Re: Lurker - Long message for which I apologize up front

[Guest guest]

WOW, Gail, I so much enjoyed reading your testimony, and I bet everyone

else here did as well! You must be thrilled to bits having found a natural

'thing' that gives you such drastic health benefits!

I am however clueless as to what's behind the

> unfortunate experience

> referred to now only in hushed tones as the boys' (the 2 scobies)

> vacation, I spent close to 2 weeks with no kombucha.

Hmmmm, I AM curious! I have visions of dropped cultures with

KT all over the floor .... or was it the effect the KT had on your

intestinal life? ;-) .... ohh, it wasn't the dreaded m..., was it ? :-(

Anyway, thanks so much for sharing. Glad you're back on KT!

All the best to you with blessings, Gail,

Margret (UK) :-)

In message <eeh90c+pr3ueGroups> you wrote:

> Hi, my name is Gail and I live in Louisiana. I have been lurking for

> 2 or 3 months, and have been a closet komucha drinker for 2 or so, on

> and off. I was fortunate enough to get a beautiful scoby from a

> member of this group (I didn't ask if I could use her name, so I

> won't), and started brewing immediately. After I decanted the first

> batch, I drank a small juice glass, having read some horror stories

> of people who drank too much too soon. Well, after that glass, it was

> everything I could do not to drink the whole gallon. The next day, I

> drank 32 ounces, and proceeded to do that til I ran out, which was

> rather quickly. The changes I noted were drastic and immediate; 1) my

> osteo-arthritic knees, one of which has deteriorated to the point of

> having to have the Synvisc injection series, no longer hurt. AT ALL.

> The swelling in the worst of the two was almost non-existant. I also

> have to go to the dermatologist almost every 6 months to have 'spots'

> removed, mostly from my chest and left forearm (the one that gets the

> worst sun exposure driving). I have (had?) one spot about which I was

> set to make an appointment - almost immediately, it started to

> shrink. Also, my forearm started to break out! I would get these

> little white bumps, at the hair folicle, and when I would pull gently

> on the hair, it would come out with a deep core (trying not to be too

> graphic for those weak of stomach). I could tell it was a very, very

> deep 'infection' surfacing, as there has actually been some scarring.

> After careful analysis, I came to the conclusion that it must be some

> sort of purging experience. I then split the scoby and started 2

> gallons to feed my 'habit'. Then, after an unfortunate experience

> referred to now only in hushed tones as the boys' (the 2 scobies)

> vacation, I spent close to 2 weeks with no kombucha. During that

> time, the knees started swelling and hurting, my arm cleared up and

> the lump started coming back. I am now again at the end of my first

> full week of a quart a day, the knees feel great, the bumps are back,

> although not as severe, and the lump is all but gone. I will,

> however, continue to monitor such things as I know skin cancer is

> nothing with which to be cavalier. I have also noticed that my large,

> wonderful white streak in the front of my hair has all these very

> dark baby hairs in it! I've also noticed a marked decrease in my

> sweet tooth.

> Anyway, all this goes to let you know I will continue to lurk, to

> learn, and to drink my kombucha.....it truly has changed my life.

> Thank you for your time, and thank YOU, my dear friend, for the

> wonderful scoby (now scobies) with whom I am very bonded!

> Gail Austin

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Margret,

I'll 'fess up. I had 2 gallon jars to decant. I looked at them both

and saw tiny bluish concentric circles on the tops of both scobies. I

did some internet research, looked at pics of mold, and decided that

was what it was. I took both gallons outside and poured them into the

yard, scobies and all (I shudder to think....) Within 30 minutes, I

talked to a friend who asked me if I'd touched the " mold " . I told her

yes, that it was little sunken places. She told me, if it didn't break

down like bread mold when touched, IT WASN'T MOLD!! The boys had only

been " on vacation " for a short time, and as scobies are inherently very

hardy, I brought them in, washed them off carefully while I apologized

like crazy, swore them to secrecy and started 2 new batches. After a

slow start, they've been producing KT like crazy ever since!

Gail

.......I am however clueless as to what's behind the

" unfortunate experience referred to now only in hushed tones as the

boys' (the 2 scobies)vacation, I spent close to 2 weeks with no

kombucha. "

Hmmmm, I AM curious!

[Guest guest]

In message <eehgd2+gm57eGroups> you wrote:

> IT WASN'T MOLD!! The boys had only

> been " on vacation " for a short time, and as scobies are inherently very

> hardy, I brought them in, washed them off carefully while I apologized

> like crazy, swore them to secrecy and started 2 new batches. After a

> slow start, they've been producing KT like crazy ever since!

Ah, I'm glad, Gail, that all was not lost!

Just one thing that comes to mind:

When you need to wash scobys it is best not to do it with plain water

but with vinegar as well to offset the de-acidifying effect of water.

Water alone renders the culture more susceptible to mold .....

Anyway, you're off in brewing land again, and I take it, your 'boys'

are happy gobbling sugar galore and producing your wonderful elixir.

Happy brewing and consuming :-)

Margret:-)

--

+---------------------------------------------------------------+

Minstrel@...

