Ingredients
- 1 liter (4-5 glasses) of boiling water
- 4 black tea bags or 2 tablespoons of coarse-leaf black tea
- 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons kombucha starter culture (liquid culture)
- kombucha scoby
What is Kombucha or Kombu Tea?
Kombucha is a delicious and healthy tea fermented with probiotic bacteria. Since most of the sugar turns into acids in the Kombucha brew, it is a healthy drink with very low sugar and plenty of probiotics.
When harvesting Kombucha, it needs to be a little sweet or it may turn into vinegar. If you want to get a completely sugar-free product or make vinegar, let it ferment for a few more weeks. You can use Kombucha vinegar in your salads or sauces.
It only takes 15 minutes to prepare, but you need to wait 1-5 weeks for fermentation. But when you harvest it, you can use it for up to three weeks.
What is Kombucha Scoby?
Kombucha scoby, which stands for “symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast,” is an ingredient used in the fermentation and production of kombucha. Fermentation is a chemical process in which carbohydrates like sugar or starch turn into alcohol or acid
Kombucha Recipe First Fermentation
Boil your filtered drinking water 500 ml (about 2.5 cups). Pour into a teapot or heatproof container, add the tea bags or tea leaves and let it sit for 3-5 minutes. Strain the tea into a heat-resistant 1.5-liter glass jar and throw away the tea bags and leaves. Add the sugar to the jar and stir well with a wooden spoon to dissolve. Add the remaining drinking water. When the tea is at room temperature, add the kombucha starter culture liquid and the Kombucha mushroom. Cover the jar with a piece of cheesecloth and secure with an elastic band.
Place the jar in a cool spot away from direct sunlight. Leave the liquid to ferment for 4 days in hot weather and 14-20 days in cold weather.
Kombucha Recipe Bottling
Gently remove the cork from inside to reuse. For the next brew, take 3 tablespoons of liquid from the culture and store it in liquid along with the mushroom. Stir in any sediment that has settled in the bottom of the jar or leave it as is. Place a funnel in the glass bottle mouth and put an additional strainer on top of the funnel. Pour the Kombucha through the strainer into the bottle and discard the solids.
Kombucha Recipe Second Fermentation
Tightly close the bottle cap and rest the bottle on the counter to create carbonated gas. This can take anywhere from 2 to 14 days depending on the temperature. When you open the lid of the Kombucha bottle, you will see that it looks just like carbonated drinks.
Kombucha Usage and Consumption
When the Kombucha is fizzy and sour at the point you want, store it in the refrigerator to slow down the fermentation process and refrigerate. If you wish, you can create the flavors you want by sweetening them with different natural flavors.
