How to Make Kombucha Tea
To make kombucha, all you need is natural or organic black tea, sugar and the kombucha “mushroom”. It is not actually a mushroom, but a Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast (SCOBY). These organisms consume the majority of the sugar in the tea through the fermentation process and produce a myriad of beneficial byproducts including B vitamins and amino acids. It turns sugared black tea into a healthy pro-biotic drink that smells like vinegar and tastes like apple cider. Kombucha originated a long time ago in Asia, where it was said to have life extending effects.
Following are some simple instructions to make Kombucha. You can find plenty more details on the web or from you local Kombucha enthusiast:
1. Prepare your tea by boiling a gallon of water. Once it reaches a boil, I turn off the burner and add one cup of sugar and stir it in. 2. Once the sugar is dissolved, steep five tea bags or one family sized tea bag for 10 minutes and then remove. 3. Cool the tea to room temperature. I do this by placing the pot of tea in cold water in the sink for 30 minutes. If the tea is too hot you will kill your SCOBY – too cold and it make take longer to ferment. 4. Pour the tea into your fermentation container. I prefer a gallon jar. Place your SCOBY and starter (left over kombucha tea from a previous batch) into the tea. 5. Cover tightly with a cloth – something that is breathable but keeps bugs and debris out. I rubber band a clean washcloth over the mouth of the gallon jar. One key point here: make sure the outside of your jar and the mouth of your jar are dry. If your cover gets wet, it can introduce mold into your SCOBY and kill it. 6. Allow to ferment for 7 to 10 days. I prefer 14 days to give the Kombucha some kick – this is due to a higher acid content (the acids assist in liver function, glucuronic acid I believe), not from a higher alcohol content. The alcohol content of Kombucha Tea is minuscule and it is great for kids – it does, like normal tea, have caffeine. Your SCOBY will grow another SCOBY that forms on the surface of the tea. 7. Remove all the SCOBY and bottle the fermented tea (I use half gallon mason jars), saving some of the tea as starter for your next batch. I like to have a new pot of tea cooled and ready to go when I bottle. If you are not going to start another batch right away, you can keep your SCOBY in the fridge until you are ready. This will slow the ferment time of your next batch as it takes a bit for the SCOBY to warm up. Keep your bottles out for 24 hours before refrigerating them. 8. Refrigerate your bottled Kombucha Tea. It is ready to go when it’s cold, but the yeast will stay active for a while in the fridge which helps carbonate the Kombucha turning it into a nice fizzy drink. Five days in the fridge before consuming is good.
I hope you enjoyed this introduction to Kombucha Tea. One of the biggest issues we face as a society is the amount of dead, sterilized food we consume on a daily basis. In our house we call that stuff factory food, and I will comment on it and healthy alternatives regularly in this blog.
Kombucha Tea is a simple, healthy and tasty drink alternative in a fridge crowded with sodas and juice concentrate. You consume the microorganisms which contribute to good gut health, as well as the B vitamins, enzymes and acids they produce.
From freefarmgeek.wordpress.com