Home Brew Kombucha

Anyone who follows my Instagram feed knows that I've developed a bit of an obsession for fermented foods.  This might be partly due my German heritage (we do love our sauerkraut), but I'm going to credit my introduction to Kombucha as my reason for getting started with homemade ferments.

A few years back, when I was living in Brooklyn (along with all the other 20-something hipsters east of Saint Louis), a friend of mine gave me a sip of some wacky "health" beverage she was drinking.  It was fizzy.  It was tart.  It was faintly sweet.  It was ostensibly good for me.  It was everything I ever look for in a refreshing cool beverage.  I loved it, and I went right to the store the following day to purchase some Kombucha to take home.  You can imagine my shock and horror when I discovered that it sold for A MILLION DOLLARS per bottle (okay, between $3 and $5, but still, I mean, come ON).

It took me a few years of starting and stopping own homebrewed Kombucha before I really committed to the cause about a year ago.  My frequent bouts with IBS issues and my doctor's pleading to get more probiotics in my diet finally pushed me to make the effort and get this homebrew operation going (if I'm going to consume probiotics, I may as well make it complicated and fun), and I haven't looked back since.

I'm not going to lie--it's a bit of an operation, but once you've done a few batches, you get it down to a schedule and a system that is worth the savings and the quality you can only get from homemade goods.

If you're looking for a really good step-by-step tutorial (this blog is more of an overview and introduction), this is a great site:  https://www.liveeatlearn.com/the-simple-guide-to-kickass-kombucha/

And if you're looking for a really in-depth resource with more information than you could ever use, this is a great book:

In terms of ingredients, you need very little (all the more reason why the sticker price versus homebrew is pretty significant) -- black tea, sugar, water, and a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast).  That last thing is kind of like a jellyfish pancake made of bacteria.  It's every bit as gross as it sounds, and it's AMAZING.  You can make your own, you can get one from a friend (serious Kombucha brewers wind up with way too much every couple of months--I toss my spares in the compost), or you can be a capitalist and get your first SCOBY from a trusted internet retailer (spoiler alert, I was a capitalist).

"Mother" SCOBY from a trusted internet retailer

current SCOBY collection

So here's how you make it: the first thing you do is brew some tea.  There are a few kinds you can use, but some are totally off-limits--it's something to do with the acidity and presence of caffeine (most of which gets destroyed in the fermentation process, but apparently these bacteria are sugar and caffeine fiends).  Your best bet is some good-quality black tea, like ceylon, pekoe, or oolong.  Green tea can be used as part of the equation, but you need to have some quantity of black tea.  

Once your tea is hot and brewed, you mix in the sugar.  One cup sugar to one gallon tea.  Like the caffeine, most of this will disappear (SCOBY loves to eat sugar) during fermentation.  8 ounces of Kombucha contains between 2-6 grams of sugar.  That is to say that one 16 ounce bottle has less sugar than an apple, and it's just as good at keeping the doctor away.  You can use maple syrup or honey (I've tried both, and I simply prefer the flavor I get with cane sugar, plus it's cheaper), though the measurement changes slightly, so do your research.

Once your sugar is dissolved and the tea is cool (I brew a quart of concentrated sweet tea, and use cold, filtered water to cool and dilute it before putting in the SCOBY), you'll want to put the sweet tea plus SCOBY (and any starter 'juice' you have from your 'SCOBY hotel' you can spare) into a GLASS 1-gallon jar, and cover it with cotton muslin (use string or rubber band to secure).  I do not recommend cheesecloth, as (even if you fold it several times) fruit flies can still get in.  Unless you want extra protein, muslin is better.

And now you wait.  How long?  Eh, it depends.  I like to let it go two weeks.  I like my brew very tart and mature (I also throw in 2-3 SCOBYs for each brew, just to get it really sour).  The less time you give it, the sweeter (and more like tea) it will taste.  Leave it longer, and you'll get a tart, almost apple-cider flavor.  The fermenting process creates carbonation, so it should get fizzier the longer you leave it.  While you're waiting, you'll notice a few things happen: the color grows lighter, and the SCOBY grows thicker (or makes a whole new baby SCOBY).  It's very scientific and fun to watch.  You're sort of keeping pets, if you really think about it (is fermented food even Vegan, actually??).

Note SCOBY floating freely in its tea bath...

But I digress.  Once you've had your fun watching bacteria grow, you're going to take the SCOBY out of your gallon jug and move the brew into glass bottles (most people like the reusable locking Grolsh-style beer bottles) for a second fermentation.  It's drinkable at this stage, but I find it a little too sweet.  I leave it in the bottle for 3 days before moving it to the fridge.  Make sure some of the brew goes back into the SCOBY hotel (sometimes you have to brew up extra sweet tea to keep it juicy).

It's a good idea to 'burp' these daily during the second fermentation to avoid over-carbonation and bottle explosions.

This is the point at which you can add flavor if you like.  (Never flavor during the first fermentation--it will wreck your SCOBY.)  You can toss fruits or spices directly into the bottle, or you can boil up a tincture (this is turning into my favorite method--cleaning ginger and blueberries out of narrow-neck bottles is a pain in the tush).  A little goes a long way in terms of flavors--you want to preserve the flavor of the 'booch (as we insufferable obsessives are known to call it).  I'm a fan of blueberry/ginger, but I've also had success with pomegranate, cherry, hibiscus, and a fall blend made with orange peel, cloves, and apple cider.  The sky is the limit with flavors; let your creativity fly!

P.S.--there is a method of brewing Kombucha that involves using a several-gallon jar with a spigot, whereby you never fully empty the container.  This is called 'continuous brew'.  I haven't tried it yet, but I hear good things and I'm intrigued.  I just haven't justified the cost of a large container to date, but it seems inevitable in the not-too-distant future.  I'm having trouble keeping up with my own consumption at this rate.

Happy brewing!  Cheers to your health!