Guest guest Posted December 18, 2006 Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 I am new also. This site is where I learned to make the tea. http://www.kombuchatea.co.uk/beyond-the-basic-kombucha-recipe.asp This is a snippet from the site. " Not too much oil. Tea with a high oil content such as Earl Grey (it contains bergamot oil) and some of the spiced teas are not so good to use. The problem is that the oil interferes with the culture and its Kombucha tea making process. Others have used these teas successfully in a recipe with non-oil teas. Just make sure that you always have a back-up culture that has not been contaminated with oil. Too much oil, and you will kill the culture. " I did not mean to infer that I thought Earl Grey should not be used from my own experience, I was only citing what I had read on the same site where I found this forum. > Hi everyone, I am new to the site and new to Kombucha. I just got my > scoby the other day and I used 2 Green tea and one earl grey to a half > gallon. I saw a post that said that earl grey is no good. I didn't > kill my kombucha did I? It looks like there is some action going on in > the jar. Does anyone have any ideas to make the tea more palatable for > kids. Mine need a good detox. Thank you , nne > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 18, 2006 Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 Hi nne and EveryOne, It seems to work fine to use Earl Grey to make Kombucha tea. Colleen former list owner and author of the Kombucha FAQ used Earl Grey for years to make her kombucha....evidently with no problems.... Happy Healthy Brewing! Peace, Love and Harmony, Bev > > Hi everyone, I am new to the site and new to Kombucha. I just got my > scoby the other day and I used 2 Green tea and one earl grey to a half > gallon. I saw a post that said that earl grey is no good. I didn't > kill my kombucha did I? It looks like there is some action going on in > the jar. Does anyone have any ideas to make the tea more palatable for > kids. Mine need a good detox. Thank you , nne > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 18, 2006 Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 Hi nne and EveryOne, It seems to work fine to use Earl Grey to make Kombucha tea. Colleen former list owner and author of the Kombucha FAQ used Earl Grey for years to make her kombucha....evidently with no problems.... Happy Healthy Brewing! Peace, Love and Harmony, Bev > > Hi everyone, I am new to the site and new to Kombucha. I just got my > scoby the other day and I used 2 Green tea and one earl grey to a half > gallon. I saw a post that said that earl grey is no good. I didn't > kill my kombucha did I? It looks like there is some action going on in > the jar. Does anyone have any ideas to make the tea more palatable for > kids. Mine need a good detox. Thank you , nne > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 18, 2006 Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 >I am new also. This site is where I learned to make the tea. >http://www.kombuchatea.co.uk/beyond-the-basic-kombucha-recipe.asp >This is a snippet from the site. > " Not too much oil. >Tea with a high oil content such as Earl Grey (it contains bergamot >oil) and some of the spiced teas are not so good to use. >The problem is that the oil interferes with the culture and its >Kombucha tea making process. >Others have used these teas successfully in a recipe with non-oil >teas. Just make sure that you always have a back-up culture that has >not been contaminated with oil. Too much oil, and you will kill the >culture. " > >I did not mean to infer that I thought Earl Grey should not be used >from my own experience, I was only citing what I had read on the >same site where I found this forum. No worries. It's just that, as I'm fond of reminding everyone, there is a lot of inaccurate and outdated information, as well as out-and-out misinformation, in print and especially on the web. Remember that kombucha does not have a continuous tradition of brewing in the West. So a lot of what is known had to be reinvented (like the wheel), and there are contradicting opinions published out there on just about every facet of brewing kombucha. Many of the disputed areas are theoretical ideas that don't hold up under examined practice, and that practice has to be the bottom line for any " rules " of brewing KT. People decide to sell kombucha kits, and write their own opinions about best practice on their websites, and suddenly because they are a " published " source they hold great authority for some people. But every source on KT can be questioned, and this list is the ideal venue for that questioning. The reason I suggest people consult this list for the cutting edge information is not because every answer given on this list represents our best knowledge, because through the many queries and suggested answers a lot of different opinions are aired here as well. It's just