While I have been fermenting vegetables for over 2 years now, it only seemed natural for me to venture into making my own Kombucha. One bottle alone is almost $4.50 at our local grocery store. Considering that I wanted to add another form of probiotics into my daily routine, this seemed like a logical step for me to take.
During my research on making Kombucha, I mainly found resources that would sell you a Scoby, and very little information on how to create my own. I finally found an article on doing so myself. I wondered how hard could it be as someone had to create one, right?
"SCOBY"
You might ask, what is a "SCOBY" well, it is a Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast!
This is the first Scoby that I grew from scratch. I was so proud of myself for being successful at my first try.
A Scoby houses millions of microorganisms and is the starter that's needed to make Kombucha. It is made up of lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid bacteria, and yeast. All of which are necessary to create the cellular structure of the Scoby. Apparently, the bacteria convert the ethanol gas from the yeast into healthy acids,, which we definitely are looking for in making Kombucha Tea.
The bacteria and yeast in a Scoby depend very much on each other to thrive. During the fermentation process, the yeast feeds the bacteria and in turn, the by-products of the bacteria feed the yeast. So they truly do depend on each other to create the perfect environment within the Kombucha vessel.
During this symbiotic process, the Scoby will build a cellulose structure, or a thin mat on the surface of the tea. This is very important as it keeps out any foreign bacteria and yeast from entering the tea. Plus, it helps to hold in the gases created during the fermenting process to create the carbonation in the tea.
During the fermentation, the sweet tea begins to have a lower pH level which keeps out bad bacteria while creating healthy organic acids. These acids have antibacterial and antiviral properties that are very beneficial to the gut biome.
Basic Sweet Tea Recipe
1-2 Tablespoons of Black or Green Loose Leaf Tea or 4-6 tea bags
1 Gallon of Filtered - non-chlorinated water (I use Distilled)
1 cup of Cane Sugar
1 Bottle of Raw Kombucha Tea (I used a brand called Synergy)
*Note: The bottled Kombucha is only needed to make the Mother Scoby during the first batch of tea.
Making Sweet Tea
1. If using loose tea, I like to place it into a coffee filter and secure it with a twist tie. This makes it so that you don't have to strain out the loose leaves.
- Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, turn off the heat, and place the tea into the water to steep.
- After 10 minutes remove the tea bags and stir in the sugar until well dissolved.
4.. Add the remaining water to cool the liquid down. - Once the tea is cool add in the bottle of Kombucha tea you purchased.
- Pour the sweet tea into a large glass vessel and cover it with a cloth secured with a rubber band. Place in a warm area out of direct sunlight.
Growing My First Scoby
Because you are growing your own Scoby for the first time, it may be difficult for you not to disturb your tea. I know I kept removing the large cloth I had used at first to see if a Scoby was growing almost every day. Now, I just use the small one in the photo. It is very important not to disturb the vessel because the Scoby forms a very thin layer of cellulose on top of the tea.
I don't remember exactly how long it took for my first Scoby to grow, but it may have taken almost 10 days or more to form a nice-sized one. I could not have been any happier to finally see that I had one growing in the vessel. All it took was some patience and determination on my part. Besides, I saved a lot of money by growing my own instead of purchasing one online.
When I made my first batch of tea I only had a half-gallon jar. Of course, I used a smaller amount of tea and sugar ratio for it. After that, I purchased the 2-gallon tea vessel seen below with a spout which makes it easy to fill up the jars after it has fermented.
Time To TasteTest
After 5 days to a week the Kombucha will probably begin to have a sweet-sour smell to it, somewhat like beer. This is how you will know that you have been successful with your brew.
It is time for you to begin taste-testing the tea daily. Take a straw and carefully put it down the side of the glass jar trying not to disturb the Scoby too much. Take a sip of the tea and see if it is to your liking. Once the brewed tea reaches the flavor you prefer, it is time to bottle up your Kombucha.
Now that you have made your first batch of fermented tea, you will probably be hooked like I was. Before you bottle up all the tea, you need to save a cup or two of the tea from the top of the jar without stirring up any of the yeast sediment on the bottom and set it aside in a clean bowl.
This is the starter liquid that will be used to start your second batch of Kombucha. Now you can bottle up your fermented tea as it is, or, you can flavor it and do a second ferment. That my friends I will share in part two coming soon on "Flavoring" Kombucha.
Until next time, this is Sunscape
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