Although the single-use plastic and glass bottles this effervescent, fermented tea is packaged in are awful for the environment, it’s fantastic for intestinal health. Try creating your own kombucha at home with a few basic ingredients rather than paying $4 for a single bottle at the corner store.What Is Kombucha?
The history of the fermented beverage kombucha, which is created with tea, sugar, yeast, and bacteria, dates back thousands of years to ancient China. Live cultures that feed on sugar are what naturally carbonate it, triggering a chemical reaction that results in carbon dioxide. Although those who eschew alcohol should be aware of its presence, kombucha typically contains little more than 1% alcohol.
In addition to its tart flavor and fizz, kombucha is mostly used for its alleged health advantages. It is a good source of probiotics, helps balance the bacteria in the gut, and alleviates indigestion, just like other fermented foods. The tea in it has antioxidants, and there is evidence to support its potential benefits for heart health and cholesterol management.
Most crucially, a SCOBY, also known as a kombucha mother or a SCOBY pellicle, is used to create a kombucha. Although you can’t see it in the standardized store-bought bottles, this jelly-like disc is an important part of the kombucha brewing process. A symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, or SCOBY, is exactly what it stands for.
It occurs when lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid bacteria, and yeast are fermented together, and it helps turn the sugar in the tea into acid, alcohol, and carbon dioxide: important components of kombucha. In essence, the SCOBY rests atop the liquid, closing it off from the air and preventing dangerous bacteria from entering the brewing vessel while simultaneously holding the bacteria and yeast that kombucha needs. A new SCOBY will emerge after each successful brew of kombucha, and you’ll need one to get your own brewing going.
How to Make Your Own
Although making kombucha may seem difficult, the technique only needs a few components, and once you’ve prepared your first batch, it’s simple to continue.
Ingredients and Supplies
Sugar and water provide the foundation of all kombucha. Eight black or green tea bags, one cup of granulated sugar, and eight glasses of water should be used as a base. You cannot create kombucha with herbal tea, but you can use Earl Grey, a blend of black and green tea, or other types of tea.
Professional kombucha brewers all propose different ratios of these components, so try different amounts and see what works best for you. Be aware that using additional sugar can prolong the fermenting process but result in a richer flavor. For alternative ingredient quantities, see this chart.
You also need a SCOBY, which is the essential component of any probiotic-rich kombucha. You’ll also need two cups of ready-made kombucha or a little bit of vinegar if you’re growing your own SCOBY. You must purchase a fully-grown SCOBY from someone else if you choose not to go through the SCOBY-making process (if not from a friend, then an online retailer or health food store is your best bet).
Last but not least, you will require three sizable glass jars with nonmetal lids (ideally, one 2 to 3-gallon jar for brewing the tea, one 1-gallon jar for making the SCOBY, and one half- or quarter-gallon for the SCOBY hotel), a few coffee filters or tea towels, a number of rubber bands, a funnel, and several small bottles to store the finished kombucha.
Growing a SCOBY
The most popular SCOBY-growing technique involves starting with either a bottle of plain, store-bought kombucha or a scoop of a friend’s homemade kombucha.
Boil the water in a pot or sizable pan, then add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Add the tea bags, turn off the heat, and let them steep for roughly 20 minutes. Pour the liquid into a clean, one-gallon jar and stir in one cup of the pre-purchased kombucha once it has cooled to room temperature (the tea must be completely cool or the live cultures in the SCOBY may be killed by the heat).
Use a rubber band to fasten a coffee filter or piece of woven fabric (like a tea towel) over the top to allow oxygen to flow instead of covering the container with a lid. The SCOBY develops best in an atmosphere that is about 70 degrees Fahrenheit, but not in direct sunshine, so put the jar somewhere to rest.
The liquid’s surface should start to develop bubbles and an off-white, jelly-like coating that is about a quarter-inch thick in two to four weeks. Your SCOBY is that! Together with the SCOBY, the liquid beneath is also your starter tea, which you’ll use to produce your first batch of kombucha.
Use vinegar to begin the SCOBY-making process rather than store-bought kombucha if you really want to start from scratch. Boil the water first, then add the sugar and steep the tea according to the package directions. Once the mixture has cooled, transfer it to a one-gallon jar and add a tablespoon of distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Continue the fermentation process by adding cold, filtered water to the remaining space in the jar.