<)))<>< http://www.therpc.f9.co.uk <)))<><

http://www.AnswersInGenesis.com

http://www.lamblion.com/

+---------------------------------------------------------------+

The phrase " working mother " is redundant. (Jane Sellman)

[Guest guest]

Margret, yes, the boys bathed in distilled water and lots of vinegar...

Just one thing that comes to mind:

When you need to wash scobys it is best not to do it with plain water

but with vinegar as well to offset the de-acidifying effect of water.

Water alone renders the culture more susceptible to mold .....

[Guest guest]

At 09:33 AM 9/16/2006, you wrote:

>Hi, my name is Gail and I live in Louisiana.

Whereabouts? My daddy's family is in Ponchatoula.

>~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Canfield

When a church jumps on the world's bandwagon, it is certain that it has

jumped out of God's will. ~ Cloud

" Be not deceived, God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that

shall he also reap. " Galatians 6:7

[Guest guest]

Amanada, I'm in the NW corner, near Texas and Arkansas -- a LONG way

from Ponchatoula!!

Gail

Whereabouts? My daddy's family is in Ponchatoula.

>~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Canfield

[Guest guest]

Hi Folks,

I mentioned this recently when I spoke about how people can look at the

pictures on the 'net and still make a mistake about diagnosing what they

are afraid is mold.

I'm the person Gail got the SCOBYs from and the later advice to retrieve

the SCOBYs from the yard, lol. Those are still my one-and-only experience

of mailing SCOBYs, but I have given them to a number of people locally who

are all extremely happy they got started. I mailed the SCOBY in the heat

of the summer, Priority Mail, sent at the beginning of the week so it

wouldn't spend a weekend in a bin somewhere. I put it in the Natural-Value

ziplocks that don't have the bad plasticizer (estrogen mimics) chemicals in

them, and triple-bagged it. It arrived in perfect condition. It was my

extra-large from my 2-gal batch.

I encouraged Gail to write her testimony up for the list because I knew

people would be extremely encouraged and interested to hear it.

Gail: My odd bumps also shrink when I am able to drink a quart a day, and

my IBS-like symptoms also recede. I know that's the level I

need. Recently bought two more of the 2-gal jars to double my production;

now the only thing I have to do is be diligent. Recommend starting more

jars as brew cycles tend to slow down during winter.

Best place in USA to get the Anchor Hocking 2-gal " Heritage Hill " cookie

jars is Target. All of their stores carry it and the 1 gal.

--V

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

--A.J. Muste

[Guest guest]

Hi V! I am up to 3 gallons at this time, but I want to have a 4th

going, staggered, you know, 2 and 2, and see how that goes. As I do

not have central heat (I heat with a woodstove), I'm trying to figure

out where would be a good place for the jars to live during the

winter? Where they are now, on a corner of the kitchen counter where

two outside walls intersect, is going to be very cold.

I will go to Target and check out those jars you were talking about.

I got my first 2 at BigLots, and the third is a glass pickle jar.

Again, thank you SO MUCH for the scoby. There is a part of it in each

of my jars, and it's still going strong!

Gail

Hi Folks,

I mentioned this recently when I spoke about how people can look at

the pictures on the 'net and still make a mistake about diagnosing

what they are afraid is mold.

I'm the person Gail got the SCOBYs from and the later advice to

retrieve the SCOBYs from the yard, lol. Those are still my one-and-

only experience of mailing SCOBYs, but I have given them to a number

of people locally who are all extremely happy they got started. I

mailed the SCOBY in the heat of the summer, Priority Mail, sent at

the beginning of the week so it wouldn't spend a weekend in a bin

somewhere. I put it in the Natural-Value ziplocks that don't have

the bad plasticizer (estrogen mimics) chemicals in them, and triple-

bagged it. It arrived in perfect condition. It was my extra-large

from my 2-gal batch.

I encouraged Gail to write her testimony up for the list because I

knew people would be extremely encouraged and interested to hear it.

Gail: My odd bumps also shrink when I am able to drink a quart a

day, and my IBS-like symptoms also recede. I know that's the level I

need. Recently bought two more of the 2-gal jars to double my

production; now the only thing I have to do is be diligent. Recommend

starting more jars as brew cycles tend to slow down during winter.

Best place in USA to get the Anchor Hocking 2-gal " Heritage Hill "

cookie jars is Target. All of their stores carry it and the 1 gal.

--V

[Guest guest]

I tried to find these on the www.ziploc.com page. I find the double

zip or storage, freezer....what kind are they? Hate the zipper my

husband bought. Are you using the double zip kind?

Audrey

<snippet>

>I put it in the Natural-Value

> ziplocks that don't have the bad plasticizer (estrogen mimics)

chemicals in

> them, and triple-bagged it.

>--V

>

[Guest guest]

> I tried to find these on the www.ziploc.com page. I find the double

>zip or storage, freezer....what kind are they? Hate the zipper my

>husband bought. Are you using the double zip kind?

>Audrey

Audrey, the term " ziploc " is a registered trademark. There is only one

brand on that site. If you want nontoxic ones you will need to visit a

natural foods store. I wasn't concerned about the type of zip closure so

much as the lack of plasticizers and PVC (however the Natural Value ones I

used were completely leakproof). My previous post on this question (same

subject line) has source info.

--V

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

--A.J. Muste