What can I make Kombucha with besides tea?

[The Tickle Momster]

I tasted my first batch of kombucha tonight. It's been brewing for 9 days. It is still sweet, but a little vinegary. I used decaf green tea. Dh is a little weirded out by my new hobby of fermented drinks. :giggle

I'd love to try a different flavor that maybe the kids would like. Could I use apple juice? A different juice?

[Soliloquy]

You can try something other than tea but it won't be kombucha and I have no idea what you'll get or if it will breed mold. So, IOW, drink at your own risk--seriously.

IMO kombucha tastes best when brewed w/ black tea. It will be tart because the SCOBY consumes the sugar and converts it into wonderful vitamins and amino acids. :heart

"Wild Fermentation" by Sandor Katz is a great book if you want to start fermenting other things. http://www.wildfermentation.com/ There's also books specifically about homemade fermented cider, too.

[cobluegirl]

Others have used different flavored teas that give it a different flavor. Not herbal teas but like Peach or Raspberry or Cherry.....

[dukeofhazzard]

"Wild Fermentation" by Sandor Katz is a great book if you want to start fermenting other things. http://www.wildfermentation.com/ There's also books specifically about homemade fermented cider, too.

A bit off topic, sorry ;), but I've heard mixed reviews on this book. Do you like it a lot?

---------- Post added at 11:00 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:59 AM ----------

Others have used different flavored teas that give it a different flavor. Not herbal teas but like Peach or Raspberry or Cherry.....

I have a friend who uses black tea bags and then adds in one flavored tea bag.

[cobluegirl]

I like his book... but some of his views are a little (ok so a lot) different than ours..LOL

[Soliloquy]

His book is good ... What were the mixed reviews? He definitely has a different worldview than me on some things but his recipes are good--which is all I care about.

If you want to get serious about sourdough bread, you'll need other sources of info than just his book, though. He admits that he's not a sourdough expert but he has had success with the recipes he shares.
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[dukeofhazzard]

His book is good ... What were the mixed reviews? He definitely has a different worldview than me on some things but his recipes are good--which is all I care about.

If you want to get serious about sourdough bread, you'll need other sources of info than just his book, though. He admits that he's not a sourdough expert but he has had success with the recipes he shares.
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I ended up buying it - but I'm only a few pages into it. So far so good :tu. The mixed reviews were basically, half the people just looooved it, and others were saying that all of his info about his personal life ruined it and that there was really no more than rudimentary info in it anyway :shrug3.

For me, I'm a fair beginner (have NT but that's about it) so rudimentary is okay with me :giggle. And I'm good at skimming over stuff I don't wanna read... so I figured it'd be fine. ;)

[mellifera]

I think that Wild Fermentation mentions that it is possible to make Kombucha with Mountain Dew. :shifty It might be an interesting experiment. :giggle