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Brewing the Tea
It’s time to use your new SCOBY to brew your first batch of tea. In essence, this stage is a repetition of the SCOBY-making procedure. Brew the tea the same way you would for the SCOBY (without the store-bought kombucha), then allow it to cool. Other sweeteners can be used, but some are less consistent than sugar; see this chart for more details.
Pick the largest container you have with a wide opening (two to three gallons is best) and sterilize it with vinegar and hot water (or with soap, as long as you rinse it thoroughly so it doesn t interact with the SCOBY). Add a cup or two additional of cold, filtered water after adding the tea.
You can now add one to two cups of the beginning liquid you used to create your SCOBY, along with the SCOBY itself. Don’t worry if you don’t have enough starter liquid; pre-made kombucha can fill in the gaps. This liquid, which should make up roughly 10% of the new batch, is just intended to reduce the pH of the tea. Also, it shields the tea from potentially harmful microbes.
It’s time to wait now. If the SCOBY floats around the bottle or if you see sludge and stringy bits floating underneath it, don’t be concerned; they are normal symptoms of fermentation. Each batch produces a new SCOBY, which you’ll see forming underneath the first one. It ought should be ready to drink in one to four weeks.
Use a straw to take a taste while being careful not to harm the SCOBY to determine whether the flavor is what you’re after. Letting it marinate for a little longer will give it a tarter, more vinegary flavor. You’ll learn how many days it takes to brew your ideal batch of kombucha after making enough batches.
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Storing the Finished Kombucha
The finished kombucha should be kept in smaller bottles after it has finished brewing. This process is necessary to produce carbonation. Pour the liquid into a funnel, leaving about an inch at the top for the freshly generated bubbles. Avoid using containers or bottles with metal lids as the kombucha may react with them.
As it sits out longer, it will undergo a second fermentation in these bottles, which will result in increased bubbliness. When utilizing plastic bottles, the solidity of the bottles will indicate how much fizz has been created. They will be sufficiently effervescent after three days (or less), at which point you can put them in the refrigerator.
Optional: Flavoring Kombucha
Even though fresh kombucha is delectable on its own, flavoring it is a fun way to change it up. Try not to get too crazy with the fruity flavors, as they could aid fermentation too much and build up to an explosion in your fridge.
Put the flavorings on the bottom of the storage bottles before pouring the completed kombucha over them. When you’re ready to drink it, strain the liquid out of the bottles. Here are some suggestions for flavorings to get you started:
- Ginger: a few matchstick-sized slices
- Dried herbs: about one teaspoon of dried lavender, lemon balm, or mint.
- Fruit: dried cranberries or figs, berries, and stone fruit like peaches and cherries.
- Floral combinations: a few dried hibiscus flowers or rose petals.
- Citrus: a few teaspoons of fresh juice or zest from oranges, grapefruits, or lemons.
- Hot spices: cayenne and jalenpe o to add a kick.
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Making a SCOBY Hotel
Your SCOBY’s life doesn’t end once it has completed its task. Construct a SCOBY hotel so that the SCOBYs that are created with each batch can stay there until they are needed. Transfer the SCOBY to a different clean jar with two cups of the freshly brewed kombucha (which will serve as your starter liquid for your subsequent batch as well), and cover it the same way you did for the kombucha with a filter or tea towel. As SCOBYs continue to develop on top of your batches, add liquid as necessary. If you aren’t utilizing the SCOBYs right away, keep them in the refrigerator.
Tips for Brewing Safely
- Use organic, high-quality ingredients if you can.
- Keep everything extremely clean, including the jars, lids, and tea towels.
- Pay attention to the SCOBY. If it grows mold or starts to smell bad, it might not be functioning correctly and preventing toxins from entering. However, there will be some discoloration on a healthy SCOBY; learn to distinguish the natural dark spots (which are just dying yeast cultures, and are nothing to worry about) from actual mold, which will look more like the mold you see on things going bad in the fridge: fuzzy and blue-greenish. If you notice the latter kind, you ll, unfortunately, need to ditch the compromised SCOBY and start again.
- Make sure you’re using a tightly woven fabric to cover the jar not cheesecloth. Otherwise, fruit flies or other insects might be able to get into the jar and contaminate the SCOBY.
- Learn how to say goodbye to your SCOBY. Although they can last for a very long time with proper care, all SCOBYs will reach the end of their life at some point. If it becomes black (or starts developing mold), it s time to say goodbye.
