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How To Make Kombucha?

Welcome to our ultimate guide on how to make homemade kombucha! If you've been intrigued by the rising popularity of this fermented drink but are not sure where to start, you've come to the right place.

Making kombucha at home involves a fascinating fermentation process that combines yeast, bacteria, and tea to create a beverage rich in probiotics and antioxidants. The heart of this process is the symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, commonly known as SCOBY.

Today, we'll walk you through a simple yet detailed kombucha recipe, including tips on how to store it. So, let's dive in and start brewing your very own batch of kombucha!

Ingredients

 

kombucha SCOBY

 

Equipment

  • 1 kombucha pot
  • 1 kombucha jar
  • 1 kettle or pot to boil water in

or

Instructions

  1. Bring water to boil and add teabags or loose-leaf tea then turn off the heat and allow the tea to steep for five minutes and then remove the tea.
  2. When the kombucha brew has cooled slightly, add the sugar and stir to dissolve. 
  3. Cool the sweetened tea to room temperature and then pour the whole brew into a glass jar.  
  4. Add the kombucha SCOBY or kombucha starter piece, along with all the starter liquid to the jar, mix, and cover the jar with a cloth and an elastic band.
  5. Allow the tea to ferment at room temperature for up to 7 to 10 days for a new SCOBY to form (in hot weather, it ferments faster)-  taste the kombucha tea when it has reached 3 days of fermenting to get a feel for what it tastes like. The kombucha tea should taste pleasantly sour and faintly sweet.  The longer you leave fermentation, the more sugar ferments out and the more sour/tart the brew becomes.
  6. When the kombucha tea has reached a taste you like and a new scoby has formed, remove the newly formed SCOBY* and 100ml of the kombucha tea to start a new batch and repeat the process. 
  7. You can drink the remaining kombucha tea straight away or refrigerate it.
  8. If you want a fizzier kombucha drink, (also known as secondary ferment), pour the kombucha tea into a glass bottle and place a lid tightly on and leave at room temperature.  After 1 to 2 days, you can drink or refrigerate.
  9. Larger quantities of kombucha may be prepared from the second batch onwards, by increasing the ingredients proportionately.

*The newly formed SCOBY may get stuck on top of an older SCOBY, in this case, simply tear off the new SCOBY to use with the new batch.

Storage

The kombucha SCOBY can be kept refrigerated for up to two weeks in the fridge or up to two years in the freezer when you are not fermenting.  The kombucha tea can be kept in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

A new SCOBY (clear film on the surface of the brew) will form as a byproduct of fermentation, usually after 5 days of fermentation. The growth of the new SCOBY may vary. It is not unusual to see rounded opaque patches and or brown jellyfish-like tentacles forming underneath the SCOBY. These rounded patches are not mould unless they have a green fuzzy growth that mould usually produces. If any mould is seen, discard the brew and commence with a fresh starter. 

Mould can form on the culture if the brew is not acidic enough - usually because insufficient starter was used. It can also form because of poor hygiene. If there is any mould in your culture throw it away and do not risk drinking it.

Other factors that can spoil a culture include insufficient air or water with no minerals in it (distilled or reverse osmosis filtered). Kombucha can become spoiled with a variety of other microorganisms, depending on the environment and conditions under which it is brewed. The acidity of kombucha will normally protect against harmful microorganisms and when spoiled it will smell or taste unpleasant.

Please note that all fermented foods may contain trace amounts of alcohol.  If fermented foods are being prepared for children, breastfeeding mothers, or pregnant women please seek medical advice from a trained medical practitioner before consuming these products.

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