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.

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.

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.

If you have a large container there is no problem with putting in more than one colony. Many people don't separate the colonies but just let them stack up in the fermenting vessel, while periodically removing the oldest one from the bottom of the stack. However, a single colony is sufficient to ferment Kombucha, additional colonies will just take up volume in your container.

A very simple inexpensive solution is to place your container in a wooden or cardboard box with a 15 watt light bulb, then cover the whole thing with a cloth to keep in the heat.

According to Russian reports no special precautionary measures are needed because the Kombucha protects itself against impurities. Some of these protective features include the organic acids, low alcohol content, and carbonic acid. These all jointly block the development of all foreign microörganisms not belonging to the Kombucha. The Russian researcher IN.

Some say you can wash the mold off the Kombucha with vinegar, but I would advise that for safety's sake you throw out this batch of fermented tea as well as the Kombucha colony and start again with another Kombucha. Always add a 10% solution of ready fermented Kombucha Tea to each new batch you start. This is done to acidify the fermenting solution at the very start--to deter mold growth.

Although the original Kombucha will eventually wear out from age and use, it can be used repeatedly for quite a few months--as long as it remains in healthy condition. The life-span of a particular colony probably varies with use and feed-stock as well as growing environment, etc.

By Günther W. Frank , author of the book, Kombucha - Healthy Beverage and Natural Remedy from the Far East ISBN 3-85068-337-0 http://www.bawue.de/~kombucha/english.html One is also often advised to deep-freeze the culture in the freezer during a break in production, together with a little of the ready-fermented beverage. To do this, the culture can be heat-sealed into a freezer bag or else put into a screw-top jar.

It doesn't matter. There is no advantage to using one or the other. Each will produce a new colony when put into a feeding solution.

Günther W. Frank, author of Kombucha-Healthy Beverage and Natural Remedy from the Far East, suggests the following method: "I mail Kombucha colonies like this: I put the colony, including about 9 ounces of ready fermented beverage (very important!) in a plastic bag--like one use for deep freezing food in a deep-freeze. Then I seal the bag with a bag sealer. This bag I put into another bag, which I seal again. So it is double sealed.

To ferment the tea some people use stone crocks but everybody can't get those. You can also use gallon size glass pickle jars, or glass Sun-Tea jars, or a round glass fish bowl. If you use a gallon jar, do not use the metal lid that may come with it. Some people like to use a container that has more width than height, such as large glass mixing bowls, enamel roasters, crock pots, etc. Be sure the container you use is large enough to hold at least one gallon of liquid.

Yes, But if you do use plastic, be very sure that it is a good quality food grade plastic that is recommended for acidic wet foods.

According to Günther Frank, Tupperware is a high-grade synthetic material of the polyolefine group, e.g., polyethylene (PE), or polypropylene. Wine or cider which has a pH value similar to that of Kombucha, is also stored in containers of this food-grade material. However, you should avoid containers made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or polystyrene. Sterol is damaging to one's health and can pass from containers made of this material, into the liquid undergoing fermentation.

You might try "Subway." They have one gallon glass pickle jars that can be used for the Kombucha Tea. In some cities they give them away to anyone who has a use for them. Some people prefer a wider mouth jar, but you can not beat the price. Also most stores sell gallon "Sun-Tea" jars made of glass that have a built in spigot.

You have to make certain that any ceramic, or clay container you use, does not have a lead-based glaze on it (very common with imported items). Acidic substances cause the lead in the glaze to leach out into the liquid. There are tests kits available to determine whether your container has a lead glaze

A new or unchipped enamel pot can be used successfully to ferment Kombucha Tea. Just be certain that there are no chips in the enamel, because heavy metals underneath the enamel coating might leach into the acidic Kombucha Tea and cause heavy-metal poisoning.

No. Do not use any rubber products to ferment and store your Kombucha Tea. Rubber is bad news even when mixed with plastics. It deteriorates easily and is prone to low pH.

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.