Home brewing of kombacha seems to be all the rage among hippie/yoga types these days so I thought I’d better jump on the band wagon and try. First I bought some from the store to try it out and see if I could even drink the stuff and I was pleasantly surprised. The taste wasn’t too bad and I actually did feel pretty good after drinking it. I guess it must be all those probiotics! You do have to get past the fluffy detritus at the bottom of the bottle and just remember that it’s good for you. So what exactly is kombacha?
Kombucha is an effervescent fermentation of sweetened tea with a live culture that has probiotic benefits. The “mushroom” or “mother” kombucha culture is actually a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast called a “scoby”. Kombucha originated in NE China or Manchuria and spread from there to Russia and then the rest of the world.
I got a scoby and a couple large mason jars from my sister-in-law, advice from my coworker, and started brewing. It’s a fairly simple process that takes a couple days to set up and then a week of sitting and waiting. I used the recipe from Kombucha Mama to make my very first batch. It turned out a bit sour but drinkable! I didn’t poison myself so we’re definitely on track for more kombucha making in my future!
Click on the title of this blog post to get the recipe for kombucha.
- 2 tbsp black tea I used an organic loose leaf golden Yunnan black tea
- 2 litres Water
- 1/2 cup sugar I used cane sugar
- 1 scoby and starter tea has to be given to you by someone
- Bring 2L of water to a boil. Let boil for 10 mins. Turn heat down slightly and add 1/2 cup sugar. Bring sugar water to boil for another 10 mins. Turn heat off.
- Add tea (2 TBSP ). Let steep in tea balls or tea bags anywhere from 20 mins to overnight. This depends on your taste preference. The longer it steeps, the more tannins are released and generally the “fuller” the tea tastes. LET COOL TO ROOM TEMPERATURE. It’s very important that you don’t add SCOBY to hot water as you will kill it.
- Empty sweet tea into glass jar leaving enough room for SCOBY and starter. Your starter tea will generally be about 10% of tea from previous batch.
- Add SCOBY and starter and make sure there’s enough space for air at the top. Cover with muslin and rubber band. Leave it in a dark cupboard for the next week or more depending on how fizzy and sweet you like it.
- Notes: don't ever use any metal with the scoby, only glass or plastic. The scoby should be whitish-brownish in colour and have a smooth surface (it kinda looks like a jellyfish). If you see mold throw everything out and clean everything with vinegar. You'll have to start from scratch again. Scobys will naturally split so you can give them away to friends or add them to your composter.