kombucha

With guidance from my friend Ivana…. here are the flavors, the details, the processes… for some of the best drinks I’ve ever had.

Ingredients and materials:

  • a large glass jar with a wide neck
  • cheesecloth
  • rubber bands
  • green tea bags
  • black tea bags
  • sugar
  • water
  • fruit flavor of choice (fresh, frozen, dried. more on this later)

Procedure:

  1. SCOBY development
  2. First fermentation
  3. Second fermentation
1: Grow your own culture (2 – 4 weeks)

SCOBY stands for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast. You can purchase a starter culture from online but I found the use of existing store-bought kombucha to work quite well.

Boil 4 black (most nutritious to SCOBY) tea bags in 7 cups water. Steep for 10 minutes and add 1/2 cup of sugar. Allow to cool so the SCOBY may thrive when introduced and not get killed by the heat. Add 1 cup of unflavored kombucha (I use SYNERGY brand in the flavor TRILOGY).

Pour into a clean jar, cover with cheesecloth, and secure with a rubber band.

According to Ivana, SCOBYs can sustain regardless of light or darkness. The jar will store nicely outside at room temperature or in the pantry.

Once a moss-like beige disk forms on the surface, you may proceed to the next step.

2: DEVELOP A FLAVOR BASE (8 – 10 days)

Just like step 1, we provide the SCOBY with fermentation material.

Boil 3 green & 2 black tea bags in a 1/2 gal (8 cups) water. Steep 10 minutes and add 1/2 cup of sugar, cool…

Add 1-2 SCOBYs to a fresh jar, add the sugar-tea solution, as well as 3 tbsp. of the SCOBY liquid. You can pour the rest of the pungent initial fermentation liquid out.

Cover with cheesecloth; secure with a rubber band.

3: MY FAVORITE FLAVORS (5 hours outside – 3 days in fridge)

Here is where the most customization occurs.

Carbonation and sweetness are the two knobs you can adjust.

  • A bottle with a smaller neck, more liquid, or an airtight seal all encourage CO2 to trap in the kombucha. Prevent explosions upon opening with a sturdy vessel.
  • The longer the period of fermentation, the less sweet the end product will be.

Your SCOBYs will not be used for this step. Return them to the “hotel,” i.e. jars of SCOBY disks with 1/2 cup of step 2 liquid. Cover and band.

As for flavoring, here are the approximate measurements.

PICK ONE

  • juice: 1/4 cup
  • dried (fruit, herbs, flowers): 1/4 cup
  • fresh fruit*: 1/2 cup
  • frozen fruit*: 1/2 cup

*preferably blended and strained before combining for optimal consistency

Here are the flavors I like so far:

  • blueberry pomegranate juice (nice complexity)
  • grapefruit juice (lends a peachy flavor)
  • raspberry puree (better than Lindeman’s)

Here are the flavors I don’t like:

  • strawberry puree— a lot of work for not much flavor
  • guava juice— too mild

Depending on your taste, this last fermentation can last for a few hours at room temperature, up to a few days in the fridge for more controlled development.

Happy experimentation!

ak01450