Some of you may not have heard of kombucha. Or maybe you have seen it at the grocery store but haven’t mustered the courage to taste it. “After all,” you might be saying, “I’m not even sure I can pronounce it.”
It wasn’t until recently that kombucha has become “mainstream,” but it is hardly the “new kid on the block.” It originated in China in the third century BC. Then it made its way to Russia, India, and Japan, where it became a staple among samurai warriors.[1] In Japanese, kombucha literally means “kelp tea.”
What Is Kombucha?
Kombucha is a fermented tea (black, white, or oolong) made with sugar and a SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast). The tea is fermented over a 7- to 31-day period (the amount of time affecting the taste from sweet to vinegary). During the fermentation process the caffeine and sugar are “eaten up,” producing a product that is naturally carbonated and full of beneficial bacteria, enzymes, and yeasts.
There are numerous reasons to sip a glass or bottle. But at almost $4 in stores, it’s a hefty price to pay, and the question always arises: “Do you even receive the health benefits it promotes?” Recently, researchers from the University of Latvia gathered 75 studies attesting to the proven health properties of kombucha.[1] “The recent experimental studies on the consumption of KT suggest that it is suitable for prevention against broad-spectrum metabolic and infective disorders.”[2]
Luckily, you don’t have to pay $4 a bottle as it is super easy to brew your own, which is good for me since I crave this tasty, fizzy drink, especially on hot days. Even better? There isn’t any need for fancy materials.
What You Need
- 1 SCOBY (these will reproduce faster than you can use them, so if you want to brew more, you won’t have to buy any more)
- 2 cups of starter tea from the last batch of kombucha or a store-bought kombucha (unpasteurized, neutral-flavored. Your first SCOBY you purchase should have some starter tea in it as well.)
- Gallon glass jar
- Tightly woven cloth (like clean napkins or tea towels), coffee filters, or paper towels, to cover the jar
- 8 bags of tea (caffeinated black, green, or oolong)
- 1 cup of organic sugar
- 1 gallon filtered water split in half
- Strainer
- Ladle
- Funnel
- Six glass soda bottles
Optional: 100 percent juice for flavoring (during the second brew-see below). You can experiment with different flavors, but I have found cranberry juice blend, pineapple, pineapple/mango blend, and fruit punch are some of the best.
- Make the tea base: Bring the water to a boil. Add the 8 bags of tea and allow them to steep for 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar to dissolve. Pour the tea base into the gallon glass jar and allow it to cool. You can speed up the cooling process by placing ice in the tea or adding cold water.
- Add the 2 cups of starter tea and fill the remainder of the gallon jar with filtered water.
- Add the SCOBY: Gently slide the SCOBY into the jar with clean hands. Cover the mouth of the jar with a few layers of the tightly woven cloth secured with a rubber band. (If you develop problems with gnats or fruit flies, use a tightly woven cloth or paper towels instead of a coffee filter.)
- Ferment for 7 to 10 days at a temperature between 70 and 80 degrees F. (Note: Lower temperatures will have slower brewing times and a flat tea. If you need help keeping the temperature constant, click here for a DIY brewing chamber.) Keep the jar out of direct sunlight and in a location where it won’t get jostled. Note: It’s not unusual for the SCOBY to float at the top, bottom, or even sideways during fermentation. A new cream-colored layer of SCOBY should start forming on the surface of the kombucha within a few days. It usually attaches to the old SCOBY, but it’s okay if they separate. You may also see brown stringy bits floating beneath the SCOBY, sediment collecting at the bottom, and bubbles collecting around the SCOBY. These are all normal signs of healthy fermentation.
- Test your brew for taste. After 7 days taste a small portion of the brew and see if it is to your liking. If it is still sweet, allow it to brew for a few more days.
- Bottle the finished kombucha: Measure out your starter tea (2 cups) from this batch of kombucha and set it aside for the next batch. Pour a small amount, about a quarter of a cup, of your juice into the soda bottles. Using a strainer, ladle fermented kombucha into the bottles through the small funnel. Leave about a half inch of head room in each bottle.
- Carbonate and refrigerate the finished kombucha (second fermentation): Store the bottled kombucha at 70 to 80 degrees F out of direct sunlight for 3 days to allow the kombucha to carbonate. Refrigerate to stop fermentation and carbonation, and then consume your kombucha within a month.
Why the Second Fermentation?
You don’t have to do a second fermentation, but if you want the bubbly stuff, you’re gonna have to be a bit more patient and do this last step before consumption. So what is happening during this step?
“When making kombucha, the tea will form a SCOBY on top and it will be the size of the opening of your jar. It will form a seal and this will let the yeasts in the kombucha seal in the naturally occurring carbonation. Then, the yeasts will begin to consume the sugars in the tea and the by-product of this is a natural carbonation. Just as yeast makes bread rise, the good yeasts in kombucha make your tea bubbly. One certain yeast found in kombucha is called Saccharomyces boulardii. It is the number one probiotic used in hospitals, called florastor. It is abundant in kombucha.”[3]
I have been brewing my own kombucha for over a year now. I have a three gallon-jar rotation and make a new batch every 3 days or so (consuming 2 soda bottles a day). Here are some answers to several of the questions I had when I first started.
- Kombucha will start off with a neutral aroma and then smell progressively more vinegary as the brewing progresses. If it starts to smell cheesy, rotten, or otherwise unpleasant, this is a sign that something has gone wrong. If you do see signs of mold, discard both the SCOBY and the liquid and begin again with new ingredients.
- A SCOBY will last a very long time, but it’s not indestructible. If the SCOBY becomes black, that is a sign that it has completed its lifespan. If it develops green or black mold, it is has become infected. In both of these cases, throw away the SCOBY and begin again.
- Avoid any teas that contain oils, like Earl Grey or flavored teas. Oil inhibits the SCOBY’s ability to form a semipermeable membrane on top of the tea.
- If you have excess SCOBies you can put some in a SCOBY hotel. It’s always handy to have extras in case something happens to a SCOBY in the brewing jar or if you want to make more kombucha.
- My biggest problem was a flat brew (i.e. no carbonation) during the colder months. We have come up with a brewing chamber that keeps the temperature constant. Click here for instructions.
- http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/18-healthy-reasons-sip-kombucha
- Ilmara Vina et al, “Current Evidence on Physiological Activity and Expected Health Effects of Kombucha Fermented Beverage.” J Med Food 17 (2) 2014, 179–188 DOI: 10.1089/jmf.2013.0031
- http://www.culturedfoodlife.com/my-kombuchas-not-bubbly/