Alright, what the heck is Kombucha? Kombucha is a living health drink made by fermenting tea and sugar with a kombucha culter turning it into a glass of full of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and health giving organic acids which are said to remove heavy metals from the body.
The result tastes like something between sparkling apple cider and champagne depending on what type of tea you use.
What you will need:
1. A Kombucha Scoby (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) pancake or mushroom (which it is not but is sometimes referred to as one. It is also called a mother and with every batch a new scoby will grow attached to the mother which is called a baby.
2. 2 cups of “starter tea from a previous kombucha tea batch (or you can use organic vinegar if this is your first batch)
3. 5-6 bags of of tea (I use mostly green tea) or one spoonful of loose tea
4. One cup of sugar
5. 3 quarts of good water, not chlorinated, distilled or good well water.
6. A one gallon or larger glass container, a sun tea jar works great.
7. clean cotton cloth, paper towel or coffee filter to cover the mouth to the jar and a rubber band to hold it in place.
Lets get started: Boil your water but do not over boil you just want to get it to a boil and then you are done. Over boiling destroys the oxygen and carbon dioxide that your scoby will need.
Next, steep your tea. Some people steep for a few minutes some overnight, it is up to you.
Add the sugar and mix to dissolve. Now set it aside until it is room temperature. You will kill your scoby if you add it to hot water and I am sure you don’t want to kill your mother.
Add your 2 cups of starter tea or vinegar and then add your scoby. It may sink, float or go on its side. It is OK. A scoby will grow to fit whatever size or shape container you put it in.
Cover your jar with the cloth and rubber band to keep out organisms including fruit flies who love kombucha! Put it away in a nice quiet place where you won’t disturb it for 6-8 days. Around day 3 you may notice a whitish film is developing on the surface of your tea. This is not mold it is your kombucha baby and you will get a new one every time you make a new batch.
On or around day 6 you can try your kombucha by dipping a straw in covered by your finger to soak up some liquid into the straw. Try it and if you like it then you are done. If you are brewing in a sun tea jar you can just use the spigot. Once it is to your liking you are ready to drink your kombucha. If you let it go too long, it will continue to ferment and you will end up with vinegar which you can use in any way that you can use vinegar.
Take your mother out of the jar and separate it from the baby by peeling it apart. Put on a clean plate and pour out your finished kombucha. There may be some brown sluggy looking stuff at the bottom. This is used up yeast and is safe to drink but some people filter their tea before drinking it. Start your new batch and add your baby (and mother if you like) to it or you can just start two batches of kombucha. You can also give the mother or baby away so someone else can become a kombucha friend.
Enjoy!!
Am trying it on my two children and they love it, was trying the chlorella at first but they dont like it. The kombucha is a seller and they call it apple cider soda.
i have been doing this for one month now. yummm!! my process is a wee bit different, though mostly the same. i got mine from my friend who is way into *nourishing traditions*. she passed on directions from the book. i want to try green tea now! 😉