Kombucha w/fruit Recipe

Kombucha w/fruit Recipe

1 gallon glass container

1 bandana or light cotton cloth

1 rubber band or string

3-½ quarts water

6 tea bags (majority should be black tea; I use 4 black Great Value brand + 1 oolong tea + 1 green trea)

1 SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria & Yeast)*

1 cup kombucha starter

1 cup sugar

½ to 1 cup of fruit (I have used combinations of frozen or fresh fruits—blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, peaches—along with crushed fresh mint, rosemary, basil and also chia seeds)

Boil 3-½ quarts of water. Steep tea bags in water for 10-12 min.

Remove tea bags and add 1 cup of sugar and stir to dissolve. (The SCOBY will have consumed 100% of the sugar once fermentation is complete.) Don’t skimp on the sugar! The SCOBY needs the sugar for fuel to do its job.

Let tea cool to a temp of at least luke warm. (I put my pot of tea in the frig to speed cooling process.)

In gallon jar, add 1 cup of kombucha and the SCOBY. (Before putting your SCOBY to work, you can rinse and clean the SCOBY with your hands in luke warm tap water if it needs cleaning.)

Pour luke warm tea into gallon container, and place cloth over jar opening using rubber band to secure.

Keep jar in a warm place for 12-14 days. On day 12, do a taste test IF when cloth is removed you smell a sour somewhat vinegary scent AND the SCOBY is a pale, smooth, shiny disc. (DO NOT taste if it smells rotten and/or the SCOBY has any green or blue discoloring/mold spots. If that is the case, toss the entire batch and SCOBY and start over.) The “mother” (SCOBY) may float to the top and form a bit of seal at the top of the jar which means it is brewing fine. Push the straw between the SCOBY and jar edge to the middle/lower portion of the brew. Seal your finger over the top of the straw and drop the kombucha in your mouth to taste. It’s done when it tastes good to you. It should have a slightly sour, tingly taste. If it’s very sweet, then the SCOBY hasn’t consumed all of the sugar yet, so it needs to ferment longer. You should go by your own preference here. (I usually leave mine in for a full 14 days.)

Once the brew is ready, remove the SCOBY (or SCOBYs… yes! They reproduce and make good compost additives!) and either: 1) start a new batch immediately; 2) place the SCOBY in 1 cup of kombucha in a sealed container in the frig until you’re ready to make another batch; 3) to “fatten” your SCOBY for better fermentation, place the SCOBY in 1 cup of kombucha in a sealed container in a warm place (I put mine in the pantry) and add 1/2 cup of sugar every week until you're ready to make another batch. *Make sure you reserve 1 cup of kombucha to use as a starter for your next batch.

Once the SCOBY is taken care of, pour your kombucha into smaller containers (canning jars with lids, bottles, etc. I found some old flip top beer bottles at s thrift store that work great!). If you will be adding fruit, this is the time! (I add 5 berries & a spring of herb to each smaller container.) Seal the top and let sit in a warm place until carbonated to your liking. (I leave mine out for 3 days… when the top “pops” at opening!) Once carbonated, keep in frig to stop the fermentation process and drink!

*Don’t know what a SCOBY is, where to get one or how to grow one yourself? Go to: https://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn/kombucha/obtaining-a-kombucha-scoby/

**Want to know where SCOBY’s and kombucha come from? Go to:

http://anunrefinedvegan.com/2013/08/13/which-came-first-the-scoby-or-the-kombucha/

***Want more kombucha info? Go to my Kombucha Pinterest Board.