Kombucha
Peace.
Y'all know I'm a "tryer". My newest thing to try is Kombucha. It's a fizzy fermented drink. It is pretty damn tasty too. Because it is fermented it is loaded with probiotics and enzymes. I have discussed how I don't trust that my stomach makes all the enzymes and has the flora to give me bountiful health so I thought this would be good for me. The 7 heard that it was powerhouse of healthy goodness. So..... I found a recipe.
Now I could buy Kombucha in the store... But the price is about #3.50/20 oz bottle. No... Sorry... ain't about to fix my mouth up to fall in love or get addicted to something that costs that much. That's a pack of cigarettes for a beverage!
What is Kombucha? Kombucha is a naturally carbonated fermented drink made from sweet tea. Kombucha is consumed all over the world. It has been part of many cultures for thousands of years. Kombucha popped up in China over 2,000 years ago, and has been traveling the world in various incarnations ever since. The love-child of an affair between acetic acid bacteria and yeasts, it’s as if vinegar and beer made a baby. The yeast and bacteria co-exist in a culture called a SCOBY, which stands for ‘symbiotic colony of bacteria & yeast’. It is full of natural occurring probiotics (like all fermented foods) making it wonderful for your gut.
The culture forms a leathery skin called the "mother" or SCOBY that floats on top. The SCOBY – sometimes mislabeled a ‘mushroom’– devours sugar and caffeine, and ferments the fluid around it. The resulting liquid is a complex tonic that carries all sorts of associated benefits. The RAW, living potion is packed with active enzymes, probiotics (the ‘good’ intestinal flora), amino acids, and energizing B vitamins. Kombucha is purported to improve digestion, increase metabolism, regulate hunger and blood sugar, detoxify the body, and strengthen the immune system. Unfortunately, there are no scientific studies to corroborate these claims. Drinking kombucha has been linked to serious side effects and deaths, and improper preparation can lead to contamination.
Kombucha is typically produced by placing a culture in a sweetened tea, as sugars are necessary for fermentation. A standard kombucha recipe calls for one cup of sugar per gallon of water or tea, though some variation in the ratio is tolerated by the culture. Kombucha may be fermented with many different sugar sources, including refined white sugar, evaporated cane juice, brown sugar, glucose/fructose syrups, molasses . Kombucha should never be fermented with stevia, xylitol, lactose, or any artificial sweetener or honey. Honey is a natural antibacterial and would kill the SCOBY.
Here is what I did....
First thing I needed to do was locate a SCOBY. But they are $10 on Craigslist. Ummmmm.... NO! Those SCOBYs are homemade and you do NOT know how they were made and cared for. Since I don't eat anybody's cooking... I'm not using anybody's SCOBY. There is an urban legend that you can make your own SCOBY from raw, unpasturized Kombucha. And that's what I did.
1.) I got some bottled Kombucha, and tasted it. But I only tasted a tiny bit of it. I needed all 20 oz. I have only had Kombucha once before and I needed to know what it was supposed to taste like. Otherwise how would I know when I had it right. The reason I used was raw and unpasturized is because it still had some mother in it. Think Real apple cider vinegar.
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2. I brewed a quart of tea in a pot using distilled water and 5 black tea bags. I added 1 cup of brown sugar to the tea and allowed it to cool to room temperature.
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3. I poured equal amounts of the the remaining storebought tea in 2 pint sized glass jars.
4. When the tea was room temperature, I added the tea to the pint jars
5. I covered the mouth with paper towels and fastened them with rubber bands.
6. I labelled them and sat them on my back porch for 2 weeks. (It's enclosed)
BOOM! Kombucha!
This is what it looked like when it was finished enough to bottle.
The one on the left is complete. the one on the right, not so much. But I'm going to give it more time because that is how the left one looked a week ago. I'm thinking that the left one got some more SCOBY from the original pour and that's why it's taking so long. Because it is brewing and was treated the exact same way as the left jar.
If a culture becomes contaminated, it will most likely be identifiable as common mold which is often green, blue, or black in color. This is visually distinct from the brownish root filaments on the underside of the culture. If mold does grow on the surface of the kombucha culture, or "mushroom", both culture and tea are disposed of and the maker must start again with a fresh kombucha culture.
In every step of the preparation process, it is important that hands and utensils (or anything that will to come into contact with the culture) be well cleaned to prevent contamination of the kombucha. I used vinyl medical gloves.
A very interesting turn of events was this... I was curious if there was any SCOBY left in the original container. So I made a small amount of tea and added it to the container and waited on it for the same amount of time I waited on this Kombucha to form. I never saw a SCOBY forming on the glass. I was gonna just throw it out. But when I opened it (I was going to use the bottle to bottle the kombucha that did brew). Imagine my surprise when I heard the carbon sound when I opened it. It was DELICIOUS!!!!
We are Kombucha brewers!!!!!
