OREGON KOMBUCHA Kombucha Starter Kit Black Tea, 13 OZ

So I purchased this kit and at the same time raised up two cultures, one from a bottle of GT Dave's, and one from a bottle of High Country. I let each of them culture in a few cups of fresh tea with sugar for three weeks until nice SCOBYs formed on each. Then I did bigger batches. As you can tell if you visit your nearest Kombucha purveyor, I spent about $3 on each of these cultures.I then brewed three identical one gallon batches, and cultured them with the three different cultures, Oregon with it's starter SCOBY and liquid, and the two other cultures I brought up from a bottle with equivalent amounts of starter liquid. Then, after bottling and fermenting, I did taste tests. I recognize this is a matter of preference, but High Country was by far the winner. It had a perfect balance of tastes, and a bit more vinegary tartness than the others. The second best was the one from the GT Daves culture, and Oregon was a close third to the GT culture.What I'm getting at is this: with a little internet searching for kombucha recipes, you can save yourself some money and get just as good, if not better, a product. Even so, I think experiments like mine are worthwhile, as all SCOBYs are a little different, and you may find you prefer the taste of an Oregon to the others.

Still not sure if I did something wrong, but the tea became moldy after brewing for over 3 weeks. Maybe the heat was an issue. First it was too cold in my home then probably too hot. Either way, I had to throw it all out. I would suggest you make sure your home is a consistent temperature.

I bought this after I lost a SCOBY to mold. It works, but for the price, I would expect a little bit more than a very small piece of SCOBY and a one time brew. Like I said, it works but is overpriced in my opinion.

This is my first batch of kombucha and I followed the instructions packed in the kit precisely. Boiled the water, put the tea in to steep for four mins, and then let it come to room temp (which took several hours). Then added the scoby and starter and covered it with a thin cotton cloth napkin. 8 days later I removed the cotton cover to see that it had green fuzzy mold growing on the surface. From everything I've read, mold is bad on kombucha and everything had to be thrown out. Very disappointing. I'll be looking on craigslist for a replacement since it won't be as much money down thedrain if something we're to go wrong with it.

I follow direction very carefully and was sad to see it grew mold (not the usual, that was expected) on top after 7 days. I was very disappointed. I continue with the product watching carefully, after 17 the hair (mold ) was not at all what I expected, I consulted someone that was familiar with kombucha and was instructed to throw it out and start fresh. Maybe there was something wrong with what I received, I do not know, I have never been contacted by them with an explanation.

Package arrived in a timely manner. My main problem with this is that the description said it was the complete starter kit, which is supposed to include the sugar as well. I received the basic starter kit, which isn't too big of a deal since the price was the same. I just don't appreciate the false advertising.Will update in a month when the first batch is complete.UPDATE: unfortunately this did not make a scoby and the tea was just mediocre. I would not buy this again.

I bought this in October 2012 after reading that starting a SCOBY from a store bought bottle might result in a bad quality culture. I have been very happy with the purchase. A couple months ago I got too busy to continue making the batches like I should have and after just starting back up doing this the right way (the second batch) my SCOBY grew some mold. This is COMPLETELY my fault and I am ordering a replacement from the same company today. I am very impressed with the product I got and look forward to getting more great tasting kombucha in the future!

If you are buying kombucha tea - STOP and get this product. It provides very easy to follow step by step instructions on how to make your own kombucha tea and you will save money because once you make your first batch, you will be able to make continuous batches from the scoby that forms. The instructions recommend that the kombucha tea stays between 80 - 85 degrees F while fermenting. Per the instruction, I have implemented a submersible (new) aquarium heater and it works great. I also have a digital thermometer in it so that I can monitor the temperature.