The Magic of Starter

Today, we want to talk about the importance of quality, healthy starter in your kombucha brew! Just how important is starter to brewing kombucha? It's THE most important element of your process, more than even the mighty SCOBY itself. 

What is starter exactly? It's your finished kombucha that has fermented for longer than normal for a brewing cycle. It's extra tart, with a Ph that hovers around 2.6. Think of starter as the make-it-or-break-it element of your brew. It's so critical to the process that the success of your brew depends almost entirely on how well your starter is working. Here are our expert tips for how to make starter work for YOU! 

1. Make sure you are using the correct ratio. 
We always recommend that brewers use a full cup (8oz) of starter per 1 gallon of sweet tea. Keep that ratio in mind, and make sure you don't use less than that. Using insufficient starter may lead to your kombucha molding. Think of starter as a natural preservative for sweet tea. If you've ever left a cup of tea out at room temperature for a few days, you'll know how quickly it goes bad. But with the right amount of starter,  your sweet tea becomes—almost magically!—delicious bubbly booch.

2. Test your starter's Ph before using it.
The best starter hovers between 2.5 and 2.9 Ph. It needs to be nice and tart in order to ferment your sweet tea optimally. If you find your starter is not quite at the level you desire, pour some into a glass vessel with an open top, cover with a paper towel or cotton cloth and leave at room temp for several days as you would during first fermentation. It will continue to ferment. Test it again in 2-3 days until it is ready.

3. Always have a reserve starter jar available. 
Each time you brew a batch of booch, save at least 16 oz of finished booch as your starter for future batches. Keep adding to that jar. You can also store starter in your refrigerator. Just be sure to leave it out until it reaches room temp before using it again. 

4. A quality first ferment = quality starter. 
If you want the healthiest starter possible, you have to make sure your first ferment is healthy, because that's what will yield you your starter. Be sure you're using clean water (we recommend spring water), organic cane sugar, and good quality tea. Check your labels to make there are no oils or flavorings in your tea, because that will give you a weaker brew and hence, weaker starter.

If you're starting from scratch or had a batch go bad, please consider our RADICAL Starter. It's the purest, highest quality starter you can find for your kombucha brewing. We've spent years developing a recipe that will keep your booch bubbly, tasting and at the right Ph. Our starter has been used by our kombucha workshop students, home brewers and commercial brewers around the world. We ship all over the country, and can ship quantities starting at 64oz.