How to Make Kombucha
Today’s Guest Post is brought to you by Mary, who blogs over at The Simple Hearth, about all things real food, featuring posts on practical food how-to’s, kitchen experiments and self improvement. Me: “Kombucha.”
Hubby: ”What’s that?”
Me: ”It’s fermented tea. . . Try some?”
Hubby: ”I don’t like tea.”
Me: “Try some anyway.”
Hubby: ”Hey. . . This stuff is pretty good!”
So now that you know how my family’s discovery of kombucha happened, let me tell you a little bit more about kombucha.
Why should you drink kombucha? Because it’s really good for you! The proclamations on the bottle were so many and so loud that I thought, surely, it was a gimmick. But it’s really true! It helps your whole body function better, mostly by enhancing digestion. One thing I’ve learned in my journey to real food is that proper digestion is key to proper health. Why spend 24 hours making healthy bone broth if your body can’t absorb all the great nutrients from it? Exactly. It supports digestion, liver function, and helps your body get rid of toxins (yuck). It is so great for you because it contains all kinds of beneficial bacteria and yeasts which in turn make powerful enzymes and other good things for your body.
So now you know why it’s good for you, now what? Well, being frugal in my bones, I can’t justify spending $3.50 per bottle (1-2 servings) for this amazing drink. So, I learned how to make my own. It’s surprisingly simple. If you have a friend who brews his/her own kombucha, it’s even simpler because you won’t have to make your own SCOBY (your living Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast–AKA, your money-maker).
Stuff You Need:
1 gallon glass jar
A bottle of raw kombucha from the store
Green tea (it takes about 10 tea bags per batch)
Plain white or cane sugar (DO NOT USE Honey, it will inhibit the bacteria growth)
Optional: Enough glass bottles with good lids to hold 1 gallon of kombucha
Making the SCOBY
Make 2 cups of tea, using 1-2 tea bags and 2 tsps of sugar.
After it cools completely, pour it into the jar.
Add your bottle of raw, starter kombucha.
Cover with a towel or a lid that is not air tight, but keeps bugs out.
Put in a warm, dark place (I put mine on top of the fridge and cover it with an old T-shirt).
Wait for 2-4 weeks (this largely depends on how warm it is in your house). It’s ok to peak to check on it every few days.
At this point, you should have a 1/4 inch thick, funky-looking thing called a SCOBY chilling on top of your tea. If it’s not 1/4 inch thick, let it sit a while longer to grow. This is where the magic happens. This plasticy, slightly slimy disc is what you’re going to use to make your kombucha.
Making the Drink — Almost There!
Make a gallon of green tea, using 10 tea bags and 1 cup of sugar.
Once it cools completely, add it to the jar.
Cover the jar and return it to its resting place for about 1 week (again, it’s ok to peak/taste test because this part varies so widely from house to house). Once it tastes how you like it, you’re almost done.
Either you can just put the whole jar in the fridge and ladle some out of the jar every time you want some, or you can do one more step to make it more carbonated / portable.
Second Fermentation — Add a Little Fizz.
If you like a more carbonated drink, you can choose to do a second fermentation.
Take your small glass bottles, add about between 1/4 and 1/2 a tsp of sugar into each jar for each cup of liquid it can hold.
Carefully pour your tea into the bottles, reserving 2 cups of liquid in the 1 gallon jar to start your next batch and keep your money-maker alive and kicking.
Cap bottles very tightly. Gently shake until all the sugar is dissolved.
Put in your warm, dark place for 1-4 days, depending on how warm it is. Check it every day by tasting from a different bottle each day to see how carbonated it is.
**Be careful not to forget about them. These are living, growing organisms and if you leave them too long, it could even potentially burst a jar from the pressure.
Voila! You now are set up to enjoy your very own kombucha at pennies on the dollar for what it costs to buy it from the store.
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