I decided to leave my gluten and dairy free anti-inflammatory diet behind for a few days this holiday season and my body is already screaming from the indulgence of this past holiday dinner. Since the family headed over to my chef friend’s house for Thanksgiving, I only made one side this year, 30 servings of rich organic macaroni and cheese. I spent the other part of the day brewing my first batch of Kombucha Tea. Good thing I did because I went from 0 to 100 over night gluten, sugar and diary wise and woke up the next with an achy inflamed back and a fierce headache with mad crazy head congestion.
Why Kombucha?
Die hard Kombucha drinkers list a wide variety of benefits and claim that it helps with everything from joint pain to cancer. These claims are largely unproven, mainly because there are few studies about kombucha, but we do know that it contains a variety of vitamins and beneficial acids.
After being fermented, kombucha becomes carbonated and contains vinegar, b-vitamins, enzymes, probiotics and a high concentration of acid (acetic, gluconic and lactic), which are tied with the following effects:
Improved Digestion
Weight Loss
Increased Energy
Cleansing and Detoxification
Immune Support
Reduced Joint Pain
Cancer Prevention
What is Kombucha?
Kombucha starts out as a sugary tea fermented with the help of a scoby. “SCOBY” is an acronym for “symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast.” It’s a very close cousin to the “mother” used to make vinegar.
The scoby bacteria and yeast eat most of the sugar in the tea, transforming the tea into a refreshingly fizzy, slightly sour fermented (but mostly non-alcoholic) beverage that is relatively low in calories and sugar.
Kombucha Concerns
Sugar Kombucha is brewed from sweetened tea, and the recipe contains a cup of sugar per gallon of tea and some people worry about the sugar content. It should be noted that during the fermentation process, the beneficial colony of bacteria consumes most of the sugar, the sugar remaining should have minimal effect on blood sugar. In this instance the added sugar is simply the food for these beneficial bacteria and the beneficial acids, enzymes and probiotics are a result of the fermentation.
Caffeine Caffeine is sometimes a concern, kombucha can be made with caffeinated or decaf tea, and even with green tea or herbal teas. To protect the integrity of the culture, it is good to use at least 20% regular black tea though.
Alcohol Kombucha can contain trace amounts of alcohol, typically around 0.5% or less, which is similar to an over-ripe banana. The longer kombucha ferments, the more alcohol it has, so strong home brews may contain more than 0.5% alcohol. These amounts are generally considered safe, but if alcohol is a concern, it may be better to stick to drinks like water kefir or foods like sauerkraut for the probiotic benefits instead of this tasty beverage.
Contamination Making home brew kombucha has it’s own risks because you are brewing and consuming an unpasteurized variety. Make sure you sterilize your bottle and equipment so that unwanted bacteria does not compromise the home brew. While brewing kombucha at home always look for signs of a healthy brew and discard if you see any black mold or funky smell, check for signs of a healthy kombucha brew. While the home-brewed nature of kombucha makes some DIYers nervous, it’s unlikely that kombucha will ever make you sick. If you are worried about making your own, start with a store bought variety, just be warned they are pricey.
Kombucha Tea Recipe
Makes about 1 gallon
Ingredients
3 1/2 quarts water
1 cup sugar (organic granulated sugar works well)
8 bags black tea, green tea, or a mix (or 2 tablespoons loose tea)
2 cups starter tea from last batch of kombucha or store-bought kombucha (unpasteurized, unflavored)
1 scoby per fermentation jar, homemade or purchased online (I got mine from a friend)
Optional flavoring extras for bottling: 1 to 2 cups chopped fruit, 2 to 3 cups fruit juice, or 2 to 4 tablespoons fresh herbs or spices
Equipment
-Stock pot
-1-gallon glass jar or two 2-quart glass jars
-Tightly woven cloth (like clean napkins or tea towels), coffee filters, or paper towels, to cover the jar
Bottles: for storage later
Instructions
- Make the tea base: Bring the water to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar to dissolve. Drop in the tea and allow it to steep until the water has cooled. Depending on the size of your pot, this will take a few hours. You can speed up the cooling process by placing the pot in an ice bath.
- Add the starter tea: Once the tea is cool, remove the tea bags or strain out the loose tea. Stir in the starter tea. (The starter tea makes the liquid acidic, which prevents unfriendly bacteria from taking up residence in the first few days of fermentation.)
- Transfer to jars and add the scoby: Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon glass jar (or divide between two 2-quart jars, in which case you’ll need 2 scobys) and gently slide the scoby into the jar with clean hands. Cover the mouth of the jar with a few layers tightly-woven cloth, coffee filters, or paper towels secured with a rubber band. (If you develop problems with gnats or fruit flies, use a tightly woven cloth or paper towels, which will do a better job keeping the insects out of your brew.)
- Ferment for 7 to 10 days: Keep the jar at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, and where it won’t get jostled. Ferment for 7 to 10 days, checking the kombucha and the scoby periodically.
