Kefir Kombucha Hybrid

I don't know why this post that was posted on 12 May appeared today?

I last wrote about kefir about 6 months ago. I got a fresh supply of kefir grains from my ex-colleague just after Chinese New Year. I stored some of the kefir grains in my fridge and gave the rest away. Most people culture using cow or goat's milk. Due to my condition, I would prefer water kefir but so far, one of the ingredients has always to use sugar for the fermentation. In some other recipes, some fruits are also added. What you have is an alcoholic beverage. The description of water kefir made with sugar fermentation is that it taste like soda. Sodas are sugar with water. If fruits are used, its fructose with water. For me, sugar is one of the things I avoid all together.

A friend of mine has been experimenting with water kefir without (or very little of) the sugar. But so far, his efforts have failed because one of the main requirements is fermentation before the culture would grow. I am abstaining myself from taking cow or goat's milk kefir for the time being. So is there another way to take water kefir without the sugar and alcohol?

From what I read, there is a different combination. It's kefir with kombucha. Kombucha (first recorded use of kombucha comes from China in 221 BC during the Qin Dynasty) is a living health drink made by fermenting tea and sugar with the kombucha culture. The result can taste like something between sparkling apple cider and champagne. As the Kombucha culture digests the sugar it produces a range of organic acids like glucuronic acid, gluconic acid, lactic acid, acetic acid, butyric acid, malic acid and usnic acid; vitamins, particularly B vitamins and vitamin C; as well as amino acids, enzymes.

So far from what I read in the forums, most people make water kefir and kombucha separately and then mix them together when drinking. This is also not what I preferred as the water kefir has sugar and alcohol contents in it. I managed to find a person (Tim Anderson) making it the way I want and he calls it kefir/kombucha hybrid.

Ingredients
1. A chunk of kombucha "mother"
2. Kefir grains
3. Green Tea or milk
4. 3 glass jars and plastic spoons

Preparation
1. Culture the kombucha mother
Pour the chunk of kombucha mother into an open jar and tie a cloth over the top. If it's still alive you'll see a skin forming on top in a few days. After a month or two you'll have a nice thick layer of mother in there. Kombucha gets more and more sour with time. The more sour it gets the better the mother grows. This step can be skipped if you already have the kombucha mother.
2. Culture the hybrid kefir/kombucha mother
Get a chunk of kombucha mother and put it in another jar and add the kefir grains. Swirl it around. Leave it for a couple of days. You now have a hybrid kefir/kombucha mother.
3a. Milk hybrid kefir/kombucha
Transfer the hybrid kefir/kombucha mother and put in glass jar. Add milk and allow to ferment for two days. Pour out milk and serve. Add new milk to the jar to make the next batch.
3b. Green Tea hybrid kefir/kombucha
As in 3a above, but only add green tea instead of milk. Tim Anderson uses milk in his example and by logical extension, I think it should work for green tea. For me, I would prefer green tea due to my present condition.

Notes on kombucha:
1: Cover jar with a cloth and let in air. We don't want anaerobic fermentation.
2: Prevent condensation. Anything looking like a lid will get condensation, even if it's loose. Then there will be white mold. The kombucha mother will die and fall apart.
Notes on kefir:
1. Never used any metal utensils as it could harm the kefir.
2. If you are using milk kefir grains but want to use it in green tea, soak the kefir grains in water first to remove the milk concentration. Otherwise, you will have a milk green tea kefir/kombucha drink combination.

I now have to source for kombucha mother before I could try this hybrid drink.

Fungicide Therapy Trial - Day 16 Update
Today, I will resume my fungicide therapy. My coughing has been more active during the early stages of me lying down, possibly due to some fluid retention for which I have to cough out the phlegm but it stops after about a few minutes later. I believe things should start to become normal back today.

My difficulty in falling asleep meanwhile continues and I am beginning to think that this could be due to the Sanuvis Acidum L(+)-lacticum. I just don't feel sleepy. But as far as I know, there are no known side effects.