Brewing your own kombucha
We have been drinking kombucha for years, mostly when I have travelled to visit my sister in LA where it seems to be as available as water. When I started drinking it every day I noticed really positive changes in how I was feeling. Back home I have found it harder to get my hands on and it’s very expensive so I started brewing it myself. I am sure it has helped us ward off a few winter colds.
Kombucha is a drink that’s been around for thousands of years. It’s a sweet fermented green or black tea with a bubbly character that I think is totally delicious. Kombucha has been widely praised as being good for you as it contains digestion-supporting probiotic enzymes that lots of us are lacking in our diets. It supports the healthy bacteria in our guts and can help improve our digestion and how we absorb the nutrients from our food. By making kombucha yourself it will be completely raw (some commercial ones are pasteurised) so it has maximum health benefits; you can also control the fizziness and how long it’s brewed to your taste.
The first thing I will say is that I’m not an expert; brewing kombucha is a huge topic and there are books and blogs entirely devoted to the subject. The brewing process is pretty simple: all you need is a bit of time, food (sugar) and good bacteria to create the brew (the scoby). Outlined below is how I brew mine and so far it’s been very successful. Before I started I was quite daunted by the process but after you’ve done it once you’ll get into the rhythm and it becomes really easy. Before you brew I recommend you read this explanation a couple of times; it may look like a lot of information but if you have a level of understanding it makes the process easier and quicker.
The scoby
The scoby, which stands for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast, is what you will need to ferment your tea. A scoby is a very strange-looking thing that I am weirdly fascinated by; it is like a big rubbery pancake. You can buy scobys online but as they are live they multiply so there are lots out in the world waiting for owners. A kombucha-brewing friend will have one or a quick search on the internet will probably unearth one for free.
The water
Filtered or at the very least boiled water is essential for kombucha brewing as some of the chemicals in tap water can affect the fermentation process.
The tea
You can use black or green tea but I prefer the flavour of my kombucha when it’s made with green and it will be lower in caffeine. Flavoured and herbal teas don’t work, as I discovered when I tried to make a batch with Earl Grey; it’s best to add any flavours after brewing. The caffeine in kombucha contains only about a third of that in brewed tea.
The sugar
The scoby and the fermentation are fed with sugar. It may seem like you are adding a lot of sugar but during the brewing process it will turn from a very sweet tea into something far less so.
The alcohol
Whilst your kombucha is brewing, it will contain a very small amount of alcohol, about 0.5 per cent. It’s all part of the fermentation process, but it’s something to bear in mind if people are sensitive to alcohol and I certainly wouldn’t give kombucha to children.
The equipment
— 1 large or a couple of smaller teapots or jugs to brew your tea
— 1 × 5- or 6-litre jar or kombucha crock (mine has a tap at the bottom)
— a clean piece of tea towel or muslin to cover
— a piece of string or a rubber band
— a funnel
— 4 × 1-litre bottles to store your finished kombucha
The ingredients
— 1 scoby
— 500ml pre-made kombucha tea (shop-bought or from your last batch)
— 250g sugar (I use golden caster sugar)
— 4 litres filtered or boiled water
— 2 heaped tablespoons green or black tea
The method
First brew your tea. Bring your 4 litres of pre-boiled or filtered water to the boil and pour it over the tea leaves of your choice; I do this in a couple of teapots and measuring jugs. Let it steep for 20–30 minutes, so it’s good and strong.
Add the sugar, stir to dissolve then allow the tea to cool. This step is important as the scoby will die if it’s too hot.
Remove any metal jewellery and from this point on don’t use any metal sieves or spoons as they react with the scoby. Get the jar or crock you are using for the brewing and pour in the pre-made kombucha. Add the cooled tea, then carefully place the scoby on top of the mixture. Cover the jar with a piece of fabric and secure it with string or a rubber band. Some kitchen paper would also work; you just want air to be able to pass into the jar. Place the kombucha container in a place where it will not be disturbed, out of direct sunlight. I leave mine on my work surface where I can keep an eye on it.
The fermentation can take anything from 7–14 days, depending on the heat of the room, the scoby and how you like your kombucha. The longer you leave it the more acidic it will become. During the brewing process it’s normal to see things happening in the brew: the scoby moving, bubbles of air. After a few days the surface of the tea will start to look opaque, this is your new scoby forming and a very good sign.
How long to brew?
After it’s been brewing for about a week I start to taste mine every day (remembering to use a non-metal spoon). If you like a sweeter drink you may want to bottle yours now, if you like things more tart perhaps wait a full 14 days.
Once your kombucha tastes good to you, you can bottle it. Lift the scoby into a bowl or rimmed plate (remembering to keep any metal away). Divide your kombucha between the 1-litre bottles (a funnel is useful here), saving 500ml for your next batch. Once the kombucha is bottled you can start from the beginning on your next batch.
Once bottled you have a few options:
— Store it in the fridge and drink it as it is (it keeps for several months).
— Flavour your kombucha. I find the best way to do this is using freshly-squeezed or juiced fruits (I’ve found sweeter ones, such as strawberry, mango, peach, plum, pear, guava and watermelon, work best). You’ll need about 600ml so about 150ml per bottle, but you can adjust this to your own taste based on the sweetness of the fruit. Sometimes I add spices too: for each bottle I add a teaspoon of grated fresh turmeric or ginger, some bashed cardamom seeds, a few rose petals, or even fennel seeds. Now you can either put this straight into the fridge or do a second fermentation.
— Ferment it a second time in the bottle to make it bubbly. I always do this as I love the Champagne-like bubbles. Seal the bottles and keep them on the work surface. It’s really important to open the bottles every day to let the air out so the tops don’t pop off (this is called burping). At the same time I taste for fizziness and when it’s nicely bubbly (usually 2–3 days) I put the lot into the fridge to store.
Taking time off
You might want to take a break from brewing. To pause the process, take the scoby out
