Like many other health foods, I was first introduced to kombucha while attending the Natural Gourmet Institute. We were learning about the benefits of living foods, including fresh/raw, sprouted, fermented, and dehydrated foods. Fermented foods were of particular interest to me when I learned that they introduce beneficial bacteria (probiotics) into your digestive system that have been shown to slow or reverse some diseases, aid digestion, and boost immunity. In order to nourish or feed the probiotics, it’s important to eat plenty of prebiotics, which are abundant in fruit and vegetables. Through Kombucha 101 class I also learned that it’s not just the probiotics that we benefit from, it’s also the seven different acids created through fermentation that are beneficial to the body. These acids help detoxify the body, balance a number of critical systems, and increase nutrient absorption, among other benefits. The microbes in kombucha transform the sugar and other compounds into highly accessible polyphenols and other antioxidants, B vitamins, vitamin C, organic enzymes, amino acids, and organic acids. Kombucha is a true superfood!

When I began to drink a bottle of kombucha on a daily basis, it started to get pricey at $4 or $5 a bottle, so the cost motivated me to learn how to make it myself. The SCOBY, symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, kind of freaked me out, but after taking the Kombucha 101 class at Kombucha Brooklyn (located in Kingston, NY), I realized that the scoby is a beautiful living thing. With each batch of kombucha, a new scoby is produced, so you can give them to friends or family to begin their own brews. It’s kind of an amazing process and I’m so happy that I’ve begun to make my own. Brewing kombucha is surprisingly easy! I found the Kombucha! book by Eric and Jessica Childs to be incredibly helpful. I purchased this kit to start: http://www.kombuchabrooklyn.com/kombucha-home-brewing-kits/kbbk-super-kit.html.

Once you start brewing, all you really need to buy are tea and sugar to continue the process. This recipe is adapted from Kombucha Brooklyn’s recipe with some of my additional notes. It takes you through the primary fermentation process. In order to carbonate your kombucha, secondary fermentation is necessary. You can also experiment with flavoring. I’ve only gone as far as putting some sliced ginger in bottles, which I enjoyed. The book provides more guidance on this process and also if you can make it to Kingston, NY, I really loved the Kombucha 101 class. It definitely made me feel more confident that I could successfully brew my own at home. They also offer more advanced classes for brewing kombucha which I may look into once I become a primary fermentation pro 🙂

Equipment:
1 gallon glass brew jar
Cloth cover and rubber bands
temperature strip
6 – 16 oz glass bottles

Ingredients:
SCOBY with starter liquid
1 cup organic evaporated cane sugar
12 oz. tea bag (black, white, and green tea blend)

Procedure:

1. Boil 4 cups of filtered water.
2. While the water is boiling, clean the brewing area, jar, hands and utensils and make sure the items are well-rinsed and free of soap residue.
3. Steep tea bag in hot water for 20 minutes, making sure to stir the tea every 5 minutes.
4. Remove tea bag and stir sugar until fully dissolved.
5. Add 2 quarts of cold filtered water to the gallon brew jar; add the sweetened tea. Stir.
6. Stick the temperature strip on the side of the brew jar and make sure the temperature is below 90 degrees before adding the scoby with its starter liquid (a temperature of 90 and above could kill the scoby)
7. Cover the jar with the cloth cover with 2 rubber bands (in case one breaks). Make sure the cover is pulled tightly over the rim of the jar to prevent contamination/fruit flies.
8. Keep the brew jar in a warm environment between 72 and 80 degrees, avoiding direct sunlight. If your home is not warm enough, you can buy a small heating mat to either wrap around or put under the jar, depending on how cool your home is.
9. Within 2-4 days, you should see a new scoby developing on the surface.
10. You should start tasting your kombucha by day 7 to see where it’s at and whether or not you want to continue fermenting. This is really a matter of personal preference. Also, remember that your kombucha will ferment faster at warmer temperatures. In order to taste, you can use a clean shot glass to gently push the scoby down and scoop a little from the surface.
11. Once your kombucha is to your taste, you’re ready to bottle. Remove the original and new scoby and 2 cups of kombucha to use for your next batches. If you don’t plan to make a new batch right away, place these in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator. The original and the new scoby can each be used to make their own batches.
12. For bottling, I used a funnel for my first batch and that was a little messy. For the second batch, I may invest in an auto siphon to avoid spillage. Place bottles in the fridge, unless you plan to continue into secondary fermentation.

If you’re buying a scoby, it will come in a plastic bag with starter liquid.

In my first batch of kombucha, the original scoby was vertical and the new scoby developed at the surface, as it should.

In my second batch, I used the new scoby that was created from the original. This new scoby sat at the top and another scoby is developing right on top.

This is a photo from class: Eric Childs at Kombucha Brooklyn is removing his picture-perfect new scoby on top from the original one. Exciting stuff!

Happy brewing!!