So I've been meaning to write this post for over a couple months now and FINALLY I've gotten to it. It's so hard to get pictures of the whole process since we only do it twice a month. So for all of you who don't have a clue what Kombucha is...well it's a fermented black tea drink that has MAJOR health benefits from curing cancer to healing joint pain because it is jam packed with probiotics, you know...those little friendly bacteria.
Since Tod and I don't drink alcohol Kombucha has been our new drink of choice. It's naturally carbonated because it has been fermented. The organic cane sugar and organic black tea (or green tea) feed the scoby. We named ours Scooby Doo. The scoby looks like a mushroom cap, lots of people call it the cap or top. The scoby gives off mother, like in apple cider vinegar that is healthy and super good for us. The scoby eats the sugar and caffeine and poops out the carbonated tea filled with priobotics.
We got our scoby from a friend to start our first batch. You can also buy a starter kit at your local health foods store.
To give your Kombucha flavour you need to do what is called a "second fermentation" by adding a piece of fruit or root, like ginger or sassafras (root beer), or freshly squeezed fruit juice to the bottle AFTER it has been poured into individual jars. I will give you the instructions as best as I can. I am just so happy we have a nice fizzy drink to have at parties and special occasions (even though we drink it every night).
During the fermentation process the scoby grows a second scoby. We say it's the baby! You can then take them apart and you can double your batch or give your scoby to a friend.
Kombucha Health Benefits
Kombucha helps the body detoxify and this process helps with cancer prevention.
Contains glucaric acid which helps prevent cancer.
Contains glucosamine which helps prevent joint pain, arthritis and even wrinkles.
Boosts gut health with all of its probiotics.
Improves digestion
Helps fight off candida and other diseases
Helps with clarity and mood, helps fight off anxiety and depression.
Rich in antioxidants, which will give you a kick ass immune system
So ladies and gents here you have it, our awesome delicious nutritious Kombucha recipe. Please read the whole recipe over before making Kombucha at home. After the process has happened you have a chance to double your Kombucha batch. This is an on going process. Every 2 weeks - 1 month you will make more and more. Share your scobys with friends and build your probiotic drinking clan (lol)!
HOW TO MAKE KOMBUCHA AT HOME
1 cookie jar makes 3 1L mason jars
(Pictures below)
Items you will need to start
- A large cookie jar with a wide mouth top - for storing tea and scoby
- a large pot for boiling tea
- tea strainer - fine mesh seive
- dish cloth to cover top and held on with an elastic band
Ingredients
- 12 cups filtered water (3L)
- 4 heaping tsp. loose organic green tea or organic black tea (must have caffeine) for 1 batch
- 3/4 cup organic cane sugar
- scoby
In two weeks to three weeks time:
After tea has ferment you'll need these items - YOU WILL NEED TO DOUBLE THE ITEMS AND INGREDIENTS IF YOU PLAN ON PULLING THE SCOBYS APART TO MAKE TWO BATCHES
Items
After tea has ferment you'll need these items - YOU WILL NEED TO DOUBLE THE ITEMS AND INGREDIENTS IF YOU PLAN ON PULLING THE SCOBYS APART TO MAKE TWO BATCHES
Items
- 3 1L mason jars with lids
- another large cookie jar
- another dish cloth and elastic band
Ingredients
- 1 piece of fruit (1/4 apple, pear, plum, peach or nectarine) cut into small pieces, 1/2 cm piece of ginger cut into small pieces or juiced, 3-4 Tbsp. freshly squeezed fruit juice works great too (lemon, orange, lime, or grapefruit), 7 small berries (like raspberry, blackberries, cut blueberries), 1 diced strawberry - per jar
- 12 cups filtered water (3L)
- 4 heaping tsp. loose organic black tea or organic green tea (must have caffeine)
- 3/4 cup organic cane sugar
- scobys (you will have two now, the mommy and the baby)
What to do
1. Bring 8 cups of filtered water to a boil. Turn off burner.
2. Add 4 heaping tsp loose organic black or green tea. Steep tea for 10 minutes. Strain.
3. Add 3/4 cup organic cane sugar. Stir. Add the remaining 4 cups water. Let cool.
4. Add scoby once tea has cooled. Cover with dish cloth and secure on top with an elastic band. Scoby needs to breathe so don't cover with a lid.
