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- #21
Dace
Revolution in Progress
So I CAN use a fruity type tea then??
Preparing for the arrival of my new Scoby!!!
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me&thegals
A Major Squash & Pumpkin Lover
It's alliiiiiiiiiiiivvveee (spooky voice) 
My SCOBY reminds me of placenta.
The only absolute no-no I have heard regarding tea is any tea that has oil in it (such as Earl Grey with bergamot oil). Apparently it kills or affects the process.
If you're worried about losing a SCOBY, wait until it grows a daughter, then save one for your regular process and do a trial with the other. They make new ones about every week or so, so you won't have long to find out Let us know how it works if you beat me to it with the mint tea.
My SCOBY reminds me of placenta.
The only absolute no-no I have heard regarding tea is any tea that has oil in it (such as Earl Grey with bergamot oil). Apparently it kills or affects the process.
If you're worried about losing a SCOBY, wait until it grows a daughter, then save one for your regular process and do a trial with the other. They make new ones about every week or so, so you won't have long to find out
Let us know how it works if you beat me to it with the mint tea.
noobiechickenlady
Almost Self-Reliant
Micah has used: All of the standard teas, red, orange pekoe, black, green, white. Plus Lemongrass/Nettle, chamomile, cranberry, raspberry, blueberry, peppermint, thyme, and the list goes on. He did say that Nettle/Lemongrass was his favorite brew.
noobiechickenlady
Almost Self-Reliant
me&thegals, uuuuummmmm, eeeewwwwww!!!!!! LOL!
Just in time for Halloween!
Just in time for Halloween!
me&thegals
A Major Squash & Pumpkin Lover
Where's the head-smacking "doh!" symbol when you need it? I could have sent my kids to school dressed like SCOBYies!!! It would have been easy, creative and perfect!! They could have even spritzed themselves with kombucha to add to the believability factor aromaticallynoobiechickenlady said:
Hmmm.... Maybe for trick or treating this weekend, if we go.big brown horse
Hoof In Mouth
freemotion
Food Guru
You gals have been imbibing too much kombucha lately, apparently. I go to work for a few hours and look what happens when I leave you unattended!
Here is my two cents: Purists use only black tea, organic. SCOBY stands for Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast. So you want to be careful not to use anything that might upset the balance of the scoby by killing or even suppressing any of the bacteria. The scoby has a perfect balance that you don't want to throw off.
Some things that can impact the scoby are: Unfiltered water with chlorine, the bleach used in cheap tea bags, certain spices that have anti-bacterial actions (most of the oils in tea bags do, like my favorite tea when I can't have my fresh version....Stash or Yogi chai spice!) So it is considered safest to use organic black tea only, and not de-caf.
That being said, I use cheap black tea!
Flavor it when you pour some to drink. I like my ginger chai blend (homemade, of course) and dh likes a 100% juice that is pomegranate/raspberry or pom/blueberry. We use about a 1/4 each of kombucha, our choice of flavoring, and 1/2 water. Chug-a-lug! My mother drinks it straight....blech!
I pour it carefully from the quart bottles I store the finished kombucha in, so I don't get those thready things in my glass. Later, when they proliferate, I pour it through a fine mesh tea strainer. Some people drink the thready things...they gross me out too much!
There are many health benefits to this, plus it is incredibly cheap and delicious, especially for those of us who are completely off all commercially prepared crappy drinks. Sometimes you just need something cold and yummy and a bit fizzy!
Here is my two cents: Purists use only black tea, organic. SCOBY stands for Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast. So you want to be careful not to use anything that might upset the balance of the scoby by killing or even suppressing any of the bacteria. The scoby has a perfect balance that you don't want to throw off.
Some things that can impact the scoby are: Unfiltered water with chlorine, the bleach used in cheap tea bags, certain spices that have anti-bacterial actions (most of the oils in tea bags do, like my favorite tea when I can't have my fresh version....Stash or Yogi chai spice!) So it is considered safest to use organic black tea only, and not de-caf.
That being said, I use cheap black tea!
Flavor it when you pour some to drink. I like my ginger chai blend (homemade, of course) and dh likes a 100% juice that is pomegranate/raspberry or pom/blueberry. We use about a 1/4 each of kombucha, our choice of flavoring, and 1/2 water. Chug-a-lug! My mother drinks it straight....blech!
I pour it carefully from the quart bottles I store the finished kombucha in, so I don't get those thready things in my glass. Later, when they proliferate, I pour it through a fine mesh tea strainer. Some people drink the thready things...they gross me out too much!
There are many health benefits to this, plus it is incredibly cheap and delicious, especially for those of us who are completely off all commercially prepared crappy drinks. Sometimes you just need something cold and yummy and a bit fizzy!
- Thread starter
- #28
Dace
Revolution in Progress
Thanks everyone...guess I gotta find me some black tea!
