10 replies to this topic

[lovedinplaster]

i have been reading up on the mysterious kombucha tea. i have been planning to start a culture for a few months now, and i was wondering if mycotopia had any sponsors that sold the culture or the "mushroom" itself. not only that but i just bought the february special from TGS. it will be my first grow and examination.

[CoyoteMesc]

Im not sure. I just did a quick search and it appears to be a bacteria and yeast, not a mushroom. Mushroom is the translation.

[TastyBeverage]

I remember that someone was offering a culture a while back in the free spore ring, i think. Maybe the edibles free spore ring. Take a look and maybe PM the person to work out a trade?

[Beast]

From what I understand, a new culture can be started from raw kombucha sold at the grocery store. Just make sure not to purchase the pasteurized kind.

Paul Stamets has a very interesting article on Kombucha

I was making it for awhile. Neat stuff.

The thing is, its an antibiotic, so drinking it every day would seem to reduce its effectiveness. That's not to say that it is worthless though.

[CoyoteMesc]

probiotic or antibiotic?

[Beast]

Antibiotic, from the Stamets article, on a conversation between him and a pharmaceutical corp research group:

"Our tests show that this thing produces what could be a novel antibiotic, effective against methicillin-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus " (The common bacterium responsible for " Staph " infections. Due to the wide use of antibiotics, strains of S. aureus had evolved resistance to many antibiotics.)

A quick search for 'kombucha' produces the following results:

[SharkieJones]

Pick up a bottle at Whole foods and take some culture off the bottom and get started.

[CoyoteMesc]

oh, could be :thumbup:

[lovedinplaster]

i first read about the kombucha synergy through a book called "magical mushrooms mischevious molds". i recommend picking it up and reading it for anyone who is or will become interested in mushrooms. yea.. i don't have anything to trade atm but i hope i will beable to join the ring in the near future.

[Beast]

BTW, its not a mushroom. Its a symbiotic matrix of some sort of mucus membrane created by two to four yeasts and bacteria.

[lovedinplaster]

yea actually just two yeasts and two bacteria, the yeast allows it to take te gellatinus shape.