > the organic fruity stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 4, 2006 Report Share Posted June 4, 2006 In message <e5ver0+10diseGroups> you wrote: > Waiting a little more made a big difference. A lot of bubbles > started forming. Then I saw a few roots going from the surface > toward the bottom, about the size of a quarter in diameter and 3-4 > inches long. Anyway, today (the 8th day), I tasted the tea and it > felt just right from what I've been reading. Congratulations Ibrahim! It looks good. :-) > There's a mushroom at the top but it's very thin. 1/8 inch or so... That is fine. You can just brew on with the thin scoby as well as the old culture if you have one, plus a generous amount of your ready fermented KT. Make up your recipe of sweet tea, and when it is cool, add your scoby(s) and fermented KT. > Now, I'm wondering what to do next. The instructions I received with > the starter says " If left in the brewing container with a little tea > (about 1 inch) the new mushroom will continue to thicken and grow " . This is definitely misinformation. Once disturbed, culture will stop growing and a new one will start to form - no problem! > Does this sound right? Maybe I should just start my second batch > using this thin mushroom in a smaller container so that it'll give a > new and healthier baby. A thin baby is not necessarily a less healthy baby. It is very common with first brews to have only a thin 'baby'. Once the brew acclimatises and you get into the swing of things, your brew will probably grow a thicker scoby. Have a look on this helpful site: http://www.geocities.com/kombucha_balance/ You sound just fine to me! Margret:-) -- +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Minstrel@... <)))<>< http://www.therpc.f9.co.uk <)))<>< http://www.AnswersInGenesis.com http://www.lamblion.com/ +---------------------------------------------------------------+ " Be still and know that I am God " . - Don't clatter so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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