KOMBUCHA STARTER KIT DELUXE

I became interested in kombucha due to its probiotic properties and the co-factors it supplies for joint health.I ordered Kombucha Tea Homebrew Starter Kit from Karma Cultures as it is a complete kit ( in comparison to others kits that offer just a jar and scoby ) and reasonably priced at the time of purchase.As described in the product name it comes with scoby , sugar, tea, ph strips , wooden spoon , gloves, funnel,cloth and rubber ...the only thing that's missing is water, but you can make up for that :).Instructions are included, also a video is available at their webpage.I liked that its a complete package, easy to use and customer service was expedient in answering my inquiries.Nelson M.

After reading several articles on the health benefits of fermented foods and, in particular, a blog about kombucha, I wanted to give it a try. This was the perfect, complete kit to get me going. The SCOBY was a good size and well packaged and premeditated packs of tea and sugar, along with a thermometer on the outside of the jar and Ray to follow instructions made it simple to get started. The directions were complete enough to keep me going past the starter packs and a dark corner of my counter now has a purpose in life.

I have been drinking kombucha for several years and finally took a class so I could learn how to make it myself, using the most basic of ingredients and kitchen tools. Then I found this kit on Amazon and decided to give it a try. The kit comes with everything you need to get started and delivers exactly what is advertised. Not a big review writer but after two batches of delicious brew I wanted to share my satisfaction! You can't go wrong with this kit. I truly does pay for itself.

Wow! Fast shipping and everything came safe and secure. It came with a live SCOBY about 3inches in diameter in excellent condition! Not to mention all the other organic goodies that help it to grow. Also included were handy dandy tools needed to assist my bucha adventure. Definitely would recommend to first timers and old! Thanks Karma Cultures!

This kit is awesome! Arrived quickly and looks to have everything needed to start fermenting tea. The scoby has a clear use by date and the instructions are good. Thanks Karma Cultures!

All in one

Went above and beyond to make it an experience!! Thank you so much!!

I bought this for my mom we checked it daily and it molded.... So waist of money!wish I could get my money back

