Kombucha is a slightly fizzy, extremely low alchoholic drink made with sweetened black, herbal or green tea. Kombucha is a fermented drink which contains high levels of antioxidants, vitamin b, probiotics and glucaric acid.
Anecdotally the benefits of this drink is as a liver detox, improved digestion and more.
Kombucha is brewed with a Scoby which “eats” the sugars in the sweetened tea and creates an acidic, vitamin and probiotic rich drink.
Recipe
You need:
Large Jar – I use a 5 litre jar with a little tap at the bottom (available at the reject shop)
Enough brewed sweetened tea for the size of your jar (this can be weak or strong – up to you). I use a cup of sugar for my 5 litre jar and that is quite adequate. Reduce the amount for smaller jars.
A Scoby - You can ‘grow’ one of your own, I have not done this so don’t know how easy the process is. I am making kombucha so would be able to supply a scoby to anyone that wants one.
The Process:
Make sure your jar is clean. Pour your tea into your jar – make sure you leave enough room for your scoby and the liquid your scoby has been resting in. The tea must be cool. Hot tea will kill your scoby.
Cover your jar with a breathable cloth (eg cheesecloth) and rubber band. Place in a cool, darkened (ie no direct sunlight) part of the house. Taste test your brew periodically. In summer your kombucha will ferment over a period of 7 – 10 days. In winter it may take 3 weeks or more. You want the tea to taste slightly acidic or vinegary.
Once this happens you can bottle your kombucha. This is when you do your second fermentation. You can do this with ginger, fruit of any kind, cinnamon or experiment with tastes you love. Place your preferred flavour in your bottle (about a heaped teaspoon per bottle) and pour in the kombucha.
Leave to sit for about a week or two depending on the weather and then it is ready to drink. It should be sparkly and delicious.
After you have bottled your brew you are ready to repeat the process with a new brew. If you are not ready to make a new brew, make sure you leave your scoby in your jar with some of the kombucha and seal with a proper lid until you are ready to make the next brew.
As you make your brews your scoby will continually be making ‘babies’ and will enable you to pass on scoby’s to anyone who wants to make their own kombucha.