Making Kombucha - From SCOBY to Delicious Drink

Ingredients

• 7 to 10 grams of loose black or green tea, or a mixture of these (or 1 heaped tablespoon)
• 100 grams of cane sugar
• 55 grams of dextrose
• 65 grams of natural honey
• +/- 1.8 liters of water

Method

• Bring half a liter of water to a boil. Add the loose leaf tea . Turn off the heat and let the tea steep for 1 hour.
• Pour the tea through a sieve .
• Add half a liter of cold water , cane sugar , and dextrose to the still-warm tea. The residual heat will help the sugar dissolve. Stir well until you see that all the sugar granules have dissolved.
• Use a thermometer to measure the temperature of your tea; knowing is key! If your tea isn't warmer than 35°C, add the honey. If your tea is warmer than 35°C, be patient, otherwise the beneficial components of the honey will be destroyed. Stir again until the honey is dissolved.
• Now you have made your sweet tea.
• Pour the sweet tea into the jar you'll be fermenting in. Attach a thermometer strip to the jar so you can monitor the temperature.
• Top up with (cold) water until you have 1.8l of sweet tea.
• Let your sweet tea cool until it reaches a maximum of 28°C.

• When your tea is cool enough, add 200 ml of starter liquid . It's crucial to wait until your tea has cooled sufficiently, otherwise all the beneficial ingredients in the starter will be destroyed.
• Now add your SCOBY .
• Seal your jar with a cheesecloth and a rubber band . Don't cover it with an airtight lid, as it needs air. But make sure the rubber band secures the cloth to keep dust and fruit flies out. Place your jar in a warm place ( 20-24°C is ideal) where the liquid won't vibrate. Don't lift the cloth; it's best to disturb your kombucha as little as possible.
• Your SCOBY might sink to the bottom or float, both are fine. During the fermentation process, you'll see the SCOBY float to the top on its own. After two days, you'll see white dots forming around your SCOBY. This is usually when people get nervous and think it's mold. In most cases, it's actually just a new SCOBY starting to form. If you handle things cleanly, there's little chance of your kombucha molding. Wait a few days; there's a greater chance of a new SCOBY forming.
• Note the date you started fermenting on a sticker or on the jar itself with a glass marker.

• After 7 days, the SCOBY has done its work and the sugars have turned into acids. You can start tasting your brew after about 5 or 6 days . Once you get the hang of it, you'll get a feel for how long it takes for your brew to reach a state you like. Taste with a straw, a wine sifter (test pipette), or scoop some kombucha out of your jar with a wooden spoon. From day 5, or once your SCOBY is properly formed, you shouldn't worry about the jar moving around. If you prefer your kombucha less sweet, let your batch ferment so the bacteria and yeast can continue to consume the sugars. Keep tasting daily until it tastes good to you ; 7-9 days of fermentation is a good guideline.
• During the first fermentation, a new SCOBY is formed. Does your kombucha taste the way you like it? Then you can move on to the second fermentation. The second fermentation isn't mandatory, but it ensures your kombucha becomes nice and fizzy. In this phase, we'll add flavor. Remove your SCOBYs from your kombucha and store them in some kombucha at room temperature. Always make sure your SCOBYs don't dry out. This batch of kombucha, along with your SCOBY, will serve as your homemade starter liquid for brewing another batch later. Refrigerate the remaining kombucha until you're ready to move on to the second fermentation.

During the second fermentation, your kombucha tea is flavored (usually with fruit), bottled in a sealed container, and left to ferment for about 2-4 days at room temperature to create carbonation. The second fermentation takes place in a sealed container, trapping the carbonation in the fermented tea as it continues to ferment.

So use a container that can withstand pressure. Bottles with a swing top are ideal!

At this stage, you can let your imagination run wild. Add fruit juice, fresh fruit, herbs, and more. Anything is possible! There's no set recipe for flavorings; you'll have to rely on trial and error based on your personal preferences.

This is what you need:

• your kombucha from the first fermentation
• fresh fruit / fruit juice / dried fruit / herbs
• bottle with clip closure
• funnel
• sieve

Method for the second fermentation

• Remove the SOCBY from your fermented kombucha.
• Fill your bottle and add your flavoring of choice.
• Let your bottles ferment for another 2 to 4 days at room temperature . Tip: Sometimes a lot of carbon dioxide is created, which can cause your bottle to overflow or, worse, explode. Store your bottles in a safe place. To prevent excessive pressure buildup, you can carefully open your bottle every day (this is also called burping ). Similar to opening a bottle of champagne.
• After the second fermentation, place your bottles in the refrigerator to stop the fermentation.
• Below you'll find several ways to flavor your kombucha and some notes on how each type affects the final product.

