Tips for making kombucha:
- Make sure that your brewed tea is cold before you add it to the SCOBY. Otherwise you will kill your SCOBY which is your living bacteria. Some call the pellicle or the membrane that forms on top the SCOBY, some consider both the liquid and pellicle the SCOBY.
- You can use black tea or green tea and cheap tea bags are fine. No need to go fancy! Same with the sugar
- When it comes to sugar, plain white sugar is best
- Use a clean, sterilised glass jar for the bulk brew. Avoid prolongeds contact with metal parts
- make sure to buy round airtight bottles (don't buy square, they're not as strong as round). We bought ours called Korken at IKEA for $1.99
- The more fruit and the sweeter the fruit, the more carbonation you will get. You may want to "burp" or open your bottle after one day
- If you want a really, really fizzy kombucha, try crystallised ginger-yum!
- If you use lime and lemon, these end up being very strong flavours so pare those back a little
- Keep a SCOBY hotel (a back up SCOBY) in a separate jar. Every 6-8 weeks discard half of the jar and then top it up with fresh tea brew.
- Other than that, have fun with kombucha!
So tell me Dear Reader, are you a kombucha fan? Have you got a favourite flavour?
Home Made Kombucha
Start this 9 days ahead of when you want to drink it
- 1/2 cup SCOBY*
- 1 litre boiling water
- 4 black or green tea teabags (or 2 tablespoons loose leaf tea)
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 3 tablespoons of fruit of choice
- You will also need a tea towel, wide mouthed 2 litre or so large glass jar without a lid and an airtight bottle
Buy SCOBY from health food stores or online or get it from a friend that makes kombucha.
Kombucha is made in two steps. The first one takes 7 days and the second step takes 1-2 days.
Step 1 - Dissolve the sugar in the water and steep tea bags for 10-15 minutes to make a strong brew. Cool completely. Add to a large clean glass jar along with your 1/2 cup of SCOBY liquid and pellicle membrane. Cover with a tea towel and secure with an elastic band or string. Allow to rest in a dark, warm area of your kitchen for 7 days and try not to move it during that time (on top of a fridge is a good place).
Step 2 - After 7 days, place around 3 tablespoons of fruit in an airtight glass bottle. Add some kombucha brew to it (don't add the pellicle) and close it securely. Let it sit at room temperature for 1-2 days. If it looks very fizzy "burp" (aka open it) after 1 day and do this over the sink in case if fizzes. Ours never over fizzed or exploded by JY did have one that fizzed everywhere.