kombucha brewing pt. 2

so here's the skinny: for the past 2+ months i have been doing my kombucha funnies. i started with two jars as safety. one of the jars never really grew, and so i had to throw that one out. the other one has been going strong the whole time. it's a nice big culture with multiple layers. soon, maybe in a few days, i will split it into the now vacant second jar.

a few weeks ago i started trying out second fermentations. that is, taking some kombucha, some tea, and putting it in an air-tight bottle. after letting it sit out for a few days, it should become a bit fizzy and have a more manageable flavour. the only concern is that, since you use sugar to feed the culture that is in the buch, and it releases gas as its waste, if you put too much sugar you may burst a bottle. so, i have been apprehensive of putting too much sugar in there and hence my results haven't been great. last night, however, i tried something completely new: juice. one of my friends really likes magnoes, so i decided i would make him a mango-flavoured kombucha, using mango nectar. hopefully that goes well, for making flavoured kombucha would be slick as hell.

also, my father sent me a better heating mat (i have been using the type that is for cramps that turns off after two hours), and it has been tricky. if i have the dial too low, it does nothing, and if i have the dial slightly too high, it cooks the jar. i hope it's still alive, i can't tell yet if it has been cooked.