Kombucha

Kombucha is a fermented tea beverage that has been around for thousands of years. It's made with a combination of tea, sugar and a culture also known as a 'mother' or SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast). The Scoby feasts on the tea and sugar converting it into good for your guts bacteria, acids and enzymes that help to detoxify the body, boost your immune system and increase your energy levels.

Kombucha is easy to make and can be flavoured any way you like to create a delicious, low sugar, probiotic rich, bubbly beverage. 

To get started you will need a Kombucha SCOBY, tea, sugar and a brewing vessel. To get your hands on a SCOBY you can Contact Us or ask someone you know someone who brews. 

You only need to purchase/acquire a new SCOBY for your first ever batch. Once you are brewing (as long as it's given enough love and attention) your SCOBY will continue to grow and reproduce.

For your brew vessel the easiest option is a wide mouth glass jar but if you want to use something a bit more special you can use a ceramic crock or oak barrel. 4-5L vessels are ideal but you can start with anything as small as 1L. See the table below for ingredient ratios to suit different vessel sizes. 

For PDF Print Instructions CLICK HERE

Ingredients

Raw sugar

Tea (green, or black or a combination of both – avoid black tea containing oils or flavourings)

Kombucha starter culture - SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast)

Starter liquid (Kombucha Tea from a previous batch)

Spring/purified/filtered water

Brewing vessel (glass, ceramic, oak)

Cloth cover (muslin/cheesecloth/tea towel/beeswax wrap) which allows the SCOBY to breathe and string to fasten

Glass flip top or screw top bottles for bottling and storing your finished kombucha

Ingredient ratio to vessel size

VESSEL SIZE	TEA	SUGAR	BOILING WATER	STARTER LIQUID
One litre	1½ teaspoons loose leaf tea or 2 tea bags	¼ cup	2 cups	½ cup
Three litre	1½ tablespoons loose leaf tea or 6 tea bags	¾ cup	6 cups	1½ cup
Five litre	2½ tablespoons loose leaf tea or 10 tea bags	1¼ cup	10 cups	2½ cup

Instructions

Add boiling water to your brewing vessel then stir in sugar to dissolve. Once sugar has dissolved add tea bags and let steep for 10-20 minutes.

Remove the tea bags and leave the sweet tea to cool to room temperature.

Once the sweet tea is cooled, add starter liquid and enough water to fill the rest of the vessel leaving a few inches from the top for breathing room.

Add SCOBY, cover with a cloth, tea towel or beeswax wrap and secure with a piece of string or rubber band.

Leave to ferment in a warm spot out of direct sunlight for 5-14 days, or until taste is to your liking. Brew times will vary with the temperature -longer in winter, shorter in summer.

The longer you leave your kombucha to brew the tangier it will get. The best way to get your ideal flavour preference is to taste regularly from about 5 days brewing. To taste - gently insert a straw beneath the SCOBY, place your finger over one end and pull out. Place the other end in your mouth and then release your finger. If it's too sweet, allow to brew for a few more days. If too tart, then reduce your brewing cycle next time.

Once taste is to your liking you are ready to bottle it. With clean hands carefully remove the SCOBY from your vessel and place into a bowl. Pour the finished kombucha into bottles, refrigerate and drink plain or flavour with a second ferment (see below).

Make sure you save your SCOBY and enough kombucha (around 10% - 15% of your brewing vessel) to use as starter tea for your next brew.

For the next batch simply repeat the process again. If you are not starting another brew right away return the SCOBY and enough kombucha to use as starter for the next batch to your brewing vessel. Cover with a cloth and leave at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Each time you do a batch a new SCOBY will form. You can leave the SCOBY in the brewing vessel, split it and give to a friend or start another brew.

THE SECOND FERMENT (FLAVOURING)

To add flavour and fizz to your kombucha you will need to do a second ferment.

At the time of bottling, add in fresh chopped up fruit or fresh cold press juice (about 1/2- 1 cup per litre) e.g. lemon, lime, apple, ginger, turmeric pineapple etc. Get creative and play around with flavours you like. The possibilities are endless!

Seal the bottles tightly and let sit at room temperature for another 24-48 hours to continue fermentation and produce natural carbonation.

Once you have the right amount of fizz and tang transfer to the fridge and serve cold.

Be careful with yeasty fruits like strawberries and raspberries especially in hot weather. These will make your kombucha very fizzy! Check the bottles regularly and burp them to help release the gases.