Michael Roussin, Director of the Kombucha Consumer Research Group ™ says: "Until today (4 Jan 1996), I would have recommended that Kombucha not be given to pre-puberty children. The reasons are iffy, and propounded in several books and papers, but the basis for those iffy suggestions are not valid, therefore, the suggestions are not valid either. In short, there is no reason (except concerns about caffeine) not to give Kombucha to children.

Although heating will destroy the enzymes, microörganisms and some of the vitamins which are found in Kombucha Tea, many of the other components remain stable.

Some people only drink 4 ounces once or twice daily others are drinking 30 ounces or more per day without any ill effects.

Many diabetics report they have had absolutely no problems drinking it; while others may need to reduce their intake of sugars, or adjust their insulin to compensate. One way to reduce the sugar content is to ferment for a longer period of time. A recent lab test done confirmed a sugar value of 1.65 grams in one ounce of Kombucha Tea that had been fermented for 15 days.

Since lactating mothers pass on substances through the breast milk to their infants, most people feel that it would be a good idea to wait until the child is finished breast-feeding before starting to drink Kombucha Tea. However, whether or not to drink Kombucha while breast-feeding, has to remain a personal decision for the mother to make. Remember, that the caffeine is not used by the colony while fermenting, and remains in the finished Kombucha Tea.

Some new Kombucha drinkers experience intestinal gas. It generally lasts a week or so then stops. However, you can reduce the amount of tea you consume, to help relieve the problem.

Concerning when to take the first drink of Kombucha. It is recommended that the first Kombucha be taken first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. The purpose is for the Kombucha Tea to move into the body quickly with out the hindrance of food and digestive juices. However, not everybody's stomach is the same. Some people insist that the acidic Kombucha Tea upsets their stomach when consumed on an empty tummy.

In response to the query about the carbohydrate content of Kombucha, the following was found in Christopher Hobbs book: In tea made with 1 cup of sugar to 3 quarts of water, fermented for 7 days -- there are about 4 grams of sugar in a 3-1/2 oz. glass. That's about a teaspoon or 16 calories. The analysis was done by a certified food lab. A test done by Kappa Labs in Miami Florida, for John M. Novar of "Kombucha Power" was as follows:

There have been some reports stating that bottled Kombucha has remained viable for up to one year, as long as it is kept in the refrigerator, or another type of cold storage. If not kept in cool, the microörganisms will not survive, although many of the other components found in the ferment will remain stable.

Kombucha Tea can become toxic if it becomes contaminated by pathogenic moulds or bacteria, such as C. botulism. However, these organisms will not grow in an acidic medium below pH 4.

No. It doesn't appear to make any difference. Kombucha can be fermented in full daylight, total darkness, or anywhere in-between. Some people living in far Northern climates such as Alaska, have reported very good results when fermenting their Kombucha Tea in full morning and afternoon sunshine during the winter months.

The amount will vary, depending on growing conditions and amount of sugar used. Usually less than .5% on up to 1.5%.

Clean cotton muslin, cheese-cloth, unbleached paper coffee filters, fine plastic strainers, or anything of this nature will work equally well.

No. It was previously believed Kombucha ferment contained heparin (a compound found especially in liver that slows the clotting of blood and is used medically), however, according to recent scientific research reported by Michael R. Roussin, Director of the Kombucha Consumer Research Group ™, there is no heparin found in Kombucha. No. It was thought previously that Kombucha ferment contained heparin (a blood thinner).

This is done to prevent air-borne contaminants from getting into your fermenting container and contaminating the contents. Never use a solid lid, (the bacteria and yeast are aerobic--need oxygen to survive) use only a tightly woven cloth, disposable unbleached paper coffee filter, unbleached paper toweling or similar material held closely to the edges of the container with a rubber band.

If you are used to drinking kombucha, you can drink it while pregnant. It would be a good thing to drink 4 to 6 ounces with meals. However, if you have not drunk kombucha before, don't start while you are pregnant because occasionally someone has an adverse reaction and we don't want that to happen while you are pregnant. Don’t let kombucha be a substitute for your one quart of raw milk per day.

Boil 96 ounces water, plus 2 cups extra to allow for evaporation during the 5 minute boiling period. Cover with a lid while boiling. After 5 minutes remove cover and add 1 cup of white sugar. [use measuring cup] Remove pot from heat add 5 -6 regular size tea bags--or the equivalent amount of loose tea--in a tea-ball or tea holder. You can use either black tea, green tea, or oolong tea or a combination of teas.

Since Kombucha is not a mushroom, I see no reason to avoid drinking Kombucha Tea. But, if you are prone to food allergies, be sure to start out with just a very small amount for a few days to see if you have an allergic reaction to it.

Pure refined white sugar is the sugar most recommended to use when making Kombucha Tea. White sugar produces a Kombucha Tea that tastes like Apple Cider and it is completely fermentable.

Brown sugar contains molasses. While some people consider molasses to be a contaminant, many others still use brown sugar with excellent results. They also report that brown sugar produces a very tart Kombucha Tea, tasting strongly of vinegar.

Honey can be used to make Kombucha, however, it should be pasteurized first to kill any wild yeast cells as well as the enzymes which are responsible for the production of hydrogen peroxide in honey.

There have been a few reports posted over the Kombucha Mailing List by a very small percentage of people--just starting to drink Kombucha Tea--who appear to have experienced unusual reactions such as headache, rash, wakefulness, intestinal gas, and nausea. However, most symptoms have been alleviated by increasing their intake of fresh water; while in some cases--such as headache for instance--by also cutting back on the amount of Kombucha Tea consumed daily.

No. Capping right away will keep the effervescence (CO2) in the bottle. As long as the bottled Kombucha is kept cool in a refrigerator, the fermentation process will be slowed way down, and excessive pressure should not build up inside the bottles.

It is a personal choice. Some people only drink 4 ounces once, or twice daily, others are drinking 30 ounces, or more, per day. However, most new Kombucha drinkers are advised to start out with an ounce or two and increase gradually over several weeks.

No, the fibers found in the tea after fermentation will not hurt you. However, if you feel you really don't want to drink them, just filter them out. Most people find filtering to be more trouble than it's worth, and just drink the tea--fibers and all.

If you notice the tea becoming too strong or fermented, dilute it with freshly-brewed tea or add fruit juice to it just before you drink it. Add the juice to the glass, not the container of fermented tea.

The "German FDA" states, "Kombucha is a vitalizing and completely harmless beverage. Especially in health shops, the Asian tea mushroom "Kombucha" is praised as a universal panacea. But are there some hidden negative side effects involved as well? Prof. Dr. F.

Michael Roussin, Director of the Kombucha Consumer Research Group ™ says ". . . the colony brings to the ferment everything it needs to reproduce itself. And fermenting without a colony will breed out some of the symbiotes, and it will also breed in new ones." ". . .I strongly recommend that you introduce a colony to each new ferment you start. It has all of the information necessary to replicate itself, and while some of that information is not necessary, much of it is.

It is a good idea to sterilize your containers before using, but practically speaking this isn't easy to do if you are using plastics, and all glass isn't heat resistant and will crack if water that is too hot is used on them. If your containers are washed in hot soapy water and rinsed very well with hot water, this should be sufficient.

Never use metal containers to ferment your Kombucha colony, because the Kombucha Tea is very acidic and could react with the metal and cause some of it to leach into the tea and cause heavy metal poisoning.