- The scoby may float to the top, bottom, or even sideways during fermentation. Also a new cream-colored layer of scoby should start forming on the surface of the kombucha in a few days. It usually attaches to the old scoby, but it’s ok if they separate. You may also see brown stringy bits floating beneath the scoby, sediment collecting at the bottom, and bubbles collecting around the scoby. This is all normal and signs of healthy fermentation.
- After 7 days, begin tasting the kombucha daily by pouring a little out of the jar and into a cup. When it reaches a balance of sweetness and tartness that is pleasant to you, the kombucha is ready to bottle.
- Remove the scoby: Before proceeding, prepare and cool another pot of strong tea for your next batch of kombucha, as outlined above. With clean hands, gently lift the scoby out of the kombucha and set it on a clean plate. As you do, check it over and remove the bottom layer if the scoby is getting very thick.
- Bottle the finished kombucha: Measure out your starter tea from this batch of kombucha and set it aside for the next batch. Pour the fermented kombucha (straining, if desired) into bottles using the small funnel, along with any juice, herbs, or fruit you may want to use as flavoring. Leave about a half inch of head room in each bottle. (Alternatively, infuse the kombucha with flavorings for a day or two in another covered jar, strain, and then bottle. For a cleaner kombucha without “stuff” in it.)
- Carbonate and refrigerate the finished kombucha: Store the bottled kombucha at room temperature out of direct sunlight and allow 1 to 3 days for the kombucha to carbonate. Until you get a feel for how quickly your kombucha carbonates, it’s helpful to keep it in plastic bottles; the kombucha is carbonated when the bottles feel rock solid. Refrigerate to stop fermentation and carbonation, and then consume your kombucha within a month.
- Make a fresh batch of kombucha: Clean the jar being used for kombucha fermentation. Combine the starter tea from your last batch of kombucha with the fresh batch of sugary tea, and pour it into the fermentation jar. Slide the scoby on top, cover, and ferment for 7 to 10 days.
Recipe Notes
Note: Avoid prolonged contact between the kombucha and metal both during and after brewing. This can affect the flavor of your kombucha and weaken the scoby over time. Covering for the jar: Cheesecloth is not ideal because it’s easy for small insects, like fruit flies, to wiggle through the layers. Use a few layers of tightly woven cloth (like clean napkins or tea towels), coffee filters, or paper towels, to cover the jar, and secure it tightly with rubber bands or twine.
Batch Size: To increase or decrease the amount of kombucha you make, maintain the basic ratio of 1 cup of sugar, 8 bags of tea, and 2 cups starter tea per gallon batch. One scoby will ferment any size batch, though larger batches may take longer.
Pausing Kombucha: If you’ll be away for 3 weeks or less, just make a fresh batch and leave it on your counter. It will likely be too vinegary to drink by the time you get back, but the scoby will be fine. For longer breaks, store the scoby in a fresh batch of the tea base with starter tea in the fridge. Change out the tea for a fresh batch every 4 to 6 weeks.
Other Tea Options: Black tea tends to be the easiest and most reliable for the scoby to ferment into kombucha, but once your scoby is going strong, you can try branching out into other kinds. Green tea, white tea, oolong tea, or a even mix of these make especially good kombucha. Herbal teas are okay, but be sure to use at least a few bags of black tea in the mix to make sure the scoby is getting all the nutrients it needs. Avoid any teas that contain oils, like earl grey or flavored teas.
Troubleshooting Kombucha
It is normal for the scoby to float on the top, bottom, or sideways in the jar. It is also normal for brown strings to form below the scoby or to collect on the bottom. If your scoby develops a hole, bumps, dried patches, darker brown patches, or clear jelly-like patches, it is still fine to use. Usually these are all indicative of changes in the environment of your kitchen and not a problem with the scoby itself.
Kombucha will start off with a neutral aroma and then smell progressively more vinegary as brewing progresses. If it starts to smell cheesy, rotten, or otherwise unpleasant, this is a sign that something has gone wrong. If you see no signs of mold on the scoby, discard the liquid and begin again with fresh tea. If you do see signs of mold, discard both the scoby and the liquid and begin again with new ingredients.
A scoby will last a very long time, but it’s not indestructible. If the scoby becomes black, that is a sign that it has passed its lifespan. If it develops green or black mold, it is has become infected. In both of these cases, throw away the scoby and begin again.
To prolong the life and maintain the health of your scoby, stick to the ratio of sugar, tea, starter tea, and water outlined in the recipe. You should also peel off the bottom (oldest) layer every few batches. This can be discarded, composted, used to start a new batch of kombucha, or given to a friend to start their own.
If you’re ever in doubt about whether there is a problem with your scoby, just continue brewing batches but discard the kombucha they make. If there’s a problem, it will get worse over time and become very apparent. If it’s just a natural aspect of the scoby, then it will stay consistent from batch to batch and the kombucha is fine for drinking.
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