How to make Kombucha
What is Kombucha and what is all the fuss about?!
Kombucha is an “ancient fermented tea beverage” with roots in China that has a natural effervescence. After being fermented, kombucha becomes carbonated and contains vinegar, b-vitamins, enzymes, probiotics and a high concentration of acid (acetic, gluconic and lactic), which are tied with the following effects:
Improved Digestion
Weight Loss
Increased Energy
Cleansing and Detoxification
Immune Support
Reduced Joint Pain
Cancer Prevention
What are the ingredients?
The ingredients are simple. It’s tea + water + sugar + SCOBY (a fermenting culture that is made from previous batches that stands for symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast).
THE SCOBY
The SCOBY, or Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast, is the collection of microbes responsible for turning sweet tea into a probiotic beverage. Essentially, it is a living colony of beneficial organisms that turn sugar into healthful acids and probiotics.
SCOBYs are often called “Mushrooms” and are the reason Kombucha is sometimes called “Mushroom Tea.” On a practical level, a SCOBY is an unattractive rubbery disc that covers the surface of the brewing liquid to seal it off from the air. This allows fermentation to happen in an anaerobic (air free) environment.
You may also hear a SCOBY called “The Mother” as it is the parent culture that creates the tea. During the brewing process, the SCOBY also often creates a “baby” or secondary culture on top of itself, which can then be used to brew other batches.
HOW DO YOU MAKE IT?
Step 1. Purchase a medium scoby online (I used Happy kombucha).
Step 2. Purchase a 1.5litre kilner jar and a stopper bottle.
step 3. sterilise your jar.
step 4. pop 4-5 pure green tea bags into the jar along with 85g granulated sugar and 1 litre of boild water (the water should be cooled slightly to avoid the jar cracking) stir the contents so the sugar dissolves.
step 5. allow the tea to stew for 30 mins then remove the teabags and allow to completely cool.
step 6. once the mixture is barely luke warm you can add your scoby along with the liquid that it has been delivered in. the scoby usually has a whiter side, try to put this side facing upwards.
step 7. cover the jar with breathable cotton and leave in a warm place to ferment for 10-18 days. The longer you leave it the more sour it becomes.
step 8. when you are ready, gently remove the scoby and store it with enough Kombucha to cover it until you are ready to start another batch.
step 9. strain the kombucha into a bottle with a stopper. at this point you can add fruit or flavours to it if you wish. Raspberries are my favourite!
step 10. close the stopper and refrigerate until you are ready to drink it! n.b it can get very fizzy and may need burping every now and then.
ENJOY!
Let me know what you think!
