Some people add clear fruit juices when making Kombucha Tea (cranberry, apple etc.). However, it is generally not recommended. If you do use fruit juice you should boil the juice along with your water before adding it to the fermenting container.

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. See similar questions...

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

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. See similar questions...

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. See similar questions...

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. See similar questions...

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. See similar questions...

No. The herb Stevia cannot be used to ferment Kombucha Tea because it is non-fermentable.. The yeasts feed on sugar, and without it fermentation cannot take place. This Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) is based, in part, on the personal experiences of the members of the Kombucha mailing list. It should not be regarded as a complete or definitive manual on Kombucha but rather as a collection of practical everyday answers to questions that come up when starting to make Kombucha Tea. See similar questions...

Yes. Some people use only decaffeinated tea . Others use a combination of 3 or 4 bags decaffeinated tea with 1 or 2 bags regular black tea. Decaffeinated tea still has about 3% caffeine content. See similar questions...

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. See similar questions...

Yes. It is usually safe if it's boiled first--provided you live in an area that is well away from an industrial site that uses toxic chemicals. If you live in a heavy industrial area or farm area where they use toxic chemicals, the surrounding ground water could be polluted by heavy metals as well as herbicides and insecticides. These toxic compounds could find their way into the underground stream that feeds into your well, and poison the water. See similar questions...

It isn't a requirement to use distilled water, but many people do use it. However, bear in mind that the distillation process, while removing toxic chemicals etc., also remove all the minerals from the water. See similar questions...

Some people use herbal tea to make Kombucha, others add the herbs to Kombucha after it has been fermented. Herbal teas contain alkaloids which may affect the Kombucha colony. See similar questions...

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: See similar questions...

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. See similar questions...

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. See similar questions...

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. See similar questions...

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

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

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. See similar questions...