Peace
Y'all know I'm a "tryer". My newest thing to try is Kombucha. It's a fizzy fermented drink. It is pretty damn tasty too. Because it is fermented it is loaded with probiotics and enzymes. I have discussed how I don't trust that my stomach makes all the enzymes and has the flora to give me bountiful health so I thought this would be good for me. The 7 heard that it was powerhouse of healthy goodness. So..... I found a recipe.
Now I could buy Kombucha in the store... But the price is about #3.50/20 oz bottle. No... Sorry... ain't about to fix my mouth up to fall in love or get addicted to something that costs that much. That's a pack of cigarettes for a beverage!
What is Kombucha? Kombucha is a naturally carbonated fermented drink made from sweet tea. Kombucha is consumed all over the world. It has been part of many cultures for thousands of years. Kombucha popped up in China over 2,000 years ago, and has been traveling the world in various incarnations ever since. The love-child of an affair between acetic acid bacteria and yeasts, it’s as if vinegar and beer made a baby. The yeast and bacteria co-exist in a culture called a SCOBY, which stands for ‘symbiotic colony of bacteria & yeast’. It is full of natural occurring probiotics (like all fermented foods) making it wonderful for your gut.
The culture forms a leathery skin called the "mother" or SCOBY that floats on top. The SCOBY – sometimes mislabeled a ‘mushroom’– devours sugar and caffeine, and ferments the fluid around it. The resulting liquid is a complex tonic that carries all sorts of associated benefits. The RAW, living potion is packed with active enzymes, probiotics (the ‘good’ intestinal flora), amino acids, and energizing B vitamins. Kombucha is purported to improve digestion, increase metabolism, regulate hunger and blood sugar, detoxify the body, and strengthen the immune system. Unfortunately, there are no scientific studies to corroborate these claims. Drinking kombucha has been linked to serious side effects and deaths, and improper preparation can lead to contamination.
Kombucha is typically produced by placing a culture in a sweetened tea, as sugars are necessary for fermentation. A standard kombucha recipe calls for one cup of sugar per gallon of water or tea, though some variation in the ratio is tolerated by the culture. Kombucha may be fermented with many different sugar sources, including refined white sugar, evaporated cane juice, brown sugar, glucose/fructose syrups, molasses . Kombucha should never be fermented with stevia, xylitol, lactose, or any artificial sweetener or honey. Honey is a natural antibacterial and would kill the SCOBY.
Here is what I did....
First thing I needed to do was locate a SCOBY. But they are $10 on Craigslist. Ummmmm.... NO! Those SCOBYs are homemade and you do NOT know how they were made and cared for. Since I don't eat anybody's cooking... I'm not using anybody's SCOBY. There is an urban legend that you can make your own SCOBY from raw, unpasturized Kombucha. And that's what I did.
1.) I got some bottled Kombucha, and tasted it. But I only tasted a tiny bit of it. I needed all 20 oz. I have only had Kombucha once before and I needed to know what it was supposed to taste like. Otherwise how would I know when I had it right. The reason I used was raw and unpasturized is because it still had some mother in it. Think Real apple cider vinegar.
.jpg)
2. I brewed a quart of tea in a pot using distilled water and 5 black tea bags. I added 1 cup of brown sugar to the tea and allowed it to cool to room temperature.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
3. I poured equal amounts of the the remaining storebought tea in 2 pint sized glass jars.
4. When the tea was room temperature, I added the tea to the pint jars
5. I covered the mouth with paper towels and fastened them with rubber bands.
6. I labelled them and sat them on my back porch for 2 weeks. (It's enclosed)
BOOM! Kombucha!
This is what it looked like when it was finished enough to bottle.
The one on the left is complete. the one on the right, not so much. But I'm going to give it more time because that is how the left one looked a week ago. I'm thinking that the left one got some more SCOBY from the original pour and that's why it's taking so long. Because it is brewing and was treated the exact same way as the left jar.
If a culture becomes contaminated, it will most likely be identifiable as common mold which is often green, blue, or black in color. This is visually distinct from the brownish root filaments on the underside of the culture. If mold does grow on the surface of the kombucha culture, or "mushroom", both culture and tea are disposed of and the maker must start again with a fresh kombucha culture.
In every step of the preparation process, it is important that hands and utensils (or anything that will to come into contact with the culture) be well cleaned to prevent contamination of the kombucha. I used vinyl medical gloves.
A very interesting turn of events was this... I was curious if there was any SCOBY left in the original container. So I made a small amount of tea and added it to the container and waited on it for the same amount of time I waited on this Kombucha to form. I never saw a SCOBY forming on the glass. I was gonna just throw it out. But when I opened it (I was going to use the bottle to bottle the kombucha that did brew). Imagine my surprise when I heard the carbon sound when I opened it. It was DELICIOUS!!!!
We are Kombucha brewers!!!!!
Peace
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