Bottling kombucha today had me thinking about old times

I just finished a new batch and looked at the scoby. It reminded me of when I first got one from a coworker ten years ago. We used leftover tea bottles and never checked the pH. Now I have a dedicated jar and a notebook, but the smell still brings back the same good feelings. How has your fermenting setup changed over the years?

3 comments

3 Comments

flores.andrew9d ago

My first scoby came from a neighbor in Portland seven years ago. We used a big soup pot and just left it on the counter until it tasted right, but now I have a whole fermentation station with airlocks. That familiar tangy smell still gives me the same happy buzz from those early experiments!

cole_patel414d ago

A big soup pot on the counter for kombucha? I'm shocked that didn't end in a moldy mess. I remember trying to use a regular jar without a cover and it attracted so many bugs. How did you manage to keep it clean for weeks? Honestly, moving to airlocks is a game changer, but your old method sounds risky. Seven years from a neighbor in Portland is a long time for a scoby to last. That tangy smell must really take you back.

gonzalez.vera9d ago

Started with a scoby from my cousin in Austin. We just used a glass jar covered with a cloth on the kitchen counter. That smell when it starts to ferment always takes me back to those first batches. I found that keeping it in a warm spot made the process faster without changing the taste. Now I use flip top bottles for the second ferment to get more fizz. What temperature do you keep your fermentation station at?