Items of interest

 

Since March 2021 the natural carbonation has significantly decreased.
Various methods to correct this have failed, so I won't document them here.

Winter was a problem so a wardrobe/cupboard was set up using a food dryer to maintain a temperature around 25 degrees celcius.
A good airflow is important so a special base was made to make the most of the fan in the food dryer. 

 

Just Hops

Just Green Apple was a fine flavour but it was awkward to handle the amount of carbonation.

After drinking the No Flavour (Black Stripe) for a while, usually after an afternoon beer, I thought that I should ask Dave's Home Brew daveshomebrew.com.au if it is possible to get hops flavour. I wanted the feeling of having a second beer, without the carbs or the alcohol.
The answer was yes:
daveshomebrew.com.au/index.php

New flavour - No flavour

Simple really, skip the 2nd fermentation and just bottle it. 

New label coming "Black Stripe".

The two bottles on the right have the black line, removing information about the flavours.

It is a grown-up taste.

Continous brewing

I have been using a four litre jar with a spigot to produce kombucha continuously. The acidity in the raw kombucha varies and the trick is; if it is too acid just take more out. If it is too sweet then take less frequently. The as is taste of the kombucha makes, for me, a good beer substitute. Good for that part of the afternoon when you sit down and take a swig.

Anyway, this method failed the other day when the spigot stopped working. I imagine that some scoby grew in the mechanism and I have been unable to clean it out.

After I added a couple of cups of sweet tea to it I realised that I had to empty that container and try to clean the spigot.
So I put it all through a secondary fermentation and the complexity of the flavours was the first thing noticed when it was tasted:

1. The sweetness of the fresh tea was there;
2. The acidity of the older bits was on the back of the palette, and
3. I am keen to see how it ages and whether the refrigeration stops them from combining.

2nd fermentation

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This is when the flavour is added.

Notice in batch 52 the proportions of Ginger, Turmeric & Lime, basically equal quantities of each.

The lime gets peeled, but not completely, before it goes into the little Cuisinart blender container, shown. All the flavours go in together along with a half a cup of the Kombucha. This is all ground to a smooth liquid and poured using the green funnel into the pre-loved SodaStream bottles. These SodaStream bottles can easily contain the carbonation build-up that happens in the 2nd fermentation.

Finally there is a generous space at the top of each bottle to allow the fizz that happens when the bottle is opened after two days.

One final filtration using cheese cloth as Kombucha goes into the bottles, normally wine bottles, with screw caps, and then into the fridge.

Kold Komfort Konditions for Kombucha

Kombucha scobys thrive in the dark and in a temperature between 20 and 30 degrees celsius.
Sydney winter means that heat has to be added.

So here is the setup that seems to solve this problem:

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On the top is a big chuck of styrofoam to slow the rising heat.
There is other foam to block drafts from the right hand side, behind the sliding door.

From left to right on the top shelf are the batches 32 to 35.
Batch 32 is in 2nd fermentation and the other three are in 1st fermentation.
Next to batch 35 is an instrument that measures the temperature and humidity.
It shows 20°c and 61%.

On the next shelf down is a food dryer/dehydrator.
This is rigged to a timer that turns it on for two hours, four times a day.
There is a fourth (currently unused) chamber that could hold second dryer if needed.
I have avoided using heat pads under the jars because these could cause uneven heating inside those jars.
Also, it would be harder to measure the temperature.

On the front is a legless heated towel rail, on all the time.
It has cotton cloth (used for filtering) hanging off it to dry.

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For more information on brewing and temperature control:

I recommend all the videos from You Brew Kombucha. Subscribe!

Frequent questions

The Tea Gardens Kombucha site
teagardenskombucha.com.au/faq
..answers the following; and more, questions.
Added below these question are comments specifically about BruCHé Kombucha:

1. Why doesn’t your Kombucha need refrigeration?

   While it is not required we do recommend refrigeration because it makes the drink available for drinking

2. How much should I drink per day?

   300 to 400 ml (or less than 2 cups) a day is a good idea, don't drink (anything) in excess.

3. Where should I store the Kombucha?

   A cool dark place if not in the fridge

4. What type of flavouring is used?

   Turmeric; Ginger & Lime in basically equal quantities.

5. What is the sugar content of your Kombucha?

   Close, if not zero

6. Does your Kombucha contain Caffeine.

   Feel free to test for it and let us know.