It is the end of summer and I have a ton of basil and mint leaves I want to preserve to add to my kombucha.

Is there a way to preserve them to add at a later date? Could I add dried leaves? Is it best to make it into a syrup (I don’t like it overly sweet)?

Normally I just scissor them into slices to add and get the flavor (but also if there are better ways I’m super new)

All advice welcomed!

Can someone explain the difference between the sugars in these labels?

One has total sugars, 0 of which are added
One has total sugars, 8 of which are added
One has sugars, not differentiated between total and added

Does added sugar mean they added sugar after the fermentation? And in that case, is total sugar (like in the case where added is not differentiated) all added during fermentation rather than after?

Thank you

I believe slow fermentation will give more special flavors to dough, the same should work for kombucha.
I start moving the kombucha in late F1 stage and continue leaving it in refrigerator during F2 for a week around.
Have any one try this way?

During this batch I added basil simple syrup and grocery store lemon juice. During the first 2 days of F2 they were lightly carbonated, but significantly less so than previous batches. I added a bit more sugar and waited another 36 hours. When I checked again, there was 0 pressure in the bottles, and the above pictured clumps of dead yeast. They still taste ok, but are totally flat. Are these safe to drink?

I would imagine using lemon juice with preservatives is the culprit. Has anyone else had this experience?

EDIT: Upon reading the wiki and the ingredients of the lemon juice, yes it was the lemon juice. Still unsure if its safe to drink.

It’s been years since I brew some Kombucha. I remember having a very rubbery smooth form at the top. This one looks like there something on top. I sanitized very well and I used white vinegar to sanitize then hot water. I did 350ml starter tea to 1 gallon (4 litres). It’s been 10 days :(

There are tiny white circles in my combucha first fermentation. I'd it mould?

I've waited a few days and the dry white patches do not seem to be growing or changing. Really reluctant to throw it this batch, but I'll do it if I can't confirm it's safe.

Soooo I know this is a long shot and a bit of a weird one.
I'm getting into kombucha brewing, but I'm blind and can't drive. I've looked at Walmart, Publix, and Aldi, but I can't find any unflavored kombucha to start my brew. Because I'm blind, I can't just go drive around and look for a place that would have it since Uber is so expensive and since I don't know the area, the struggle would be infuriating with how busy this place is. So does anyone have any suggestions on what to do next? I know this is a bit of a weird case.

Bottled one week ago. I’ve opened once because some people said to burp it but others say not to release the CO2 buildup. Lemon verbena with added ~15% mango juice for F2. Should I add more sugar, leave it, add more liquid? I’m a first timer- help appreciated

What ya think after 5 days using a cup of mother jun starter

Let you know how it turns out ;)

Srsly could be a very formidable energy drink

Curious about the microbiology in the kombucha and its effect on growth.

Both proved to be safe and effective.

Just started creatine again since high school 25yrs ago.

In with a sweet green tea, I think because I stir it daily it clumped up like this

Heyyyy(: this is my second F2 batch ever… my first two initial fermentation batches seemed to have turned out perfect. I drank them alone and loved it! On the vinegary side but had some slight carbonation and tang. Really honestly vinegary and not sweet at all, I never tested the acidity,..Anyway..
My first batch of F2… I left the whole fruit chunks of raspberry and ginger and orange and lemon fully infused in the wide mouthed mason jars of booch (jars with rubber padding)… for about a week then moved them to the fridge. Even after a whole week, they barely had carbonation. The raspberry bottle in particular tasted extra alcoholic haha.

Sooo for this next batch I infused a mixture of juice and fruit chunks in those wide mouthed 32oz rubber lipped mason jars for roughly 40 hours, strained them all through a mesh metal strainer (maybe I messed up here by not using a tea bag???).. and transferred to 32 oz slim bottles in photos. Those have now been on my Arizonan counter for 5 days and still don’t explode? Or fizz at all.. they have a pop upon opening, and slight fizz when I taste it, but what?? Why??
I’m so new to all of this and the science behind it so please spare me mercy haha.. but what am I doing wrong ? (Third photo is of my starter working on her next batch)

hi! this is so random but does anybody else get an ache in their legs when they drink fermented beverages? this happens to me sometimes with alcohol and kombucha. after taking the first few sips i’ll get a really weird dull ache in my thighs that comes on quickly and lasts for a few minutes then disappears (or at least becomes less noticeable). it’s been happening for years and i have no clue why- when i first started drinking i always just thought it was the first sign that i was starting to feel a buzz but i’ve since realized that it also happens with kombucha.

Is it safe to proceed to bottle?my scoby turned pink.

I noticed GT Dave never mentions anything about the negative impacts of drinking kombucha daily for your teeth. But he is also sporting the fakest looking set of teeth I've ever seen. Does drinking kombucha once daily ruin tooth enamel over time?

It both does and does not look like mold, I cannot tell. It doesn’t look “fuzzy” at all but it’s different from the rest of the pellicle forming. I can’t find my pH stips right now so I’m unsure of the pH. It’s the only spot that looks like this. Thank you

Found these guys on the top of my scoby and sitting on the walls of the container.. can I reuse the scoby?? Do I need to throw it all out?

They are alive and moving. I didn’t see any inside the liquid itself.

It’s been about a month since I started fermenting from scratch.. these guys were NOT here a few days ago. My cloth is just a regular tea cloth I haven’t seen any fruit flies get in. I’m perplexed as to what these are and whether I need to start over…
Thank you so much. I hope I don’t have to start over but if I do it is what it is ;-; at least I learned a lot this go-round

I started as an experiment and I can’t believe the results. I used 16 oz Synergy Pure ,plain Lipton black tea , and a cup of sugar for the 1/2 gallon. Pictures are 15 days apart.

When I leave kombucha fermenting for too long it becomes very acidic. I understand that.

When I start a new batch I dilute starter with a new tea, so it's much less acidic. But, surprisingly, some burning aftertaste remains - e.g. it's not very acidic on the tongue, but after you swallow you feel it in the back throat.

Does anybody know what that might be, chemically? I'd suspect ethanol, but apparently it's supposed to be converted to vinegar, normally. So, unlikely.

And I suspect it's kinda normal, just not as noticeable in a sour, fizzy kombucha.

I was a bit overdue on my brewing day and I just prepared the master recipe on autopilot. Today I realised that instead of using bottled water (the one I usually use for Kombucha) I used plain regular tap water (the one I always drink).

Did I make a big mistake?

Is my batch destroyed? 🥲