Kombucha, My First Brew. Have You Tried It?

So, I promised that while we wait for spring (and the real homesteading fun to begin) I would share lots of fun posts about what I've been up to and perhaps inspire some of your own shenanigans.

Before we left the city homestead, I thought I would try my hand at making Kombucha.  If you haven't tried it before I recommend it.  I like it because it helps me avoid my craving for pop (soda).  It has the fizz, without the sugar and the carbon.  It also is full of beneficial probiotics and antioxidants, like all fermented foods. I also suggest you look up the list of the benefits of drinking it, because there are many!

The reason I decided to make my own kombucha is because around here a bottle of it is about $4-5 a pop.  That can become a costly addiction, very quickly!  To make it is very inexpensive, but time intensive!  Here is the recipe I used:

- Approximately 1 gallon of freshly brewed tea, cooled.  I used around 8 green tea bags, but many people use regular/ black or herbals.
-1 cup of sugar for each cup of tea you have.  I know, I said it isn't full of sugar.  I'll explain soon :)
-1 large GLASS jar or container.  Cleaned, washed and sanitized.  When fermenting its so important to use clean vessels and utensils.
-1 piece of clean cheese cloth.  You can also use a coffee filter or a clean, thin tea towel.
-1 elastic band, or something similar, to keep the cheese cloth in place, covering the opening of your kombucha jar.
-1 SCOBY and a little bit of kombucha from a previous batch.

A SCOBY is a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast.  It is also often referred to as a Mother, because it is comes from the same place as mother of vinegar, which is found in unpasteurized, raw, HEALTHY vinegar, such as raw apple cider vinegar.  I urge you to read more on this!

Now, because this was my first batch of kombucha, I was very lucky to have been in a local natural food store that had some scobys there.  They weren't for sale, but for customers who needed them to brew their own.  If this wasn't the case you can order them online on Amazon quite often (order from a reputable place).  I do know that people have success starting it on their own, by adding some vinegar Mother, so that is an option if you are up for an experiment.

Now, the sugar explanation:  The SCOBY eats the sugar.  By the time you are done fermenting, there is only trace amounts of sugar left.  Amazing, right?

The tea cooling off.

SCOBY added, jar covered.  Now we wait.

So, add your cooled tea with sugar into your glass jar.  Then, add your SCOBY with a clean utensil, cover with cheese cloth and then set it aside in a place that is cool and out of the sun.  I placed it in a corner of my kitchen counter, where the sun never shines, away from heating appliances.

Now, you wait.  I waited aprox. 7 days.  Depending on how warm your kitchen is, it could take a little longer or shorter, but that is the general average.  You will know it's ready when you can smell a sweet vinegary smell and if you take a sip with a straw, it tastes the same; vinegary with a hint of sweet. During this time, your kombucha will likely have grown it's own SCOBY.  At this point, some people drink their kombucha tea.  I, however, like to go for a fruity fizz, so I ferment a second time.  Before fermenting #2, remove your SOBY and put her in a container with a little bit of  kombucha.  She will keep a long time in the fridge this way. Next, I added a cup of pure organic raspberry juice and the same of cranberry.  It has to be the real stuff, not a sugared cocktail you get by the main stream juices.
This is when you get bottle your kombucha.  I put mine in clean, sanitized bottles and mason jars.  Please note that if you are using glass, make sure you don't keep the lids on overly tight AND even then, you need to 'burp' them every couple of days.  Otherwise, there could be an explosion due to building up gases and this is not only dangerous, but a completely waste of delicious kombucha!  Your second ferment can last as long as you want, but usually 3-7 days is good.  The longer you leave it, the less sweet and more vinegary/tangy it will be.  Once you are done, you can put it in the fridge to chill and this will also stop the fermenting.  Remember, don't keep those lids on too tight!

I hope you try out this out and let me know how it goes!  If you haven't tried kombucha, I urge you to check it out.  It is usually sold in coolers at health food stores and with its growing popularity, it seems to be easier and easier to find these days.

My finished cranberry raspberry kombucha