October 13, 2010

kombucha

I have been brewing kombucha since the summer and it is not only delicious, but very healthy for us. This drink has many health benefits and has given hubs a lot or extra energy. For more health info go here or any other website you choose.

This is a fresh brew of kombucha

To make you will need a gallon jar, scoby, sugar, and tea. I tend to only use green tea, but that's just what we love, you can also use black tea.
SCOBY is an acronym standing for Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast 

If you don't have a scoby, you can't make kombucha! You will need to either order one or make your own from kombucha tea. To make your own scoby from kombucha tea is very easy. All you do is leave your kombucha in a covered glass jar for a week or two. You'll notice a cream, white, or beige colored flat mushroom form on top. This is what you will use in your batch of kombucha tea. If you have a scoby then you can grow another one from the original. This is called the baby because it formed from the original scoby called the mother.
Here is a picture of the mother I ordered(small) and the baby that formed from it(big).

Now I'm adding the baby scoby in my tea to brew kombucha.

Here is a look at the finished tea.
Look how strong the color is.

To make this tea you will start with a glass gallon sized jar. This could be an old pickle jar, which is what I use to save money on buying one. 

Brew four bags of tea and then add two cups of sugar. 

After sugar is dissolved, add water. Make sure your tea is not hot, but lukewarm before you add your scoby. This will kill it and you will have to start over! 

Now add about a cup of apple cider vinegar or kombucha to your brew. this will keep it from molding. If your brew ever has any mold anywhere on it, throw it all away including tea and start over!!! 

Now cover the tea using something that will keep insects away, but will allow it to breath. I use an old towel cut to size or scrap fabric. Allow to brew for seven days. During this process do not move or disturb the tea cause this may cause the baby scoby to detach from the mother. 

After your time is up you can now strain your tea to filter out any yeast in your drink. Refrigerate and enjoy!!


Update: I have three scoby made from natural green tea kombucha on sale for $5 plus shipping of $1. This is homegrown from my own personal brew. Once you own one, you'll be able to grow the rest from then on.
If you are interested please email me at buildethherhouse@yahoo.com.





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4 comments:

Prairiemaid said...

Did you just order the starter/mother or did you order additional "stuff"?

Sounds good. I didn't read all the information, but I am assuming it should aid in digestion and the apple cider vinegar would be really healthy.

Thanks!

Treasures from a shoebox said...

Oh I cannot wait to try this! Where do I get my first scoba? Thanks for posting!

Valencia Jones-Edwards said...

Prairiemaid-I ordered the scoby online and had to add apple cider vinegar for my first brew since it didn't come with kombucha.

TFAS-Just google it and you can purchase one online, or from a healthfood store. They usually sell kombucha in a jar and you can just grow your own. If you have any trouble finding one just email me.

Anonymous said...

Val can you help me make this, i have no clue where to start