that, because of the long, longtime experience of so many people together over such a long period of time, we begin to see what best practice looks like, on the ground and in actual brewing conditions. We approach consensus on best practice through the collaborative effort that is this list. Examples of outdated information is the advice to refrigerate extra or unused SCOBYs; we now know that refrigeration is unnecessary and may essentially kill the culture. Examples of the different opinions stated out there are: you must only use green tea, or only use black tea, or only use commercial white sugar, must use distilled water, must always boil all water used, etc. In fact none of the things I've just listed are true for all brewers at all times, not by a long shot. Some cultures do only use green tea (Eastern), and some only black tea (some Western), but when it comes down to it in our multicultural Western societies, we can mix and match teas according to our own taste. That's the kind of clarification that this list excels at. A piece of misinformation that is a common error on websites is the suggestion to use cheesecloth to cover the vessel. In fact, even multiple layers of cheesecloth will not keep out fruit flies or the vinegar eels, because they can just wend their way through each layer of the weave. Anyone taking that advice as " authority " is likely to regret it. Again, this list serves as a clearinghouse of information to correct that type of error. To return to the question at hand, many people have used Earl Grey tea over the last 15 years, some continually, and have been reporting here on this list that they find absolutely no longterm negative effects on the brew or culture. Because of this long term, high number of experimenters, on this list we accept that Earl Grey is fine to use, whereas other " oily " teas are known or theorized not to be. On the other hand, as I recently wrote here, it is definitely true that using only agave as the sugar in one's brews will lead to decreased vigor-- the brew just can't get enough glucose from agave alone. Even though I am the only person who has reported here using only agave over an 18-month period, the experimental conditions indicate that anyone would have the same problem, and since the theory of KT based on scientific research into how the bacteria and yeast operate initially suggested that agave would be insufficient, we feel that is enough evidence to make the strong statement about agave alone. --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 December 18, 2006 Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 >I am new also. This site is where I learned to make the tea. >http://www.kombuchatea.co.uk/beyond-the-basic-kombucha-recipe.asp >This is a snippet from the site. > " Not too much oil. >Tea with a high oil content such as Earl Grey (it contains bergamot >oil) and some of the spiced teas are not so good to use. >The problem is that the oil interferes with the culture and its >Kombucha tea making process. >Others have used these teas successfully in a recipe with non-oil >teas. Just make sure that you always have a back-up culture that has >not been contaminated with oil. Too much oil, and you will kill the >culture. " > >I did not mean to infer that I thought Earl Grey should not be used >from my own experience, I was only citing what I had read on the >same site where I found this forum. No worries. It's just that, as I'm fond of reminding everyone, there is a lot of inaccurate and outdated information, as well as out-and-out misinformation, in print and especially on the web. Remember that kombucha does not have a continuous tradition of brewing in the West. So a lot of what is known had to be reinvented (like the wheel), and there are contradicting opinions published out there on just about every facet of brewing kombucha. Many of the disputed areas are theoretical ideas that don't hold up under examined practice, and that practice has to be the bottom line for any " rules " of brewing KT. People decide to sell kombucha kits, and write their own opinions about best practice on their websites, and suddenly because they are a " published " source they hold great authority for some people. But every source on KT can be questioned, and this list is the ideal venue for that questioning. The reason I suggest people consult this list for the cutting edge information is not because every answer given on this list represents our best knowledge, because through the many queries and suggested answers a lot of different opinions are aired here as well. It's just that, because of the long, longtime experience of so many people together over such a long period of time, we begin to see what best practice looks like, on the ground and in actual brewing conditions. We approach consensus on best practice through the collaborative effort that is this list. Examples of outdated information is the advice to refrigerate extra or unused