WHAT IS KOMBUCHA?
Kombucha is a traditional brewed soft drink. It uses very basic ingredients and if made correctly will produce a tangy beverage that contains billions of friendly bacteria; probiotics.
In modern society, one of the biggest challenges we face is the degradation of our Microbiome, the profound and comprehensive network of trillions of bacteria that create a protective cocoon around the human genome. When the microbiome is fully optimized and flourishing, it is almost impossible for the genome to get sick.
But, modern lifestyles, dominated by stress and over consumption of things like sugar, alcohol, pesticides, antibiotics and antibiotic residues, refined grains, pharmaceutical drugs, vaccines and a variety of toxic food additives and airborne pollutants, the microbiome is literally under siege and diseases that should not really exist are at epidemic proportions.
Kombucha is a fun, tasty way of restoring and invigorating your crucial and life-giving microbiome. So, I invite you to “get amongst it” and see what you can create. And when you do get good at it, you will never be short of life giving gifts to share with others.
STEP 1: STARTING OUT
To start, you are going to need Green Tea Bags (Organic is best), Sugar (again Organic is best) and a Glass Jar for brewing, plus another glass bowl for tea preparation. You will also need a Scoby (Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast). You do not have one, you can get one from here. Finally, one bottle of store purchased Kombucha.
You will need to make sure you have access to filtered water. If you do not have a filter, you can purchase one of the jug filters at the supermarket. If you would like to have a really good filter for home, I absolutely suggest the Zazen Filter.
You will need bottles to place your final product. I really like bottles that are 300 to 400 mls. You need bottles with a robust plastic lid so you can get a good seal when you bottle your kombucha. Over time, you may wish to simply collect bottles of this kind, fruit juice bottles, soft drink bottles (who would ever buy such a thing). I have looked online, but to get a reasonable price, you have to buy a lot. But if you have friends who want to brew, perhaps you can get together and place a decent order. Also, if you have the plastic lid, you can re-use the bottles many times. The flimsy metal lid bottles lose their seal to easily.
STEP 2: BREWING
The following is for an 8 litre jar. Also, I prefer to use darker sugars (you can use white if you wish), because they are less refined and have a much higher mineral content. Much more nutritional. My favourite is Organic Coconut Sugar. If your jar is not 8 litres, just do the calculations to see how much of each ingredient you need.
Make sure your jar is clean. Place 8 Green Tea Bags and 2.5 cups of sugar in a glass bowl. Pour in enough boiling filtered water to submerge them, then stir gentle with a wooden spoon until the sugar dissolves. Then allow to stand for 10 minutes to steep.
Remove the teabags and pour the brew into the larger jar and fill, almost to the top with filtered water. Pour in your bottle of Kombucha and then sit the Scoby in the top of the liquid and allow it to float there.
Cover the top of the jar with a cloth and place an elastic band around it. Place it in a dark place and leave it for 8-9 days.
STEP 3 - AFTER 8 DAYS
When you check your brew after 8 days you should be able to see tiny bubbles floating up, not many but a few. Taste it and decide if you feel it needs an extra day. You will become more experienced with this over time. If you leave it too long it may start to have a slight vinegar taste.
STEP 4 – READY TO MAKE YOUR BREWS
Original Flavour:
You can simply bottle it now and it will be great.
Original but Fizzy:
Place a teaspoon of sugar in the bottle and then pour the brew in and seal. Leave it sitting on the bench for another three days before refrigerating and this will create a second fermentation. You will end up with a very fizzy kombucha.
Lemon and Ginger:
I slice up a ginger root and place it in a saucepan with sugar. The amount of sugar will depend on the number of bottles you are planning to make (about a teaspoon per bottle). Simmer for 10 minutes. Then I allow it too cool and add lemon juice. Pour the mixture into a blender – 1/3 Ginger Mix and 2/3 Kombucha) and blend for 15 seconds. Bottle it and leave it stand for 3 days before refrigerating and drinking.
Fruits Juice Flavours:
Mix 1/3 juice (ideally apple or pineapple) in a blender with 2/3 kombucha. Blend for 15 seconds and bottle. L leave it stand for 3 days before refrigerating and drinking.
Berry Flavours:
You can blend up berries into a liquid if you like, or purchase an organic berry syrup. Pour some into a blender with kombucha and blend for 15 seconds. Same deal, let it stand after bottling for 3 days.