What is Kombucha?

Kombucha is a sugar-sweetened tea fermented by a community of organisms into a delicious sour tonic beverage. The community of organism is found in the SCOBY and feed off of the sweetened tea. Kombucha has been regarded as a “miracle cure-all” – with claims it has cured everything from AIDS to eliminating wrinkles and changing grey hair back to its original color. There is no scientific data to back up any of these claims but we do know that kombucha is good for your gut and is a delicious treat.

Kombucha Virgin?

Your first time can be a little scary. Start off with a small amount of kombucha and slowly build up if it agrees with your system.

What type of tea can I use?

The tea must be from the tea plant, Camellia Sinensis, this includes black, green, white, kukicha or pu-er teas. Stay away from flavored teas as they often have oils that will interfere with fermentation. You may use loose tea or tea bags and brew the tea as strong or weak as you like.

What type of sugar should I use?

To sweeten the tea we add sugar, good old sucrose sugar. I have read that people have experimented with sweetening with honey, agave, fruit juice, ect – some with success and some having a dead SCOBY from it. Experiment away but don’t do it with your only mother, always keep one mother separate just in case your experiment fails and you kill your SCOBY. Experiment for a few generations to ensure that your SCOBY continues to thrive.

SCOBY

What is it?

SCOBY, also known as a Mother, is a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. It takes form in a rubbery disk that floats on top of the sweet tea as it ferments.

Grow Your Own:

You can grow your own using a store bought bottle of unpasteurized, un-filtered plain kombucha or homemade kombucha. Just pour the kombucha into a mason jar with a tablespoon of sugar. Cover with cheese cloth and leave at room temperature in a dark cool area that is not humid. Check after 5 – 7 days, you should have a SCOBY growing at the top of the liquid.

Share with a Friend!

Every time you make a new batch of kombucha your SCOBY “mother” will grow a “daughter” underneath it. Using clean hands, to ensure you are not introducing harmful bacteria to the SCOBY, you can peel the two SCOBYS apart and give it to a friend. When gifting a SCOBY be sure to give a small amount of your last batch of kombucha with it to keep it alive.

Storing Extra SCOBYS:

If you choose to not gift your “daughters” you can store them in a sealed mason jar in the fridge. Keep them in kombucha liquid to keep them alive. Feed your kombucha mothers some sweet tea, see recipe, once a month and keep it in the fridge. Alternatively, you can just leave the new SCOBYS attached to the mother and continue to brew kombucha as normal.

Handling Your SCOBY:

Make sure to wash hands right before touching your SCOBY and use very clean utensils. Introducing new bacteria to the SCOBY can kill the SCOBY. Handle your SCOBY as little as possible to ensure a healthy colony.

Troubleshooting and FAQ

Floating or Sinking?

If after a few days your SCOBY is still not floating and a new SCOBY has not formed on the surface, it is probably dead. Discard it and start again. [Symbol]

Mold?

This can sometimes happen if the kombucha is not acidic enough. Remember to add in some mature kombucha when starting a new batch to acidify. If you have no kombucha, try using a small amount of vinegar such as apple cider vinegar.

If you do have mold on your kombucha, discard the liquid and SCOBY and start again. [Symbol]

What type of vessel?

Kombucha is an aerobic fermentation process, meaning fermentation happens at surface level where there is oxygen present. Using a wide mouth vessel only partly full will maximize this surface area in relation to volume. Avoid metal vessels as they will start to corrode after a few ferments. Wide mouthed glass or ceramic vessels are ideal. I use large mason jars.

Alcohol?

All fermented food contains a small amount of alcohol, kombucha usually contains below 0.5 percent alcohol which is technically considered a non-alcoholic beverage.

Sugar and Caffeine?

Although some of the sugars are eaten up by the fermentation, some sugars are still present in kombucha or it would taste like vinegar. As for caffeine, the fermentation does not affect caffeine levels in the tea.

Ideal temperature and placement?

The ideal temperature for fermentation is between 23 and 28 degrees celsius in a dark area that isn’t too moist.

KOMBUCHA RECIPE

2 litres filtered water
12 teaspoons sugar
6 grams or 2 tea bags
1 SCOBY
1/3 cup kombucha, from previous batch or from unpasteurized commercial kombucha (or 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar)

1. Bring water to a boil over high heat. Add in sugar and stir to dissolve. Add in tea, allow to boil for 2-3 minutes.

2. Turn off heat and allow tea too steep until desired strength. Remove tea leafs. Bring sweet tea to below body temperature.

3. Add sweet tea to your kombucha vessel with SCOBY and mature kombucha.

4. Cover with a clean tea towel or cheese cloth. Set in a cool dark area of your house for 5-30 days or until it is as acidic as you like.

5. Decant the liquid into bottles and refrigerate or go onto a second fermentation.

6. Start over! You can continually make kombucha or store your SCOBY in the fridge.

Want to learn how to flavour and carbonate your kombucha? Stick around for Kombucha 102.

Leave a comment, and don’t forget to tag your pictures #SHUPESSOUPS on instagram. I am excited to hear from you. Happy growing,cooking, and fermenting!

Byeee,
Morgan