SCOBYs; we now know that refrigeration is unnecessary and may essentially kill the culture. Examples of the different opinions stated out there are: you must only use green tea, or only use black tea, or only use commercial white sugar, must use distilled water, must always boil all water used, etc. In fact none of the things I've just listed are true for all brewers at all times, not by a long shot. Some cultures do only use green tea (Eastern), and some only black tea (some Western), but when it comes down to it in our multicultural Western societies, we can mix and match teas according to our own taste. That's the kind of clarification that this list excels at. A piece of misinformation that is a common error on websites is the suggestion to use cheesecloth to cover the vessel. In fact, even multiple layers of cheesecloth will not keep out fruit flies or the vinegar eels, because they can just wend their way through each layer of the weave. Anyone taking that advice as " authority " is likely to regret it. Again, this list serves as a clearinghouse of information to correct that type of error. To return to the question at hand, many people have used Earl Grey tea over the last 15 years, some continually, and have been reporting here on this list that they find absolutely no longterm negative effects on the brew or culture. Because of this long term, high number of experimenters, on this list we accept that Earl Grey is fine to use, whereas other " oily " teas are known or theorized not to be. On the other hand, as I recently wrote here, it is definitely true that using only agave as the sugar in one's brews will lead to decreased vigor-- the brew just can't get enough glucose from agave alone. Even though I am the only person who has reported here using only agave over an 18-month period, the experimental conditions indicate that anyone would have the same problem, and since the theory of KT based on scientific research into how the bacteria and yeast operate initially suggested that agave would be insufficient, we feel that is enough evidence to make the strong statement about agave alone. --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 December 18, 2006 Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 >I am new also. This site is where I learned to make the tea. >http://www.kombuchatea.co.uk/beyond-the-basic-kombucha-recipe.asp >This is a snippet from the site. > " Not too much oil. >Tea with a high oil content such as Earl Grey (it contains bergamot >oil) and some of the spiced teas are not so good to use. >The problem is that the oil interferes with the culture and its >Kombucha tea making process. >Others have used these teas successfully in a recipe with non-oil >teas. Just make sure that you always have a back-up culture that has >not been contaminated with oil. Too much oil, and you will kill the >culture. " > >I did not mean to infer that I thought Earl Grey should not be used >from my own experience, I was only citing what I had read on the >same site where I found this forum. No worries. It's just that, as I'm fond of reminding everyone, there is a lot of inaccurate and outdated information, as well as out-and-out misinformation, in print and especially on the web. Remember that kombucha does not have a continuous tradition of brewing in the West. So a lot of what is known had to be reinvented (like the wheel), and there are contradicting opinions published out there on just about every facet of brewing kombucha. Many of the disputed areas are theoretical ideas that don't hold up under examined practice, and that practice has to be the bottom line for any " rules " of brewing KT. People decide to sell kombucha kits, and write their own opinions about best practice on their websites, and suddenly because they are a " published " source they hold great authority for some people. But every source on KT can be questioned, and this list is the ideal venue for that questioning. The reason I suggest people consult this list for the cutting edge information is not because every answer given on this list represents our best knowledge, because through the many queries and suggested answers a lot of different opinions are aired here as well. It's just that, because of the long, longtime experience of so many people together over such a long period of time, we begin to see what best practice looks like, on the ground and in actual brewing conditions. We approach consensus on best practice through the collaborative effort that is this list. Examples of outdated information is the advice to refrigerate extra or unused SCOBYs; we now know that refrigeration is unnecessary and may essentially kill the culture. Examples of the different opinions stated out there are: you must only use green tea, or only use black tea, or only use commercial white sugar, must use distilled water, must always boil all water used, etc. In fact none of the things I've just listed are true for all brewers