I always knew what Kombucha, and it was always, always a splurge for me as a small bottle was like 4-5 dollars and I was like. this is so not happening on a daily basis. (for those who do not know what Kombucha is - it's just a fermented tea. It's a bit fizzy like soda and can be flavoured to be whatever you want).I decided to take the plunge and buy a starter kit, so i could continuously make my own. I was nervous as heck, especially when you hear about the dangers of what can happen (specifically mould), or that it just would be complicated. So I purchased this kit, and i was a nervous nelly up basically tracking this thing from Calgary. (which for your information for people NOT in Calgary: this ships extremely fast. Amazon gives you an insane wait time, this came to me within a week).This is what you get:The Big Gallon Jar.A Fabric (they say that cheese cloth can attract flies etc, so the fabric is for no entrance!)A Straw (to taste your kombucha - but really after the first few times you don't need this)A China Marker (to mark the time/date you started - again, for me now, this is my 5th batch making - not necessary. I start my brew every Saturday. and I like a seven day ferment - not too sweet, not too vinegary).A pair of Gloves (I don't use these now either - before I was SO careful, but I just wash my hands with water and vinegar before I start. I also rarely handle my babies).A SCOBY (this is the star of the entire show. And they NAME them for you. Mine is name Kassia. She begat Cassie Jr and Matilda (i have now grown three full fledged SCOBYS. i think this is the best part of the entire process - you know you are doing something right when you take care of your original SCOBY and there's another full fledge SCOBY ready to go.)A Bag of Black Tea (after this you can buy more tea from them - I actually kombucha now with Tetley's Pure Green Tea. 1 cannister lasts for 4 brewing sessions)A bag of Organic Cane Sugar (after this just go to Bulk Barn and buy a bag of CANE SUGAR - don't use anything else)A wooden spoon (do not introduce metal to your kombucha or your SCOBY)A pkg of 3 funnels (plastic - i find i don't use this often - maybe more in my second ferment)A strainer (i use this when i pour myself a glass)And. a thermometer TAPE. (i was mystified where the actual thermometer was. It's the strip on the jar itself and it takes a while to read. Also. if you get this thing, (which you should), and you watch her video. she says a temperature in the video but the written instructions says another. my first time I was freaking. out.)Then you can register your jar with the website, and you get a starter video and two PDF files. (and they email form time to time. They DO ask if you can review - it helps them out but I wanted to wait until I've done this for a while and give a real honest review).When you first get your shipment its in a big box and everything is bubble wrapped. Your SCOBY is in a bag, and it reads "This is ________ He/She'll last you forever if you treat him/her right" It also says start fermenting within 24 hours OR Put Her(Him) in a Jar. (this is known as a SCOBY hotel. you can totally park your SCOBY, you do NOT have to ferment ALL THE TIME). Just a glass jar, put a fabric covering over it with he Kombucha fluid and let it just breathe. it might even make a baby in the hotel.I unpacked everything, and I got started. (I did NOT wash out my jar. bad me. Luckily it didn't do anything to Kassia or my tea, I give it a quick rinse now before i get started).Which is: Boil Water (do not use tap water. chlorine hurts your SCOBY. If you don't have bottle water, you need to let tap water sit out for a day so it dissipates - or boil it, and cool it down and then boil it again to make your tea).Make tea. (tea is in a bag, just dump the bag in there. let it wait for the specified time. then add sugar) then add more specified amounts of water into the jar, and then you wait until it is cooled down. Then you add your SCOBY and the liquid, and then mother nature does its thing."It's Thing" depends totally on you. Like I mentioned I like a seven day ferment. (the first time I made this i was so nervous I checked on it every day, I checked for mould, i smelled it, everything. You will see yeast forming - that is NOT mould. honestly there is a website that shows you what a healthy SCOBY and yeast looks like and mould looks like, but i am nervous). then i thought it was ready after day three (it really was . the second time with the green tea, I tried not to be such a nervous hen, and i waited, and I liked the mellow taste of green tea and the longer ferment time).Now (to be fair) I haven't really looked in their .pdf files -so they could totally have this stuff - but theoretically, if you don't register or anything. This is where Karma Cultures leaves you. After your ferment, you can bottle it. (most people say put it in glass bottles,pop in the fridge, start brewing all over. which is fine. You do not get extra bottles or anything, so you have to procure these yourself.. reading the internet has a lot of different opinions. What I do is I do my second ferment in two large plastic jars with wide mouths so i can add anything to it without having to worry or struggle. they fit right in the back of my fridge, I can pull it out, drink a glass (or several), and they wait until it's time to do another Second Ferment). This is really where your own research comes into play. this is what works best for me.Anyway. I set my jars of my flavourings. (I have made Pear-Ginger, Raspberry Ginger (AMAZING), Orange (bleh). and Pineapple Blueberry flavoured. I use fresh fruits (and in the orange one i used 100 percent orange juice). i layer the fruit on the bottom. I then put my SCOBY into a glass measuring cup with 2 cups of kombucha. I then pour my newly fermented tea into the bottles with the flavouring and I seal it up tight, and let it stay at room temperature for 3 days. (so my tea - in essence is 7Days Pure, 3 DaysFlavoured) - I get a nice tangy, fizzy flavoured tea. I then put Kassia back into the jar with 1 or 2 cups of Kombucha and let her sit until we're ready to rock and roll again.(I do grow babies in my second ferment. nothing as impressive as Kassia, Cassie Jr and Matilda, but i do get some SCOBY's trying to form (to the point if i left it alone - i bet i would have more (fruit flavoured) babies. i do throw these into the organic. I don't have anyone to give SCOBY's too :( and if i had space I'd just buy more gallon jars and make Kombucha all the time).this is a long review, but I figured I wanted to detail my experiences, and just let you know, it is a lot of fun, a LOT of down time, (you do not have to hover over anything). the first time (or first two times or so) you do to develop what you like. I am a researcher by nature, so I do like researching different techniques. Karma Cultures makes it LOT easier and I don't worry about other things. I strongly recommend getting this.

This kit comes with everything you need to get started, even the tea and sugar! It was extremely easy to set up, and I especially liked the little cover for the top and the temperature gauge on the jar.It took a little while to get going, which is understandable as the scoby would have been in the package for a while. I didn't really notice any change for the first 2 weeks. After about 3 weeks there was a noticeable new scoby forming. My first bottle was mixed with tart cherry juice and sat on the counter in a sealed bottle for 3 days before refrigerating. Upon opening and tasting, it was delightfully fizzy and flavourful, exactly what I was hoping for!If I could recommend one other thing to order, it would be a pump siphon to make it easy to extract the kombucha without disturbing the scoby overmuch. I just topped it up with more sweet tea after bottling.My test batch was tart cherry, and pictured are freshly bottled blueberry and elderberry 'booch. I also reused some kombucha bottles from the grocery store. Can't wait to try more flavours!EDIT: upon further reading, square bottles (like one in my photo) shouldn't be used for the second fermentation as they have a higher risk of exploding. This has nothing to do with the seller's product, just a cautionary thing I learned!

