Kombucha tea is an herbal tea produced by fermentation with a sweet and sour taste, similar to vinegar. The intensity of the flavor can be adjusted by the amount of tea bags used during the first stage of preparation. Available in most health food stores and organic food sections of supermarkets, here's how to make it at home.
Ingrediants
- A kombucha mother mushroom, also called SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast). You can buy it on the internet or, with a bit of luck, get it from a friend who has one more. After you get it, you won't need to buy another one if you follow the steps required to store it.
- Some ready-made kombucha tea or vinegar.
- Tea in bags or leaves. Ordinary teas sometimes taste better than expensive ones. Teas containing oils, such as the bergamot in Earl Gray, can damage the fungus, which means longer brewing times for satisfying results. Teas that will work:
- Green tea.
- Tender.
- Echinacea tea.
- Lemon balm tea.
- Regular refined sugar or organic brown sugar. You can also experiment with fruit juice to rehydrate. Many people prefer the organic one.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: First Part: Infuse the Tea
Step 1. Wash your hands with warm water, but DO NOT use antibacterial soap, which can contaminate the kombucha and destroy the good bacteria in the crop
Replace it with apple cider vinegar or regular vinegar. It is also recommended to use non-latex gloves, especially if touching the crop directly.
Step 2. Fill a saucepan with 3 liters of water and place it on the stove at a high temperature
Step 3. Boil the water for at least 5 minutes to purify it
Step 4. Add about 5 tea bags to hot water
Depending on the flavor you want to get, you can remove them immediately after the infusion or leave them for the next two steps.
Step 5. Turn off the heat and add a cup of sugar, which will be eaten by the crop, starting the fermentation process
The sugar will start to caramelize if the water continues to boil, which is why you will need to turn off the stove.
Step 6. Cover the pot and leave the tea inside until it reaches room temperature
It can be annoying to wait, but adding the culture when the water is too hot will kill it.
Method 2 of 3: Part Two: Add the Culture
Step 1. Thoroughly wash a glass jar with very hot water
You can also clean it by putting two drops of iodine inside, add some water and whisk it. Rinse it, cover it and wait or put it in the oven for 10 minutes at 140ºC if it is made of glass only.
Step 2. When the tea has cooled, pour it into the jar and add the ready-made kombucha tea, which should make up approximately 10% of the liquid
You could also use about ¼ cup of vinegar for every 4 liters of tea. This keeps the pH low and prevents mold from forming.
To make sure it's acidic enough, measure the pH (optional), which should be below 4.6. If it isn't, keep adding tea, vinegar, or citric acid (not vitamin C, which is too weak) until you reach the desired pH
Step 3. Gently insert the culture into the tea and close the jar with a cloth and an elastic band
Step 4. Put it in a warm, dark place, where the temperature is always at least 21ºC, maximum 30ºC
The lower ones will require slower preparation, but undesirable organisms may also form below 21ºC.
Step 5. Wait for about a week
When the tea starts to smell like vinegar, you can start trying it and checking the pH levels.
- The crop will sink, float or hang in the middle. It is best that you float to the surface to block aspergillus contamination.
- The best way to try this is by using a straw. Do not drink directly, as you risk contaminating the tea. Also, do not fully insert the pH indicator strip into the jar, dip the straw halfway down, cover the end with your finger, pull it out and drink the liquid or pour it over the strip.
- If it tastes very sweet, the crop probably needs more time to consume the sugar.
- A pH of 3 indicates that the brew cycle is complete and the tea can be drunk. Of course this can vary depending on your needs and taste. If the final pH is too high, the tea needs a few more days to complete the brewing cycle or it should be thrown away.
Method 3 of 3: Part Three: Finish
Step 1. Gently remove the mother and child cultures with clean hands (and non-latex gloves if you have them) and place them in a clean bowl
They may have stuck to each other. Pour some kombucha tea over the crops and cover the bowl to protect them.
Step 2. Using a funnel, pour most of the finished tea into a bowl
Optionally, fill it to the top. If you don't, it will take a long time to sparkle. If you can't fill a large bowl, use several smaller ones, or, if you are close to the brim, use some juice or more tea prepared as described in the first part. Don't overdo it, or you risk watering it down. Leave about 10% of the old tea in the glass jar, which you will need to make more kombucha tea. Start the cycle again.
- You can use both cultures to make more tea, although some recommend using the new one and discarding the old one. It is not necessary to use both for the new tea, one will suffice.
- Each fermentation cycle determines the generation of a new child from the mother. After brewing the first tea, you will have two mothers, the original one and the next one.
Step 3. Lightly plug the container to promote carbonization and let it rest for two to five days at room temperature
Step 4. Put it in the refrigerator
It is ideal to drink it cold.
Advice
- Some prefer the continuous distillation method, which allows you to serve yourself the amount of tea you want to drink and immediately replace it with the same amount of sweet tea at room temperature. This has the advantage of simplifying the work (especially if you distill using a demijohn with a tap on the bottom), but the disadvantage is that the fermentation is not as complete or finely controlled, so the drink always contains some unprocessed sugar and highly concentrated tea. fermented. You should empty and wash the container periodically to prevent contamination if you opt for this method.
- Some natural products (such as honey) that have antibacterial properties will not necessarily kill the crop, but will dramatically lengthen the distillation.
- If you want to speed up the process, use the quick cooling method: make sweet tea with only 1-2 quarts of water but with the same amount of sugar and tea. Dilute it with purified or filtered water (not tap water) in the container to let it cool and get the right solution. Then add the crop, cover it and store it as always.
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Kombuuchaw_416 Kombucha mushrooms are different; the one in the photo, for example, is purple.
Warnings
- Before you begin, make sure that you have thoroughly washed your hands and cleaned the workspace and that everything is sterile. If the kombucha becomes contaminated right away, the drink will be spoiled, which can be dangerous.
- Do not seal the jars, even after fermentation appears to be complete. If you want to do an anaerobic phase, placing a cap loosely will make sure that the carbon dioxide replaces the oxygen.
- Be careful when using plastic, metal or ceramic or glass containers that are not suitable for food use: they could release toxins and lead. Use a heavy jar suitable for food use or a large pyrex container.
