User:Derf/Kombucha

Blackberry Honey kombucha

Kombucha is drink made from tea and a Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast (SCOBY). The SCOBY eats tea and sugar and produces a great probiotic fizzy drink, that's heavily customizable — and experimental! — to your tastes. This guide is my recipe for making kombucha at home. While there are startup costs, subsequent batches are very low cost, especially when you compare the cost to store-bought kombucha.

Note that those with alcohol sensitivities may want to avoid kombucha. While a regular kombucha batch is around 0.5% ABV, it may produce more, particularly if honey is added. Store-bought kombucha generally is watered down (yuck) or a bio-engineered strain (GT's brand) to avoid being classified as an alcoholic drink.

You do not have to use caffeinated tea.

Materials

You will need:

• A SCOBY (or kit that comes with one).
  • Avoid shipping the SCOBY in the summer, as the hot mail trucks can kill them.
• A 1 gallon glass jar (included in above kit)
• Cheese cloth or thin towel, and a string or rubber band to secure it to the jar (included in above kit)
• Flip top bottles, thick walled for fermentation and preferably brown to let less light in.
• Teabags — any kind and combination. I use 4 black teabags and 2 green ones in each batch. Despite what some websites say, it does NOT have to be caffeinated tea. The kombucha supposedly consumes about 2/3 of the caffeine for its nitrogen, but there are nitrogen-producing bacteria in the SCOBY that can fill this void. SCOBYs constantly are changing, so a few batches of caffine-free tea should cause the nitrogen-producers to be more present and maintain balance.
• Funnel
• 1 cup sugar
• (Optional) Fruit. I usually do strawberries, raspberry, blackberry, or a mixture. The more ripe the better.
• (Optional) Honey. I generally only use honey if my fruit isn't very sweet or ripe. Pairs well with blackberries. Technically, this makes your brew a "jun" instead of a kombucha if you are using green tea only.
• (Optional) Reusable labels to write the flavor on the bottles and fermentation end date on large jar.

First Ferment (1F)

1. Rinse the inside of the jar with water, then microwave the whole jar for 1 minute to sterilize it.
2. Fill your jar with water, then pour it into a pot and boil.
3. Tie the teabags together and place it in the boiling water, cover it, and turn off the heat. Let sit until it's just slightly warm (below pasteurization temperature).
4. Pour it in the jar with 1 cup of sugar and the SCOBY and mix it with a preferably-plastic spoon.
5. Cover the jar with cheesecloth and let it sit for 7 days, then give it a gentle stir and try a spoonful. Do not put the spoon back in the liquid. You want it to be just slightly sweet — if you let it go too long on the first ferment, it turns into vinegar. If it's unbearably sweet, let it go another day and try it again and repeat. Depending on the health of the SCOBY and your environment, it will take between 7 and 14 days.
6. Take the SCOBY puck out and put it in a mason jar with enough liquid to cover it. Put it in the fridge until you’re ready to start the next batch, up to 2 weeks (unless you "feed it"), or freeze it, for up to 1 month.
   • Some people drink their kombucha plain and uncarbonated like this. If that's the case, enjoy.

Second Ferment (2F)

1. If using fruit, use a food processor to blend your fruit, put a funnel in your flip top bottle, and put about 3 tablespoons of the fruit puree into it. Pour the kombucha from the jar into the funnel to wash the fruit puree down, and fill the bottle, leaving about 2 or 3 inches of head space for air.
   • If not using fruit, you can make plain carbonated kombucha by putting two teaspoons of sugar in.
   • You can make jun by substituting honey for the sugar (or some of the fruit) instead. I generally do 1 teaspoon and 2 tablespoon of fruit if I make jun.
2. Set the bottles in a dark place for 3 days, then transfer them to the fridge to chill and store them.
3. While chilled, open the bottle. You may want to cover the top with a plastic bowl, especially if you accidentally let the second ferment go too long, as it spray out. Strain into a glass and enjoy.
   • ONLY OPEN THEM WHEN CHILLED or else your kombucha will turn into foam and paint your ceiling.

Your SCOBY puck will grow new layers like a stack of pancakes. You can rip a layer off to give to someone else, add it in smoothies, or to have a "backup SCOBY" in case your primary one dies.

Feeding your Fridge SCOBY

If you want to take a long break between SCOBY batches and keep your SCOBY in the fridge, you should give it a fresh cup of tea and a few tablespoons of sugar every week or two to keep it happy.

Flavor Combinations

The following are flavor combinations I've tried and recommend:

• Honey + 1/4 teaspoon vanilla - Like a cream soda
• Strawberry
• Raspberry
• Raspberry + Blackberry
• Blackberry
• Blackberry + Honey
• Blueberry
• Cherry + Honey
• Cherry + Honey + 1/4 teaspoon vanilla - Like a cherry cream soda

These are some I have tried and don't recommend:

• Cherry alone (tastes like cough syrup)
• Lime juice alone (just sour)
• Kiwi alone (just sour)

Experiments in progress:

• 1 small can pineapple juice

Want to try:

• Lemon blueberry
• Cherry lime + honey
• Coconut water
• Banana + honey
• Strawberry kiwi