The below recipe and directions go over the same things that are in the video above. After that are some variations you can try and some history about Kombucha.
Things needed:
- Water (preferably spring or well water)
- Jar to brew Kombucha in (I use this one)
- Sugar
- Green tea
- Black tea
- SCOBY (Symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast)
- Frozen juice
- Flip top bottles (These are the ones I use)
Recipe:
- 1 gallon of water
- 2 cups of sugar
- 4 organic green tea
- 3 organic black tea
- SCOBY (Symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast)
Directions:Make sweet tea:
- Boil the water
- If using tap water make sure you hard boil for at least 5 minutes to get rid of the chlorine. The chlorine would kill the bacteria and your SCOBY!
- Take off the heat and add 2 cups of sugar
- Add the 4 organic green tea bags
- Add the 3 organic black tea bags
- Let sit till it has cooled down to room temperature
Make new batch of Kombucha to ferment for about a week:
- Dump the kombucha that is done fermenting (has been sitting for the past week) into a plastic bowl (We’ll come back to this in “Flavoring and 2nd fermentation)
- Kombucha doesn’t like metal so do not use metal
- Put new room temperature tea into container that you just poured the Kombucha out of
- Put 1 cup of the old finished Kombucha juice into the container with the new tea
- Put SCOBY in
- Store in dark place for about a week, 5-8 days.
- You can leave it for up to 30 days but at that point you’ve basically made vinegar
Flavor and second fermentation:
- Mix the frozen juice into the Kombucha in the plastic bowl
- Fill the flip top jars with the Kombucha and juice mixture
- Leave jars on the counter for 24-48 hours or about a day or 2
- Be very careful with how long you leave the jars out. They are building pressure and if you leave them out to long they could explode!
- Start with like 12 hours and if it isn’t bubbly enough for you increase. Again be very careful so the jars do not explode!
- Put the jars of Kombucha in the fridge and enjoy the delicious good for you beverage
- Also be careful when opening these jars, hold the top down so Kombucha doesn’t spray all over. Remember there is built up pressure that needs to be released slowly
Variations you can try:
Over the years I’ve experimented with different types of sugar and different types of tea. They all make the Kombucha have different flavors. I will say that when I tried different fruit teas I had to stop because my SCOBY was starting to not look so good. The darker sugars gave us a stronger Kombucha. Also the more black tea used the stronger the Kombucha.
Different types of sugar I’ve tried (all the below gave a much stronger Kombucha, too strong for the kids):
- Demerara - This is a type of cane sugar with a fairly large grain and a pale amber color.
- Sucanat - Made from crystallized pure cane sugar, this truly unrefined sugar retains a higher proportion of molasses than other types of cane sugars.
- Turbinado - Less processed than brown sugar, turbinado is made from the first pressing of sugar cane and retains some natural molasses.
I used to use a mixture of those 3 sugars but then I was the only one drinking the Kombucha because everyone else didn’t care for the stronger more flavorful Kombucha.
The above sugars and more information on other types of Sugar can be found here
I’ve also tried lots of different kinds of juices and fruits and such. So experiment and have fun with it.
History of Kombucha:
My understanding is that Kombucha originated in China around 221 BC and a loose transliteration of the chinese name is “Elixir of immortality”. Though the name “Kombucha” originated around 415 AD when a Korean Dr. named Kombu treated a Japanese emperor with this fermented tea. Cha means tea so that is how it got the name Kombucha.
Health benefits of Kombucha:
Man if you look online you can find people claiming that Kombucha has helped with all kinds of things. I don’t discredit those claims because all of our bodies are so different. But I will say just because it was the cure all for one person doesn’t mean it will be for you. What I do know is that it is good for your gut and a lot of people say all healing starts in the gut. So give it a try and see what happens. It also can give you an energy boost. The green and black teas do have caffeine. So I usually try not to drink it too late or I have trouble sleeping
Alcohol content of Kombucha:
Yes kombucha does have an alcohol content. Usually no more than 0.5%. However that can vary and be more if you ferment it longer. However with that said Kombucha is self limiting in how much alcohol content it will have. The yeast and bacteria work together in symbiosis, so as the yeast produces ethanol, the bacteria converts that ethanol into acid. This is also why each brew will be different.
Conclusion:
Our family loves Kombucha and I hope you saw from the video and the directions that you to can easily make Kombucha that your kids will love.