How to make Kombucha (fermented tea)
Kombucha seems to be all the rage at the moment. You hear of yogis and health conscious people asking for them at cafes and you might have even seen bottles of Kombucha being sold at these establishments.
I find it quite ridiculous the prices charged for kombucha as it is SO EASY to make kombucha on your own. I even saw a starter kit at a health shop for a scoby (the bacteria needed to ferment the tea), brown sugar and bags of black tea (fine they were organic sugar and tea) going for US$25!!! I mean it’s just sugar and tea bags – and you can get scobies for free from whoever makes kombucha!
Ok enough of my rant. Here’s what and how you make it. I won’t say I’m a kombucha expert but I’ve brewed it quite a few times now so here goes.
What is kombucha?
First things first, what in the world is kombucha? I was first introduced to kombucha when I stayed with an Air BnB host in Wellington (Air BnB is a great way to meet interesting people btw!) who was into organic whole foods, yoga and healthy living - all the stuff I'm keen on too.
Kombucha is simply fermented black tea with sugar. The fermentation is from some sort of bacteria or yeast called SCOBY or "Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast" (didn't know that did you?). The scoby eats the sugar in the tea, transforming it into a fizzy, refreshing and very healthy drink full of probiotic and other goodness that your intestines will love. The closest way to describe the kombucha taste is like apple cider, without the alcoholic effects.
Kombucha is supposed to be full of probiotic goodness that does amazing things for your gut health. Kombucha is a natural alternative to probiotic supplements but if you prefer that instead, Reviews.com has a few you might like to try.
I’ve gotten pretty experimental lately with the flavours, throwing in green tea, fruit teas, licorice tea, ginger, apples from my garden, blueberries and any other fruits or berries into the mix during the fermentation process. My favourite is the ginger. Variety is the spice of life I say!
What is scoby?
To make kombucha tea, you will need scoby which is the bacteria that ferments the tea. The easiest way is to ask around within the health conscious communities. Or just walk into a yoga studio or health shop. I'm sure you will find someone into fermentation there. If you really can't find any scoby, you can make your own scoby. I have never tried as my scoby breeds like rabbits and my first one was given so I can't say much about it.
Scobys are rubbery, slippery things with brown trails hanging from it. It looks kind of disgusting really. Think of it as the 'mother alien' making 'alien scoby babies' which are the layers under it. Once you found someone who has scoby, ask them to give you a layer of scoby and you are on your way!
Don't worry about the look of your scoby. The ones sold at health shops (for exorbitant prices) look really neat and nice. Not sure how they get it to look so nice. Maybe engineered in a lab?? Homegrown scobies can vary in shapes and sizes. It does not matter. It will grow according to the jars you put them in. If you add fruits and other goodies like I do, then they will grow around the fruits and you are left with 'holes' in your scoby when you next remove them.
Preparing the tea
I use several jars for the kombucha making process. Use glass jars as scobies don't like metal. Try the second hand shops for a cheaper option or jars can be purchased at knick knack shops.
Put around 8 tea bags of black tea into a large jar. My kombucha jar is about a foot and a half tall. I add extra bags of green tea or fruit tea or whatever tea I have in my cupboard just for fun.
The scoby needs the caffeine to feed so using pure green tea won't do. Add in roughly 7 table spoons of brown sugar. For my smaller jar, I use 6 bags of black tea, 2 bags of green tea and roughly 5 table spoons of brown sugar. It doesn't matter really how many bags of tea or sugar you add. The scoby will eat whatever you put in.
Add in boiling water and leave it to brew.
Adding the scoby
Once the tea has cooled (It is very important that it is not boiling hot as you don't want to kill your scoby), add in the kombucha your scoby came in (assuming yours was given) as this will neutralise the acidity of the tea to provide a better environment for the scoby. It doesn't matter how much scoby you have as it would grow according to the food you feed it.
Small amounts of scoby just means that you have to leave it to brew longer. More scoby means your brew time shortens. Simple.
Cover your jars with a breathable cloth, date the jar and let the scobies work their magic for 7 - 10 days.
Bottling your Kombucha
Let your kombucha brew for around 7-10 days. The warmer the temperature, the faster it brews. You can test it after 6 days and when you are happy with the mix of sour and sweet, you can start the bottling process. I usually like mine after 10 days.
You have to save your scoby for the next kombucha batch so scoop your babies into a bowl (remember not to use a metal ladle!) and pour some kombucha in with it. Pour the rest of the kombucha through a sieve before transferring it into bottles.
Plastic or glass bottles are fine. It's just like beer, where it will still fizz in the bottles. The kombucha will continue brewing in your bottles as there are tiny scobies working their magic so the taste might change to a more vinegary taste if you leave the kambucha in the bottles too long. Just chuck them in the fridge to slow the fermentation process down.
There you have it. Your kombucha is now ready to serve. Instead of bringing alcohol to gatherings, bring a bottle of kombucha and pour it into a wine glass instead!
Happy brewing.
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