at all times, not by a long shot. Some cultures do only use green tea (Eastern), and some only black tea (some Western), but when it comes down to it in our multicultural Western societies, we can mix and match teas according to our own taste. That's the kind of clarification that this list excels at. A piece of misinformation that is a common error on websites is the suggestion to use cheesecloth to cover the vessel. In fact, even multiple layers of cheesecloth will not keep out fruit flies or the vinegar eels, because they can just wend their way through each layer of the weave. Anyone taking that advice as " authority " is likely to regret it. Again, this list serves as a clearinghouse of information to correct that type of error. To return to the question at hand, many people have used Earl Grey tea over the last 15 years, some continually, and have been reporting here on this list that they find absolutely no longterm negative effects on the brew or culture. Because of this long term, high number of experimenters, on this list we accept that Earl Grey is fine to use, whereas other " oily " teas are known or theorized not to be. On the other hand, as I recently wrote here, it is definitely true that using only agave as the sugar in one's brews will lead to decreased vigor-- the brew just can't get enough glucose from agave alone. Even though I am the only person who has reported here using only agave over an 18-month period, the experimental conditions indicate that anyone would have the same problem, and since the theory of KT based on scientific research into how the bacteria and yeast operate initially suggested that agave would be insufficient, we feel that is enough evidence to make the strong statement about agave alone. --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 February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 HI AGAIN, YOU ARE RIGHT! I ALSO BOUGHT AN OFF BRAND OF EARL GREY TEA THAT WAS AWFUL! I DON'T KNOW IF IT IS ALRIGHT TO SAY THE BRAND THAT I LOVE LOVE, EVEN THO I AM NOT ADVERTISING IT. OH WELL HERE GOES, I USE NOTHING BUT BIGELOW BRAND EARL GREY. IT IS LOVELY!!! [] MEG > > > > > >Longtime listmembers (10-20 years brewing experience) have used Earl Grey > >exclusively with great results. As it turns out, there is nothing to fear > >from Earl Grey. But the analysis you quote above isn't really the > >concern. > > > Evening V > > I've been fermenting Earl Gray for a while and really enjoy it. I > rotate several tea in my batch process. Last summer the market we > buy most of our vegetable at had a special purchase of tea. 100 Earl > Gray or English Breakfast tea bags for 99 cents. What a deal! What > a waste of 99 cent! The KT produced was horrid. If this had been my > first attempt at Earl Gray I'm not sure I would ever have tried it > again. I think the flavoring use was a low grade and reacted > negatively to the fermentation process. > > Bill > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 I was reading about Earl Grey Tea....and found this..... " Contrary to popular belief, Earl Grey is not a kind of tea at all. It's actually plain black tea, infused with the citrus flavour of bergamot (similar to orange blossoms). " So is all Earl Gey the same then as far as the bergamont goes? AND am I correct that it si the most widely used in Kombucha? How do you (wnyone with the knowledge) think it would compare to the Black Orange Pekoe cut I am currently using? Thanks. ~Connie~ > > > > I am currrently using...... " CHOICE " organic orange pekoe cut, > > and " HAIKU " sencha organic green tea. Any others using these? > > interested in finding a source for bulk tea in a good quality > > organic. > > Hi Connie - > > Choice offers bulk teas on their website - > http://www.choiceorganicteas.com - it's the only tea I use. > > Hope that helps - Randie > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 Hi EveryOne, Just created a Poll about teas for Kombucha:-)) To create or participate in a POLL just go to the list homepage http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/original_kombucha and click on the link called " Polls " on the left side of the page. Peace, Love and Harmony, Bev -- In original_kombucha , " Constance Barrett " wrote: > > I am currrently using...... " CHOICE " organic orange pekoe cut, > and " HAIKU " sencha organic green tea. Any others using these? Since > I have been on this group, I have now become interested in finding a > source for bulk tea in a good quality organic. What I am using works > fine, but I think maybe theres something better out there that could > improve my KT. It would be good to have a POLL on who uses bulk vs. > bags, how do you start a poll. Please pass on your tea info to me. I > do have one new adventure .....I am starting a Puehr batch with bulk, > that was recommended. > Thanks, > ~Connie~ > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >Longtime listmembers (10-20 years brewing experience) have