5. Keep in a dark and warm place. We have ours by a heater in our room and cover the sides with a towel to keep it dark.
6. Let scoby ferment the kombucha tea for 2 weeks - 3 weeks. We found that we need to let the tea ferment for 2 weeks in the summer and 3 weeks in the winter. The fizziness will go away if you wait too long. Your Kombucha will taste a tad bit like vinegar if you wait too long. If that is the case the vinegar taste will fade once they are placed in the fridge for over a week (after the fruit has been added and all that jazz...confused? Just keep reading).
The scoby really thrives in a warm-hot environment. if your house is very warm, even in the winter, it may only take 2 weeks to ferment.
When Kombucha tea ferments a second baby scoby will form under the original scoby. So now you'll have two. Gently peel them apart and make two batches of tea, give one to a friend or leave them both inside your jar. More Kombucha the better, I always say!
7. Grab your mason jars with lids. Boil the lids for 5 minutes.
Grab your scoby and place it in a bowl and add some of the liquid (1/2 a cup from the cookie jar) so it doesn't dry out.
8. Add your fruit to each mason jar before adding the fermented tea. Or if using freshly squeezed juice use 3-4 Tbsp. per jar. Pour in fermented tea up to the bottom of the rim. Place pre-boiled lid on (still hot) and screw on ring.
9. Start boiling next batch of tea. Since there are now two scobys you can make two batches, double the recipe and go from there. Go back to instruction #1.
10. Keep Kombucha jars/bottles in the same warm/ dark area as before for 2 days for the second fermentation. Then add all the bottles to the fridge. Drink anytime after they have been moved to the fridge.
We currently have seven batches of Kombucha tea fermenting and it is making around 23 mason jars! Like I said, we drink it every night.
Pictures with instructions below.
Pictures with instructions below.
Please, if you have any questions feel free to ask.
Flavours we've tried:
Cantaloupe melon
Apple
Orange, juiced
Grapefruit, juiced
Lemon, juiced
Lime, juiced
Raspberry
Strawberry
Mango
Blackberry
Blueberry
Ginger, peeled or juiced
Plum
Pear
Steep the green or black tea for 10 minutes
I make a concentrate for our Kombucha. Since we need enough tea and water for 7 cookie jars I brew 8 cups (2L) of water with 28 tsps (that's right) of organic green tea and steep it for 10 minutes. Then after I mix it with the sugar and I pour it into a LARGE pot with all the water, stir it up really good and then pour it into all 7 cookie jars with the scobys and store them away to ferment.
Use organic tea! Tea can be GMO too
Wash each cookie jar
Place a scoby (or two) in each jar
Add the organic cane sugar to a large bowl
After the tea had done steeping pour it into the large bowl with the organic cane sugar and use a fine mesh seive to catch the tea leaves. Put the tea leaves into the compost!
Stir the hot tea until all the organic cane sugar has disolved.
2 - 3 weeks later
Cut friut and berries small or juice citrus fruits and add them to mason jars. You'll need three jars per cookie jar
Cut friut and berries small or juice citrus fruits and add them to mason jars. You'll need three jars per cookie jar
Grab your fermented Kombucha that has brewed 2 -3 weeks
This is kinda creepy...swamp Kombucha! This is what it looks like when the scoby has settled in the jar after it has fermented
Take all the scobys out of the cookie jars and place them into a bowl with a bit of liquid (fermented tea)
Place 2 -3 jars in the sick cuz trust me, you'll spill! Pour the fermented Kombucha into each mason jar up to the bottom of the rim
Jars in the sink ready for Kombucha!
Filled with Kombucha. Fizzy and delicious! Sorry it's not ready to drink yet (well you could, but it's not at it's peak flavour yet)
Fill each jar with Kombucha
Boil the lids in hot water for 5 minutes so the rims become soft. Screw lids on tight and place into a dark, warm place for 3 - 7 days. Then move to the fridge to cool and drink!
Delicious Kombucha! Serve cold. To dazzle the Kombucha up, for parties, add slices of citrus fruits and raspberries.
I can't wait to drink this yummy Kombucha on our back deck this hot summer with Tod, just sit back and relax, while the kids play in the yard. That's the dream!
Thanks for reading!
♥ Mandy
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