Kombucha Extras
Long-term maintenance and management:
Footnotes:
Hey don’t get scared by these footnotes. Kombucha is as easy as making regular tea. This is just technical mumbo jumbo I found on the Internet when I first started. I have no clue where I found it! I am keeping better track of that now.
- Your Kombucha pancake will continue to grow and multiply.
- New growth is on top, old on the bottom. Remove parts from the bottom as they become old and brown (dark, not light brown).
- You'll have excess culture that you can give to your friends. It can be divided by cutting sections (with sharp scissors) or by removing layers.
Any piece of Kombucha that you don't mean to discard should be kept submerged in the Kombucha beverage in a glass container. Put a clean cloth and rubber band over the container (add more tea if needed) - If covered with tea and kept in a cool place, the Kombucha culture will keep for long periods of time.
- How much to use and when: Recommended maintenance dosage for a healthy person is about 1 1/2 cups, preferably taken 1/2 cup at a time, three times a day. Because the effects are different when taken before and after meals, preferred times are in the morning on an empty stomach, 10-15 minutes before breakfast; before or after the midday meal, and in the evening sometime before going to bed.
- For a person with cancer, Dr. Sklenar recommends 3 cups a day (24 ounces), up to a quart. *** Many recipes are now cautioning people to start with only 1/2 cup per day for the first week, and then to increase to 1 cup for another week before going to the 1 1/2 cup amount. ***
Footnotes:
Hey don’t get scared by these footnotes. Kombucha is as easy as making regular tea. This is just technical mumbo jumbo I found on the Internet when I first started. I have no clue where I found it! I am keeping better track of that now.
- Using currently available information, the best estimate we can make of the caloric content and makeup of Kombucha is as follows. In well made Kombucha, the 100 grams of sucrose (refined white sugar) per liter are used and hence transformed, by the yeasts and bacteria, into the beneficial metabolic products--gluconic acid and acetic acid--and perhaps 30 grams of fructose, a form of sugar which puts less stress on the metabolic regulatory system. The recommended daily maintenance dosage (11 oz.) can be expected to supply about 40 calories, or about as many as in half an apple.
- Besides the fact that one gallon batches are much more efficient to make and more consistent in their performance than smaller ones, the longer storage that is likely to result is actually advantageous. Kombucha stored at a cool temperature actually improves with age, especially if stored in smaller containers so that the length of time any container is open during use is shortened. Refrigeration is not necessary either during storage or use.
- *** We have never refrigerated our stored KT, and have never had any problems, though we have kept it for many months. Nevertheless, we should note that many recipes now urge refrigerated storage. ***
- The addition of finished Kombucha improves the environment in which the new process begins, by acidifying it.
- For the recipe which we are recommending, what we have been able to learn from the literature and from our own trials would indicate that less sugar may not sustain the process to maximum utilization of all the ingredients. On the other hand, it would seem that use of more sugar increases the likelihood that the process will end with more sugar remaining unused.
- This is at the rate of 5 grams tea per liter. It has been our experience that this amount of tea, in combination with 100 grams sugar, makes a drink with the most "activity." Everything we read indicates there are only two kinds of tea that work well, and they must not be compromised: green (e.g., organic Bancha), or black (organic Oolong preferred).
- *** According to the Internet FAQ, black or green tea are recommended, but are not the only teas which will work. Black tea, of course, will give you more caffeine. ***
- At this time, only Kombucha made with black tea has been tested for glucuronic acid content. When serious ailments are being treated, such as cancer, some would advise sticking with the black tea until the efficacy of the green tea can be tested. *** We now understand that KT has no glucuronic acid content. The green tea, known for its native efficacy with regard to cancer seems the clear choice for the cancer patient. ***
- The ratio of air exposure to volume of liquid is important--the larger the opening the better!
- Panty hose or cheese cloth with tight enough weave to prevent entry of omnipresent and persistent fruit flies, open enough to permit free entry of oxygen.
- Without tight closure with a rubber band, the fruit flies will get in. Leaving the jar open for more than seconds risks fruit fly entry, the laying of eggs and subsequent arrival of larvae on the pancake. Any eggs or larvae must be removed by picking them off and washing.
- The temperature should not fall below 64 nor rise above 86 degrees F. For balanced growth of the yeasts and the bacteria, we have settled on 77 F. as an optimum. An even temperature is preferable. The fermentation will proceed more quickly at higher temperatures.
- For maximum conversion of sugar and caffeine and hence to maximize the variety of benefits, we have settled on a ten day period at 77 F. This produces a Kombucha that is clearly acid (pH 3) but not vinegary.
- Use a sieve if desired. The white stringy material is not harmful, but pieces which have turned brown are best removed.