In short:

Want to add fresh fruit? Cut the fruit small enough to fit in your bottle, and you can easily remove the fruit pieces after drinking your kombucha.

A general guideline is to add 5 to 10% fruit to your kombucha. So, in a 1-liter bottle, pour 900 ml of kombucha and add about 45 to 50 grams of fruit.

Fresh fruit puree or juice

Ideal if you want a kombucha with lots of fizz and bursting with flavor. A key requirement for yeasts to access their food source (aka sugar) is breaking down the fruit molecules to make the sugar as easy as possible for them to digest. If you use fresh fruit in a juicer or blender to puree it, you break down those fruit molecules and make it easier for the yeast to feed on the sugar once you bottle it. The freshness and pulp often cause a baby SCOBY to form in the bottle, which is perfectly harmless.

Fresh/frozen fruit pieces

Many homebrewers add a few fresh or frozen pieces of fruit to their kombucha. This is a great option if you want a more subtle fruit flavor in your kombucha and want to let the tea's own flavor shine. While this is certainly fine, your kombucha may not be as carbonated as you desire. If the yeast can't access the sugar, they can't consume it and convert it into carbon dioxide. So, if you like using fresh fruit pieces (or don't like fresh fruit puree) but find you're not getting the fizz you want, try adding a teaspoon of sugar to your bottle along with the fruit before sealing. Sometimes the yeast just needs a little more "food" to fizz.

Fresh or dried herbs

Herbs are a great addition to kombucha. As gardeners, we prefer fresh herbs from the garden whenever possible, or high-quality dried herbs (make sure they're still fragrant!) that haven't been gathering dust in your pantry for half a decade. Old dried herbs can give your kombucha a musty smell, so fresh is best. Use them sparingly, too, as the flavor of herbs can intensify over time as they steep in the liquid.

Dried fruit

This is a great option if you don't have fresh fruit on hand. Some potential drawbacks: You might encounter the same problems as using fresh fruit, but even more so. Kombucha may have difficulty extracting sugar from the dried fruit. And depending on the chemicals/ingredients used to preserve the fruit, it could result in an off-flavor in your final product.

Making kombucha involves growing bacteria and yeasts in a liquid you'll drink. Many of the bacteria are considered probiotics, but if not prepared properly, harmful bacteria or mold can also grow. You certainly don't want that.

So, working cleanly is truly the most important thing. Everything must be clean! Your container in which you brew your kombucha, but also your hands, spoon, scales, sieve, and so on.

Because of the high bacterial load, it's best to avoid plastic jars , as they can harbor unwanted bacteria that you don't want in your drink. Also, avoid metal containers or jars. Metal can react with the acidic kombucha and damage your SCOBY. Glass jars are ideal , as they're easy to clean and sterilize.

Because kombucha is a fermented beverage, temperature also plays a significant role. Fermentation proceeds faster at warmer temperatures and slower at cooler ones. Ideally, choose a spot in your home that's slightly warmer than room temperature (21-24°C is ideal) . However, be careful with direct sunlight; kombucha should not be placed in direct sunlight.

Fermenting isn't a quick process; it requires patience . However difficult it may be, try to disturb your kombucha as little as possible during the fermentation process. Because the bacteria and yeasts need oxygen, leave your jar open during the first fermentation but cover it with a piece of cheesecloth. Keep it covered and ensure your kombucha ferments on a vibration-free surface. Agitating prevents the bacteria and yeast from growing together and forming a SCOBY. Fermenting is a fun science; curb your curiosity and don't move the jar. Squeaking through the glass is, of course, possible.

And last but not least, if you see mold growing on your SCOBY or in the tea, throw the whole batch away. If you see white dots forming and are unsure whether your kombucha is moldy or a new SCOBY is in the making, let your kombucha sit for a few more days, and it will become clear. If you work carefully, mold doesn't develop easily. You can recognize mold after a few days because the white dots turn green, black, or hairy (a bit like moldy fruit or stale bread). However, if the white dots grow together, a SCOBY is in the making—hooray!