used > Earl > > Grey > > > >exclusively with great results. As it turns out, there is > nothing to > > fear > > > >from Earl Grey. But the analysis you quote above isn't really the > > > >concern. > > > > > > > > > Evening V > > > > > > I've been fermenting Earl Gray for a while and really enjoy it. I > > > rotate several tea in my batch process. Last summer the market we > > > buy most of our vegetable at had a special purchase of tea. 100 > Earl > > > Gray or English Breakfast tea bags for 99 cents. What a deal! > What > > > a waste of 99 cent! The KT produced was horrid. If this had been > my > > > first attempt at Earl Gray I'm not sure I would ever have tried it > > > again. I think the flavoring use was a low grade and reacted > > > negatively to the fermentation process. > > > > > > Bill > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 Connie wrote: Since " I have been on this group, I have now become interested in finding a source for bulk tea in a good quality organic. What I am using works fine, but I think maybe theres something better out there that could improve my KT. It would be good to have a POLL on who uses bulk vs. bags, how do you start a poll. Please pass on your tea info to me. " Hi Connie, It isn't inexpensive, but I am very fond of the teas sold by a company called Rishi ( http://www.rishi-tea.com/ ). The teas come in wonderful black bags and stay fresh a very long time. You can also get other things, like jasmine blossoms, which I do use in our brew. I have tried many of their teas just to drink tea, and when I started making KT, I just started using what I had. They are so good that I have ordered more. I am mixing their black wuji with their rooibus and their jasmine blossoms. They also have a blueberry tea that I plan to get the next time I order because I had some organic blueberry tea that I added to our recipe, and we liked what it did. We are now experiementing with changing our recipe so that we use half black and half green. Happy experimenting! It's half the fun! Joyce Dallas TX -- Jubilee Airedales Dear Jubilee: The Animal Connection Workshops & Consultations DWAA , IACP #P-1834, MDSA, AKC Canine Ambassador & CGC Evaluator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 Connie wrote: Since " I have been on this group, I have now become interested in finding a source for bulk tea in a good quality organic. What I am using works fine, but I think maybe theres something better out there that could improve my KT. It would be good to have a POLL on who uses bulk vs. bags, how do you start a poll. Please pass on your tea info to me. " Hi Connie, It isn't inexpensive, but I am very fond of the teas sold by a company called Rishi ( http://www.rishi-tea.com/ ). The teas come in wonderful black bags and stay fresh a very long time. You can also get other things, like jasmine blossoms, which I do use in our brew. I have tried many of their teas just to drink tea, and when I started making KT, I just started using what I had. They are so good that I have ordered more. I am mixing their black wuji with their rooibus and their jasmine blossoms. They also have a blueberry tea that I plan to get the next time I order because I had some organic blueberry tea that I added to our recipe, and we liked what it did. We are now experiementing with changing our recipe so that we use half black and half green. Happy experimenting! It's half the fun! Joyce Dallas TX -- Jubilee Airedales Dear Jubilee: The Animal Connection Workshops & Consultations DWAA , IACP #P-1834, MDSA, AKC Canine Ambassador & CGC Evaluator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 I get most of my bulk tea from Mountain rose herbs(http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/tea_bev/tea_green.php)-their darjeeling is delicious and makes amazing kombucha. They offer a discount when you buy multiple pounds. Their prices are very reasonable for a very high quality tea. Two Hills tea is a good source also(http://www.twohillstea.com/) Green tea from this site is very mild and reasonable-(http://www.worldconsortium.com/store/html/products.htm) Ohsawa green tea from Gold mine Foods is amazing in taste but may want to reserve only for drinking as it is very expensive. joe > > I am currrently using...... " CHOICE " organic orange pekoe cut, > and " HAIKU " sencha organic green tea. Any others using these? Since > I have been on this group, I have now become interested in finding a > source for bulk tea in a good quality organic. What I am using works > fine, but I think maybe theres something better out there that could > improve my KT. It would be good to have a POLL on who uses bulk vs. > bags, how do you start a poll. Please pass on your tea info to me. I > do have one new adventure .....I am starting a Puehr batch with bulk, > that was recommended. > Thanks, > ~Connie~ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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