The kit was shipped out same day as ordering on Amazon.ca on Monday and I had it Wednesday, it comes from a small family business in Calgary and it arrived well packed and as mentioned, very quickly. The post office would have to really mishandle the package for the jar to arrive broken it is that well packaged. I also got excellent customer service when I contacted the seller with some questions as I'm a newbie to making my own. I thoroughly cleaned, rinsed and let air dry the items as per instructed. I started my batch on Thursday, my packet with the scoby starter had 2 scobies in it so I put the whole thing in. Yesterday, Monday, being 4 days after I started the batch a 3rd scoby has already grown at the top of the liquid. Today I looked at it and it looks kind of lumpy, discoloured and different from the included scobies but the liquid looks fine and the smell is like a weakened apple cider vinegar smell. I am uncertain if I should be having 3 separate scobies in the same jar or not but I'll leave it be and give it another day or two before I taste it. Then I guess I'll have to find a big container or something to pore it into and keep in the fridge and leave some liquid and a scoby in the jar and start a new batch. I'm not sure what I'll do with the extra scobies as no one so far wants anything to do with Kombucha except me, lol. If it'll help with my digestive issues then I'm all in. If anyone is wondering what it tastes like, it is like carbonated apple cider vinegar but it isn't as strong or vinegary as straight up apple cider vinegar and it really isn't too bad. To try it out before making your own you can buy it at Costco, comes in small bottles in a box of six bottles in the refrigerator section, mine had ginger added to it, was around $18 or $19 bucks. It is probably available elsewhere as a retail item already made but I've only seen it at Costco {Sherwood Park}. After trying it though, it's better to make your own, it is not only way cheaper in the long run since you can keep it going forever and get other people going on it but you can control the natural flavour as well as add a wide variety of things to make different flavours to your liking and you'll always have it on hand. With the fact that Karma Cultures is Canadian and the kit is economical, of high quality and comes with excellent customer service I'd highly recommend getting your Kombucha kit or scoby and/or other Kombucha supplies from this seller.Would make an excellent gift for health nuts or people into natural health or in need of it for better health.

***Update***I wish I could give this a 6 star! I initially posted a review (below) that indicated a few issues, and the seller was not very clear on addressing them, but over the next few months she went above and beyond to make sure I was satisfied. I received both a new stainless steel strainer and straw and then just this morning I woke up to beautiful purple jar cover sent to me! Who doesn't love a surprise in the mail!?As for brewing, I have made lots of delicious batches of kombucha! The initial tea blend that came with the kit was amazing, however, I did choose not to reorder it because I wanted to save a little by buying bulk locally. Still amazing brew and beautiful second fermentation. I had a few issues with SCOBY formation initially where my brew was not producing viable offspring. It took a few brews to really get this going but I think that is normal just depending on a variety of factors.When I did have a few brewing questions she was very helpful in addressing my concerns and the guide it comes with is very helpful.I am very glad I purchased this product and believe it is a great starting point for anyone interested in starting their kombucha journey!**Previous Review**Note: I have not brewed with it yet, this is a first impressions review.I received my kit in the mail today, it arrived promptly and the glass was intact.The reason for the low rating is I so far am disappointed. The accessories feel very cheap, the strainer arrived broken (see photos) and unusable. The jar itself and some of the accessories have a very strong plastic smell, I'm hoping this will wash out. The jar cover I received (see photo) was also disappointing as it is a plain color very different from what is advertised. I understand that the look of it doesn't change the brew, however, I don't feel the product is advertised properly.I have contacted the seller and they tell me the hole in the strainer is supposed to be there... not sure if she looked at the photos but it's definitely not. As well she said that they ran out of fabric and are using the tan fabric until they get the other in.I'm still frustrated as they made no offer to replace the items.I think it would be better to buy the accessories yourself and simply purchase the culture from them or a health food store. It's not worth the cost.

About two months in. Successfully brewed 4 batches with 5th underway. Have tried both black teas and a green/black blends. Both types have worked well. My Scoby is growing in size and virility. It usually takes about 10 days to get the pH/acidity level that I like. I have also flavoured the kombucha with a "steeping" of fruit flavoured herbal teas into the kombucha after finishing my brew - strawberry/rhubarb was excellent, winter pear is really good too. Sometimes getting a second fermentation which is fun. Trying some added flavours with the last batch using fresh mint and a chunk of ginger. Seems like the better quality the tea, the better your result'.or it could be in my head. Regardless, I've been very pleased with the product, its delivery, and the resulting tasty brews!I've also noted that there is some variation to the batches…my 2nd batch seemed a bit weak in it's development - 7 days should have left a bit longer, the 3rd was much stronger but had much more of a yeasty smell to it and the secondary fermentation was strong too - smelled a bit like beer, 4th was back to the more acetic acid blended with yeast smell. I guess that is the fun of a biological system, with slight variations in ingredients and conditions. Every one of my batches has tasted great in it's own way so far. It takes a bit to get used to Scoby's development - you see brown, grey and white that are all part of the development from the looks of it. I'm always watching for black or green signs of mould - but have never noted any. Just a happy Scoby named Joy.