Subject: kambucha tea

From: [email-masked] (CAREY WINTERFLOOD)
Date: 11 Sep 1995 05:06:47 -0700

Hello out there from Bondi beach[australia]
I am searching for info on Kamucha tea with the mushroom.I am currently a 
brewer and consumer but not really knowing much about it.I have the regular 
info on 100 year plus individual from remote clans and tribes of by-gone years 
but what about modern day consumers?
Is there a limit to daily consumption ? Can too much be toxic?Is there any 
scientific proof or has there been any breakdown of its componants ? etc 
etc.Any info would be greatly apprieciated
Peace and smiles
Carey

---

From: Jerry Haugen <[email-masked]>
Date: 12 Sep 1995 02:48:00 GMT

> etc.Any info would be greatly apprieciated

For all the good, bad, smart and dumb info on this topic try 
the following URL:

http://www.webcom.com/~sease/kombucha/info.html

-Jerry-
The Mushroom Growers' Newsletter

---

From: [email-masked] (Wayne Harrison)
Date: 13 Sep 1995 14:35:22 GMT

Carey,

You can go to the "Mycological Resources on the Internet" page of Mycelium
and there are two URL's, one pro, one con on Kombucha tea.

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked]

-- 
Wayne Harrison, publisher of Mycelium http://www.igc.apc.org/mushroom/welco.html
& Pine WeatherCam http://www.igc.apc.org/mushroom/pine.html
(rated among top 5% of all sites on the web by Point Survey)

---

From: [email-masked] (HENRY E. KILPATRICK JR.)
Date: 14 Sep 1995 22:26:27 GMT

CAREY WINTERFLOOD ([email-masked]) wrote:
: I am searching for info on Kamucha tea with the mushroom.I am currently a 
: brewer and consumer but not really knowing much about it.I have the regular 
: info on 100 year plus individual from remote clans and tribes of by-gone years 
: but what about modern day consumers?
: Is there a limit to daily consumption ? Can too much be toxic?Is there any 
: scientific proof or has there been any breakdown of its componants ? etc 
: etc.Any info would be greatly apprieciated

Paul Stamets has some information on it at his website.  You would probably do 
well to check it out.

I've never made Kombucha.  As a homebrewer and winemaker of many years, I can offer 
the following perspective:

Stamets says you need to get the acid level up (plenty of sugar for sure, maybe
more tea, I can't remember the details on this) or you have problems with toxicity. 
Once you get the ph high enough, you basically have a normal fermentation process
and bad bugs don't live in this medium.  I suspect the tea doesn't add anything,
although if enough is used you may get some preservative effect and bittering much
like what hops adds to beer.  The process seems to take long enough that I suspect a
secondary fermentation takes place and perhaps you eventually get vinegar. 

I would just take some wine grapes and do an open fermentation, getting my yeast
>from  the grape skins and the air.  Eventually you will get vinegar & you can drink
it without filtering all the dead yeast and other glop (I believe there are some
settled out proteins in the glop & this might be what you are getting with
Kombucha).  Have a glass of tea on the side.  Or make a Belgian lambic beer, which
goes through a secondary fermentation and turns the beer sour.  Many lambics are
flavored with fruit.  You could also add tea to the wort.  Call it Kombucha lambic. 
As Charlie Papazian of the American Homebrewers Association says, "relax, don't 
worry, and have a homebrew."

I don't have my brewing books with me to quote the Latin names of all the little
beasties that do their work, and brewing is second nature to me now, so I don't
remember all the scientific details.  Hence, my discussion may not be as scientific
as you might like.  Perhaps there are things in the Kombucha that you do not find in
the normal beer & wine fermentation process, but I don't think I'd risk playing 
with a low ph level to find out. 
--
Buddy K

---

From: [email-masked] (Guenther Frank)
Date: 14 Sep 1995 10:55:00 +0200

[email-masked] (CAREY WINTERFLOOD)  meinte am 11.09.95 zum Thema "kambucha tea":
[email-masked] (CAREY WINTERFLOOD)  wrote on 11 Sep 95 concerning "kambucha tea":

> info on 100 year plus individual from remote clans and tribes of by-gone
> years but what about modern day consumers?

Carey,
I have an article  on Kombucha ("The Fascination of Kombucha"), but it is  
rather long (34 KByte). If you would enjoy reading it, please e-mail me,  
and I will send it to you.

The article that was published in the American magazine "American Raum & Zeit" (now called "Explore" or Explore More") in 1991. This article is dedicated to all who want basic instruction on Kombucha. The article was written by me and translated from Ge
rman to English by the publisher of the magazine.

If you are interested you could join a kombucha discussion list
by sending a message to

    [email-masked]

In the body of the message, put the following

    subscribe
    end

The list is quite active. The list owner is David Lazaroff of Balanced Medicine,
Inc. You can reach him at: Phone 617-497-8284, email: [email-masked],
web: http://www.holistic.com/~holistic/lazaroff.html.

I hope I could help you.
Gunther
***********************************************************************
Gunther W. Frank,  Genossensch.-Str. 10,   75217 Birkenfeld/Germany
Fax (01149) 7231-485046 (24 hours a day)   -  Book "Kombucha - Healthy
beverage and natural remedy from the Far East" is available in USA
through Valentine Communications, P.O. Box 11089, NAPLES, FL 33941-1089
Phones: 941-353 9688 and 941-353 0806   Fax 941-353 5719
***********************************************************************

---

From: [email-masked] (HENRY E. KILPATRICK JR.)
Date: 17 Sep 1995 18:18:56 GMT

HENRY E. KILPATRICK JR. ([email-masked]) wrote:

: Once you get the ph high enough..

Oops!  I meant low enough.  Acid up, ph down.

--
Buddy Kilpatrick