Well, here it is; my promised post about my kombucha-making endeavors! Kombucha is essentially a fermented tea. The tea is fermented via a culture called a SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast) It’s most likely a vinegar mother, but no one really know where it came from. Kind of exciting, right? Anyway, kombucha has been brewed for centuries and is purported to have liver detoxifying benefits, as well as tons of vitamins, minerals, and probiotic bacteria. I love kombucha because I hate sauerkraut and have been trying to find ways to incorporate probiotic foods that actually taste delicious – and kombucha fits the bill! It has a tart, slightly sweet, slightly acidic flavor. You can do a second ferment to create carbonation, but it requires sealing the bottle which can create a substance that is hard on the kidneys, so I prefer to drink my kombucha plain. As a cautionary note: kombucha is delicious, but don’t drink a ton of it at once, especially if your body isn’t used to it, because it can make the liver over-detox or have other undesirable effects. I really don’t drink more that 4 oz. per day.
How to Make Kombucha
All you need to brew a successful batch of kombucha is some good black or green tea, sugar (white sugar is best, although natural sweeteners are fine, too. I use maple syrup. Don’t use honey; it can inhibit the fermentation.), and a SCOBY. Procuring a SCOBY is not as hard as you think; each ferment produces a new “baby” SCOBY, so you probably have at least one kombucha-brewing friend who would gladly give you a SCOBY. I got mine off of Amazon. So let’s get started: Start by brewing your tea. I make small batches of kombucha, but most people make a gallon at a time. Make a gallon of strong black or green tea. Make sure your tea has no added ingredients and is not processed and flavored. Stir is sugar at the ratio of 1 cup to 1 gallon of tea. Scale up or down to meet your kombucha needs. Then, let the tea cool. DO NOT add the SCOBY to the hot tea; you will kill it (are you a SCOBY murderer?!). Once the completely cool, you can stir in starter tea (kombucha from previous batch; it will often come with the SCOBY) in the ratio of 1/2 cup of starter tea to 1 gallon of brewed tea. Put the tea is a big glass jar (don’t use metal; it can hurt the SCOBY). Then plop in the SCOBY. It might sink or it might not. No biggie. Cover with a coffee filter and a hair tie (or rubber band, but I’m not that organized). Let sit on the counter for 7-10 days, at 70 to 80 degrees (use Christmas lights to create some heat if your house is cold like ours). It will look weird, with brown strands of yeast and a gooey SCOBY baby Don’t worry, just trust the process. Taste the kombucha after a week. If it’s too sweet, give it a couple more days. If you like it, take out the SCOBY and reserve some tea to start the next batch, then store the kombucha unsealed in the fridge. The SCOBY will have formed a baby, so now you will have two SCOBYs. You can refridgerate or freeze extras with some starter tea while you find some friends on which to bestow the gift of kombucha! I recommend immedietely starting a new batch of ‘booch, so you’ll always have a supply.
Troubleshooting
If your SCOBY becomes moldy or smells like nail polish, throw it out!
If you forget about your brewing kombucha, it will turn to vinegar. The SCOBY is still good to use, and the vinegar is great for salads!
If you get any kind of allergic reaction to kombucha, don’t drink it. Duh.
Enjoy and have fun!
