I wash with antibiotic soap and a brush prior to handling the cultures. Also by pouring into jars until you have about 10% acidic juice, then pouring the new sweetened tea in, the only time you handle the cultures is when they reproduce. You pull the new growth separate and remove it.
I used to throw them out but noticed that someone is selling his cultures for $100 with a large jar and personal instructions. I think that is a good deal. I have some new cultures so I mentioned it to the cashier and a woman so hot I discovered I stutter today was busy giving me her name and number. I think I like this kombucha stuff!
When I moved a few years ago I put the kombucha in a Ziploc bag and it dried out into a dark brown cookie. I put it into some sweet tea and it grew back but had all sorts of other stuff like in the article so I tossed it. This time I just bought a bottle of kombucha like in the attached image and poured some into the sweet tea.
A simple inspection and being careful to wash before handling is okay by me. I love the taste and it being full of live B vitamins gives me an uplifting zing in my walk. I recall that B vitamins are supposed to be great for people who are under a lot of physical and emotional stress - that it instantly replenishes the tissues of essential vitamins robbed by stress.
For more on kombucha:
http://www.suijuris.net/forum/health...bucha-tea.html
Regards,
David Merrill.
