I'm just about finished with my 2nd batch of Kombucha. So far so good. My method: I've been boiling about a gallon of water, a cup of sugar -> steep green tea, let it cool, and then sit it in a slightly above room-temp spot for 10-ish days with the scobie culture.
Anyone out there brew?
I became enamored of kombucha a few months ago, my wallet doesn't share the opinion of my mouth, stomach and bowel. I am lucky enough to have a coworker who has been brewing her own for several years, and gave me a scobie and some black tea she really likes to use in conjunction with this particular breed. I've made one batch of lemon-ginger kombucha so far, fermented 10 days instead of the recommended 14. Turned out great! How long do you ferment yours? I thought the 10 day was perfect for me. Still some sweetness, lots of sour, not a touch of the vinegary-ness that overwhelms some brews. Kombucha beer is still a no-go for me oddly. I like sour beer, but I don't wanna get drunk on vinegar.
the first (and only) batch was somewhere around 10 days. It was pretty sour. After bottling the first batch, I noticed it was quite sour. I added a star anise to each individual bottle (that were put into the refridgerator) the day before consuming them. This cut the sour-ness a lot. It also added a great taste to them. I'll have to try it with black tea on my next brew. My current one is like 8 days or something, I dunno I just kind of taste it and see what I think haha. Raisins sounds like an interesting way to put in some sugar/flavor.
Kombucha was a pretty common thing in the USSR, it was called the tea mushroom :) Everyone was doing it, including my boyfriend's family. It's kind of like Kvass (a rye bread drink). Just got back from Ukrainian camp and a friend gave us a mushroom to try it out! I often crave Kombucha when I'm hungover and 5$ a bottle is just ridiculous. So far, we've put the sugar and black tea and will be bottling it up with some raisins in a couple day to add a bit of carbonation. It's our first batch, I wonder how it's gonna turn out! I'll let you know :)