Kombucha home-brew how-tos

A successful ferment of kombucha results in an effervescent, tangy beverage which some call a “miracle drink.”

There’s nothing miraculous about kombucha, however. The yeasts in the scoby convert the sugar and tea into a solution high in organic acids and probiotics, as well as a few B vitamins. Although kombucha isn’t a cure-all, according to anecdotal evidence, it may help the body cleanse itself of toxins.

A bottle of kombucha at the store is expensive compared with what kombucha home brewers pay for making a gallon. All that’s needed to ferment large amounts of kombucha at home are a scoby, tea, sugar and common sense.

Scoby

To ferment your own kombucha, you’re going to need a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast, or scoby. It’s a cinch to grow your own if you add raw, unflavored kombucha to equal parts prepared sweet tea (see recipe). It takes a long time to make a scoby this way, up to three weeks depending on the temperature, but you’ll be set for life. Don’t fish out the “booger”-looking stuff in the raw kombucha – that’s a baby scoby!

Water

When making the sweet tea, always use filtered water because tap water contains chlorine, which will kill the scoby. If you don’t have access to filtered water, boil some tap water for ten minutes to remove the chlorine.

Tea
While it’s easy to make flavored kombucha, any herbal teas used should be natural, free of chemicals and oils, and preferably organic. Oils, like those in Earl Grey tea, will weaken or kill the scoby.

I use Celestial Seasonings brand tea or naturally dried fruits to add some interest to my kombucha. Always use herbal teas and fruits in conjunction with the described amounts of green or black tea.

Using green tea in the brewing results in a kombucha with a light, grape flavor, while black tea has a stronger, plum flavor. You can experiment with a combination of the two to create your own personal kombucha recipe.

Sugar

Make sure you only use pure sugar, either brown or white, when brewing kombucha. Don’t use sugar substitutes such as aspartame or sucralose, which will kill the scoby.

Preparation

Use good hygiene when preparing kombucha. Wash your hands and your utensils well and rinse them with white vinegar to go the extra mile.
The scoby needs lots of air to work its mojo. You’ll need a large, wide-mouthed brewing vessel, such as a big glass bowl or a sun tea jar. Never use plastic, metal, unglazed ceramics or leaded glass to brew kombucha.

Scoby care

The new scoby will grow over the top surface area of the tea to the size of the container. It’ll initially look like a milky blob, but will solidify into a large whitish mass. If you repeatedly use the same scoby and container for brewing, the “new” scoby will grow directly atop the old one, thickening it up. If you use herbal teas, the scoby will take on the color of the tea. Peel off any dark brown layers to keep the scoby fresh. Throw away or compost any old scobys that have become dark brown.

Mold is the number one reason kombucha goes bad. Mold is green, blue or pink and is circular, fuzzy and dry. If it looks like bread mold, it’s mold. If it looks dark brown, black, bubbly, slimy and wet, those are tannins and yeasts trapped inside the scoby. That’s normal. However, if you think you have mold, pitch the scoby and the kombucha and start over with an extra scoby or some spare kombucha.

A word on consuming

While many people can chug a bottle of kombucha with no adverse reaction, some people may find they’re sensitive to the tea. Start with a small amount and increase gradually.
– Rachel Bigler

Kombucha

Makes 1 gallon
1 gallon filtered water
1 cup white or brown sugar
8 to 10 green or black teabags
4 to 6 natural herbal tea bags, oil-free (optional)
1 cup raw kombucha
3-inch kombucha culture, aka symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast or scoby

• Bring half a gallon of the water to a boil in a stainless steel or glass pot. Remove the pot from the heat and dissolve the sugar in the hot water.
• Add the tea bags to the hot water. Cover the pot and steep for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Add the remaining water to the steeped tea. Let the tea cool to room temperature and add the raw kombucha.
• Pour the tea into a wide-mouthed glass vessel and gently add the scoby.
• Cover the mouth of the vessel with a clean piece of cotton cloth, then secure it with an elastic band. Be sure to store the brewing kombucha in a warm, dry, dark place away from cigarette smoke, cooking grease, plants and harsh chemicals.
• Begin tasting the kombucha after four days. Kombucha is done when it’s neither sweet nor sour, but somewhere in between. (For those who take a more scientific approach, kombucha is ready when its pH is in the range of 3.6 to 2.9.)
• Store the finished kombucha in glass bottles or jars inside the refrigerator for up to two months.