Finally, I have time to get back to this.
@wickedblonde , I think that people overthink the process sometimes. Kombucha has been around for a very long time. Cleanliness is important but I, honestly, don't believe everything has to be sterile. My mother-in-law used to have hers growing in an ice cream bucket (way back in the 80's) in a bay window by her kitchen sink. She also had plants in that window. That's not sterile, even though she was a clean freak. Kombucha's been made all over the world and you can't convince me that it was always made under sterile conditions. Certainly, things should be clean but don't overthink it.
@Obsidian As for metal lids - I would say it depends on the lids. If the lids are lined (the way canning jar lids are), I don't see an issue. We have a local kombucha company that sells theirs in pint mason jars. You just don't want direct contact with metal, especially for the first fermentation. I use a metal canning ring with a #2 basket coffee filter.
Carbonation - you want to seal your second ferment in order to get carbonation. Once I pour my kombucha into bottles for 2F, I tighten them up and leave them at room temperature for a couple of days. Sometimes, I add flavouring, sometimes I don't but I always leave them on my kitchen table until I hear that pfffft when I loosen the caps.
Sugar - the sugar doesn't really affect the fermentation. It does affect the flavour, simply because different sugars have different (although subtle) flavours. I tend to use plain white sugar, only because it's the cheapest. I use pure cane sugar for my water kefir because that's what it likes and thrives on.
Second ferment - I've already addressed the cloudiness in my last post so we'll move on. Before you bottle, remove the scoby and enough of the liquid to use as starter for the next batch (I make 1/2 gallon at a time so I remove 1 cup for starter). Unless I have a lot of yeasties (stringy floaters or sediment at the bottom), I don't strain mine. I pour my kombucha into a pitcher for easier pouring, leaving the sediment in the jar if at all possible.
I've started doing my second ferment a little differently recently. Previously, I would put the flavouring (fruit, juice... whatever) in the bottle, then fill with kombucha and seal. Now, I put my kombucha into a fresh 1/2 gallon jar, add the flavourings and seal. I'll let it sit at room temperature for about 2 days, burping it daily to see if it's coming along. At this point, you can also taste it to see if it needs some sweetening or adjusting. Once I like the flavour, I bottle it into smaller bottles and, again, leave at room temperature for a couple of days, burping daily. Once I get that lovely pfffft sound, it goes into the fridge.
Incidentally, I've used frozen fruit in my 2F and have never had an issue with mold. The ph of the kombucha inhibits mold growth. That said, it doesn't always look appetizing having some mushy chunks of fruit floating in the bottles of 'buch. Doing the second ferment the way I do it now eliminates that issue.
Yes, it may, probably will, develop a mini scoby. If you're not squeamish, you can swallow it; it's perfectly safe. If you are squeamish, strain your kombucha before drinking it. Personally, I have no issue with it; my husband does (but he doesn't like kombucha anyway).
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