Kombucha tea for hair growth

[proo]

Misti, I was under the impression the brew wouldn't "perk" if it didn't have a mother or scoby - will it ferment by simply adding a bottle of already brewed kombucha? If so, that would be sooo much easier.

[DoubleCrowned]

OK, someone please post their recipe for home brewing. I want to try this! I need instructions.

You can figure out a recipe using my rule-of-thumb guidelines:

Guideline for container: Use a glass container for brewing. I use gallon pickle jars, but only filled so the depth of the liquid should be about equal to the diameter of the liquid's surface.

Guideline for water: The water you use should be chlorine-free. I boil tap water to achieve this. Distilled water does not have enough minerals in it for good fizz.

Guideline for tea: I use 5-6 tea bags per gallon of water (minimum 1.25 tea bags per quart), almost always part green tea (or all) green tea. The balance should be a black tea. If you use all black tea, you are making Russian Kombucha. I think GT's is made with all green tea.

Step 1 : boil water in glass or stainless steel, take it off the heat, put tea into it. Cover and let it sit awhile. I just let the tea cool with the teabags in it because the kombucha moms like the tannins.

Guideline for sugar: I use 1/3 C ordinary granulated white sugar per quart of water.

Step 2: Fish out the tea bags and dump in the sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves.

Guideline for starter: The starter (finished kobucha) must be at least 10% of the liquid. Example: if you are making 2 quarts of tea, use 3 tea bags, 2/3 cup of sugar, and at least 6.4 ounces of starter (32 oz + 32 oz + 64 oz, so figure 6.4 oz of starter plus a little more because you just added 6.4 oz to the brew, making it 70.4 oz. So use at least 7.1 oz starter...or 8 or 9 or...) If you harvested you last batch too early and it was still a bit sweet, add extra of it if you use it as starter. The starter's job is to acidify the tea enough that bacteria is kept at bay until the SCOBY forms on the liquid's surface.

Step 3: dump in enough kombucha (starter) to equal 10-20% of the total liquid.

Step 4: Be certain that the liquid is no warmer than room temperature, then put it into the glass container with the mom.

Step 5: Cover container with a napkin, hankie, or paper towel and secure with a rubber band.

Step 6: Wait at least 7 days before tasting. The new SCOBY (mom) will form on the surface--it will be 3/16" thick or more by the time the brew is ready for harvest. Brew will have some tartness to taste and will foam a little if stirred. I usually have to wait about 10- 14 days; sometimes longer.

Step 7: Save some of the brew for your next batch. Drink the rest, or bottle by filling containers very close to the lip; cap tightly. Nicest taste and fizz for me is about 3 weeks wait.

[DoubleCrowned]

I drink Kombucha because my body loves it! I've never tested to see if it helps with hair growth. I did test using castor oil regularly in the winter and noticed that it definitely helped with growth. But with that said, good nutrition is going to help with hair growth. A lot of folks (especially those who have been on antibiotics a few times) have issues with their internal flora. Kombucha is a really good source of probiotics which keeps the rest of the body healthy. I have found it to be far superior to yogurt, kefir, and even taking probiotics straight up. Give it a shot and see if your body likes it.

But I must caution you when I first tried it I hated it! But the next time I went to the natural grocery I was craving it- so I knew my body liked it. After drinking it now for some years I actually really like the taste and fizz. Forgive me if I have already mentioned it but it is a great thing to put in your wine glass (especially the red ones) rather than alcohol since Kombucha is so much better for the body. I love wine, but it has lots of calories and then there is that pesky mind altering aspect (I'm a lightweight). So on nights when I want a glass of wine (but don't need the calories) I simply tell myself "okay self you can have a glass of wine after you have a glass of Kombucha". Most often I never end up drinking that glass of wine because it curbs my craving. And truthfully I don't think it is really about the wine for me, I think I just like the fancy smancy ritual of drinking out of a wine glass with my hair unfurled.

Yes, yes to everything you said. I hated the taste at first as well, but my body craved it. And it always tastes best from stemware!

Misti, I was under the impression the brew wouldn't "perk" if it didn't have a mother or scoby - will it ferment by simply adding a bottle of already brewed kombucha? If so, that would be sooo much easier.

I am curious, too, I've always made a mom first by letting the plain kombucha sit in a cloth-covered jar.

[Misti]

Misti, I was under the impression the brew wouldn't "perk" if it didn't have a mother or scoby - will it ferment by simply adding a bottle of already brewed kombucha? If so, that would be sooo much easier.

It creates its own mother if you just dump a bottle of living kombusha in. We've done that when our mothers become contaminated.

It takes a lot longer (twice as long or so) so that's why people are all about getting a mother. But you may have noticed that you sometimes get a mother forming in a commercial bottle. Proof.

[Misti]

You can figure out a recipe using my rule-of-thumb guidelines:

Very scientific and much better than my explanation, Doublecrowned. Thanks !!

The only think we do differently is to add the sugar while the tea is hot. We lose some to the tea bags of course, but we find it stays dissolved that way.

[princessp]

If anyone is looking for a "mother" to start a batch you can look here: http://www.kombu.de/suche2.htm
I never ended up doing it because I travel so much, but I still poke around at this site every now and again. I love GTs brand, but I've also got it in bulk from someone who brewed it and yum it is so so good.

[DoubleCrowned]

Very scientific and much better than my explanation, Doublecrowned. Thanks !!

The only think we do differently is to add the sugar while the tea is hot. We lose some to the tea bags of course, but we find it stays dissolved that way.

I wanted to make my process as simple as possible, so rather than deal with hot tea bags, I let them cool with the water, kettle tightly covered. Because that could easily mean overnight or longer in my very large kettle, I did not want to risk inviting contaminants by having sugar in it, especially since my schedule is likely to change suddenly, leaving the tea longer than expected.

Your method is superior for people who do not want to wait around for the tea to cool on its own. Friends of mine put the kettle in a cold water bath (I sometimes do in the summer to keep the kitchen cooler) or pour it into large bowls to cool faster.

[proo]

One day I suddenly realized that my hobbies, breadmaking, beermaking, kombuchamaking, and composting all had to do with fermentation . ..showin some kind of pattern here.