Some more info on K-Tea & Cultures

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Newer kombucha tea (K-tea) makers often have questions & problems with a consistent taste & results of the fermentation. Sometimes the first couple of batches are almost perfect & then the next batches might not go just right,or you may start off going a little wrong then your batches go off without a hitch.(this can also happen as the seasons change & from other factors.)

This mainly happens because of the several different strains of yeasts & bacterias that are involved in the fermenting of K-tea. When one is out of balance the taste & results of the batch can change drastically.

This is not all bad, because slight differences in balance can achieve a large range of tastes without effecting the quality of the K-tea or cultures.

Questions & info~

(Below all references to Fizz included Carbonation(CO2),bubbles,foam & fizz)

I have No Fizz: The amount of Fizz in K-Tea has almost no effect on the quality or the end results of each fermented batch.The presence of  fizz or the lack of fizz, in no way shows that the fermentation went right or wrong. If you're getting good baby cultures but no fizz, Then all is still OK.

What should I expect from a batch of K-tea after fermentation? After 3 or 4 batches have fermented you may get more fizz. It can happen on the first batch but this can be effected by rather it went into shock during mailing, or by the way you cared for the culture before starting a batch.

A average fermented K-tea will produce a fair amount of fizz when you pour it into a glass,Like beer foam or soda fizz . Normally the bubbles will be barely noticeable when drinking from a fresh batch of K-tea. It will develop more fizz in the fridge after a few days in most cases.

Many times beginner K-tea makers will get flat K-tea at first because the balance needs to get established in your own batches to produce good fizz. It should show up after several batches of fermenting.

A few things to remember: To little or to much sugar,the wrong or weak teas,the type of tea & the temperature can all affect fizz & the quality of the baby culture.

If your batches are still sweet at 8 to 10 days, go longer until they're more tart or to your liking.Many ferment up to 30 days depending on the taste they want.

To Promote fizz: Use starter tea from the bottom of the last batch (with all the brown slime strings &/or sludge in it),or use double the starter tea until the fizz begins to show up in your batches.You can also age your starter tea by putting it in a glass jar & sealing it then place on the counter for 1 or 2 days before using it.

If you've been using only black tea, try green tea, it is better for fizz but you may want to mix it with black for your preferred taste( say 3 green tea bags to 1 black tea bag)White,Green & Black teas are all the same tea in different stages of growth/process, With black tea having the highest caffeine content & white tea having the lowest, Green tea has the mid range of caffeine content

Get the temperature up to around a steady 78-80 degrees.

So what can you do to decrease fizz:To much fizz is usually means you have k-tea that is souring sooner than it should, & this can cause badly formed baby cultures. This happens more in the warmer months but can happen anytime. You can increase the sugar amount by 1 TBS per QT of K-tea. Or decrease the amount of tea bags by 1 bag per QT. Ferment at a lower temperature (72 -76 degrees)

I have cloudy tea: The K-tea will be cloudy sometimes for no reason at all, It will not hurt the tea.

Why all this slime?: K-tea can come out slimy/syrupy & other batches will be clear & light. Water can sometimes be the main cause of this happening.But slime strings & clumps are common in K-tea.

Be sure you use a good water source with no contaminates or chlorine.

The baby culture seems to be forming to slow: This happens sometimes, But as long as the K-tea grew at least a thin baby on the top, all is OK. Here are some of the causes of slow forming baby cultures. Low temperatures, to much sugar, the culture &/or starter tea was refrigerated before starting the fermenting,insufficient air flow in jar. you used a culture that was to old, you cooked/killed the culture by putting it into warm sweet tea,you have a airborne contaminant, the tea you used might have had a added teas,added flavor or oil that effects the culture, or a bad brand of tea was used. 

Thin baby cultures: Cool Temperatures, seasonal changes & the PH out of balance among other things can all cause thin baby's to happen. But as long as the K-tea grew a thin baby,the tea is fine.

Keep in mind seasonal changes will change the result of the baby culture.So changes will occur as the seasons change. Of course this depends on where you live but after a few years of making K-tea you will know the effects.

Don't wash your fermenting jar with antibacterial soap.It can kill the cultures

If a thin baby is in a batch that is sweet, chances are you haven't fermented long enough. Let it go a couple more days & check the taste. Try to keep a steady temperature.(some ferment up to 30 days depending on taste)

Holes in my forming baby culture: If your forming baby culture gets holes but still comes out fine, all is OK. It means you have a good PH balance with fizz causing gas bubbles or holes.

A lumpy or spotty baby culture: This is one of those things that just happens once in a while,it's nothing to worry about,maybe try a different brand of tea for the next batch.

No baby culture formed at all: Do not drink the tea, Let the batch go at least 20 days, If still no baby, Pull the original culture & start over with distilled white vinegar as the starter tea.

Here are a few ways to avoid this again: Don't use antibacterial soap to clean anything that the culture or tea touches,don't add the culture to hot or even warm sweet tea,don't add any herbs, spices or anything else foreign to the tea,keep the fermenting K-tea away from any strong fumes such as paint,solvents,cleaners,grease, smoke etc,do not add Stevia or any other artificial sweetener.No powdered sugars.

You can gradually kill a Kombucha culture over successive ferments with ginger, cinnamon & other herbs or household spices. These sorts of things should only be added when you're ready to bottle. Never allow them in your starter.

Dark cultures: The more batches you ferment with the same culture the darker it will get. This is because both the tea & the yeast make it a little darker each batch. It's fine to keep using the same culture as long as it seems to be making good ferments,it usually will last 4 to 8 batches.

Cultures that sink: This is normal. Some cultures are more dense than others depending on how much carbonation is trapped between the layers. Often one that sinks will make some of the best K-tea.

The K-tea taste sour or like vinegar: The longer K-tea ferments the closer it will get to being vinegar.If the baby culture is fat &/or healthy everything is OK. Higher temperatures tend to accelerate fermentation adjust your fermenting days for the seasons.

The K-tea is to sweet: As long as you're seeing a baby culture growing allow the fermentation to progress. This can happen due to low temperatures or a semi-dormant mother culture.

Mold: A lot of beginner kombucha growers mistake a forming discolored baby kombucha for mold (& even those who have grown kombucha awhile can get confused). It's pretty rare to get mold. So first make sure it's mold. Look closely to see if the surface is fuzzy. If it's not fuzzy,then let the batch continue & keep checking for any growth of fuzz. If you don't see fuzz, then it's not mold.(if in doubt I can email you mold pictures)

Here are a few ways to avoid mold.Sometimes mold is airborne. So what can you do? Sanitary conditions are a must,add a few TBS of distilled white vinegar to your starter tea,be careful of any airborne contaminates such as smoke,cleaners,grease etc,soak the cover (preferably a coffee filter) in distilled white vinegar & cover the fermenting jar with it while its still wet.

Water: K-tea is half bacteria so most things we do to protect ourselves from bacteria, such as chlorine & antibacterial cleaners will kill K-tea & the cultures.If your well water is contaminated you need a good filtration system which is designed to remove those specific contaminants,as they will also kill or mold the K-tea & cultures.

Here's one most do not know, Do not buy Jugs or bottles of "drinking water" from your local grocery store. Drinking water has chlorine in it.

Use a good source of water, Such as tested well water,spring water(Jug or fresh) Purified/filtered or RO water even distilled water.

Black or Green tea: Green teas tend to out perform black teas.They make a fatter baby culture, they help produce larger amounts of fizz. However you can mix green & black teas together (as they are truly the same tea in different stages of processing)

I have this same info and much more on my kombucha info & picture page

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