New Wave Enviro Products

I bought two of these to use as continuous kombucha brewers. I have not had any problems with them so far. I was worried about the spigot leaking after reading other reviews, but I have not had that problem with mine. You do have to observe the instructions, as there are two washers that must be installed in the correct positions on the spigot. I tightened the nuts extra hand tight. These work well for kombucha because the large open top makes it easy to pour in the make up tea.Since kombucha likes it to be around 80F for brewing, I added a reptile heatmat underneath the two crocks, and a hydrofarm temperature controller to keep it around 80F. It works great as a system, and I got everything from Amazon, including the tea! (Note: I no longer use a reptile heat mat underneath; I use a seedling heatmat wrapped around - see the comments).The only problem I had with the order, was the first two crocks arrived completely shattered. There was zero padding in the boxes, just a thick box inside another box. When I lifted the box to move them, I could hear the shards scattering around. But Amazon was great about it, and sent me two new crocks by next day delivery, and those arrived in perfect condition! Now that is good customer service.I had another water crock I got when I had Poland Spring home water delivery, and its porcelain was a bit thicker than these crocks. But these crocks it is thick enough, but a little more fragile. I like that it is certified lead free, since many glazes contain lead.August 2012 editing to add ... I've had the crocks in service nearly a year now. I am surprised the spigots have not started leaking yet, since they get cycled almost daily, and I have run hot water through them to clean them out. I've had zero problems with these crocks. None has broken, and none leaks even the slightest bit.March 2013 editing to add ... Still zero leaks from the spigots. They have to tightened pretty firmly to make sure they don't leak. Basically if you can twist the spigot with your fingers, the nut isn't tight enough. They say not to overtighten because it could break the porcelain, but if hand tightening the nut I think it would be hard to tighten it so much that it cracks.

This water dispenser is just right for our home use. We purchased this with the Ceramic Crock Natural Solid Wood Floor Stand- Red Oak (also from Amazon) over a year ago and have been very pleased. It is used many times every day and has not dripped once. I remember from the reviews when I purchased this item that some people had leakage issues. We have not had any. We followed the instructions to the letter when inserting the spout and it has worked like a charm. UPDATE 6/11/15 Purchased this in March 2013 and it has never leaked, not once ever. So that's good. The spigot handle did, however, break after not quite two years so that it would not stay "on" without holding it in open position to fill. Originally it clicked open and stayed and would pour without holding until it was clicked back down. When it broke it was slightly inconvenient because we would hold a bottle for filling and still need to hold the spigot. Then last week the whole spigot handle broke off. We found this amazing replacement on Amazon called Stainless Works™ Stainless Steel Beverage Dispenser Replacement Spigot(Polished Finish), so if you cut/paste that in Amazon I'm sure it will pop up. Anyhow, it's back to serving us well. We have really loved this and have gotten so much use out of it and have had such refreshing water over the last 2+ years that even though the original spigot broke, I am actually going to change my review from 4 stars to 5. Really a great product and value. I'd say our family goes through a 5 gallon jug every 10 days or so and we alternate between glass and BPA free blue plastic jugs. It holds both stably.

I read other reviews about broken crocks and leaking spigots, and almost didn't buy this product. Amazon had one that was used for a good discount, so I decided to give it a try. It arrived in perfect shape and on time. Per the instructions, I tightened the inside of the spigot, and then filled it with hot water to help seal the gasket. No leaks!After putting in my first batch of kombucha, I used the plastic top ring as a weight to hold down the two handkerchiefs that I use for a top filter. From the first batch of booch until now, this has worked perfectly for me! It sits in an out-of-the way corner of my kitchen counter until I need to fill it or decant it. Because it is opaque ceramic, I don't need to worry about excess light ruining the brew.Decanting is so easy with the spigot on this crock! I insert the end of funnel into one of my flip-top bottles. Turn on the spigot and fill the bottle to desired level. Repeat until there is just enough tea to keep the SCOBY floating above the spigot. That leaves enough starter tea for the next batch. If desired, use a mesh bag over your funnel to strain out the "mother" that will come through the spigot, especially as you get towards the end of your decanting process. You can also strain/decant quickly into a larger container, such as a one-gallon jar, and then decant a second time into bottles without the need for straining. Do whatever works for you and what you have around as far as materials.To make a new batch of tea, boil six cups of water. Stir in two cups of sugar until dissolved. You can also leave it on for 5-10 minutes to make a sugar syrup (I do this because I think it makes a better-tasting booch, but that's up to you). Turn off the heat and steep about five tea bags, or 2-3 T of loose-leaf organic tea in a mesh bag, for about 30 minutes. This is way less tea and a longer steep time than often recommended, but I find it a good way to economize on that expensive organic tea.When everything has cooled down to room temp, pour it into the crock. The tea level should not go past the narrow neck of the crock, since the SCOBY needs room to breath. Put on your cheesecloth or other cloth cover (I use two handkerchiefs), weight down with the plastic top ring that came with the crock, and wait for your booch to brew itself. Begin tasting after 4-5 days to make sure it doesn't go all vinegary on you.I also like to do a second decant on the counter. This requires filling the flip-top bottles just to where the neck begins to narrow. Add some pure fruit juice (POM is amazing) until there is just 1.5" of headspace left in the bottle. Put on the cap, and let bottle sit out on the counter for two days or so. The mixture will build up carbonation and get a bit sweeter, too. You may need do suction out (or pour and strain) some large blobby "mothers" that aren't bad for you but may give you the creeps if you have texture issues and accidentally ingest them (ask me how I know, haha).Best wishes for a successful batch of booch!