There seems to be a significant amount of mystery and enthusiasm surrounding this elixer, and I’ll do my best to reveal some of the wonders of it here.
What is it?! Put simply it is a tea that has been fermented using a Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast: SCOBY. (Thanks for enlightening me SJ.) The history is slightly debated, but has generally been traced back to ancient China where it was valued as a most healthy beverage. Warriors were said to keep a pouch of it tied to their hip sipping some and adding a little fresh tea and sugar to feed it, their body warmth keeping it alive. Over the years it has been divided and brewed and passed on to many cultures, (no pun intended.) Any true kombucha will have a miniature SCOBY floating in the bottle which could be grown into a brewable culture. To eliminate the confusion, this is not an alcoholic beverage, though depending on how long it grows at room temperature it develops a small amount of alcohol. Unless made with a decaf green tea, it is caffeinated. The bacteria actually consume the sugar, so the finished product isn't packed with sugar either.
I first heard about it a few years back when a friend started brewing it for her husband suffering from cancer. It is said to have many beneficial properties such as "anti-cancer, anti-aging, weight control, digestion, immune booster, detoxification, probiotic benefits," etc. etc. I have had my fair share of stomach trouble over the years and so I thought I’d give it a whirl. My first attempt tasted like a hideous blend of vinegar, beer, and iced tea. I abandoned all efforts. To my delight, I recently tasted a friend’s brew, which was highly carbonated, sweet, refreshing, and so very different than any kombucha I’d ever tasted. Jenny had surely mastered the art thanks to her expert kombucha-brewing mother-in-law. With that I became her protégé. Through a series of trial and error sessions, communicating and miscommunicating on methodologies, and consulting a second daughter-in-law of said mother-in-law, I am now well on my way to keeping a high success rate of brews.
Here is the basic recipe:
-16 green tea bags (NOT the kind with matcha unless you're fond of giant green boogers in your brew.)
-2 black tea bags (just plain black, not something with oil essence like earl grey as it can harm the SCOBY)
-2 C white sugar (for brewing)
-1/2C white sugar (for bottling)
-2 C 100% grape juice concentrate or get creative and try other 100% juices (I once used unset wild blueberry jam. It was pulpy and delicious, but über carbonated!)
-2 gallons+ boiled water
Some other things you will need:
2 gallon glass container (giant cookie jar, crock, or any wide mouth jar that can be sanitized.)
16+ 16oz bottles or enough to bottle your kombucha (Grolsch bottles are perfect)
Sanitized strainer, funnel, spoon, bowl, measuring cups, and a clean tea towel
Bring the water to boil in the largest pot you have. Pour some boiling water over your 2 gal glass container to ensure it isn’t lodging any unwanted microorganisms. Slosh and empty that water. Pour 3 gallons freshly boiled water into glass container and drop in the 16 green tea bags and the 2 black tea bags. Let it sit for
15 min. to 1 hour before removing tea bags with a strainer. Add the 2 C. white sugar and stir until dissolved. Wait until room temperature or just above and add the SCOBY. If you put the SCOBY back in when its still too warm it will die, so be patient! You can put the container outside to expedite the cooling process if you’re really antsy, (a snow pile works nicely.) Once you are sure it is cool slide the culture into the sweet tea and cover with a tea towel. It needs to breathe so don’t put a tight lid on it. Place the container in a warm spot in your house (70˚F-90˚F is best.) I use the top of the fridge since it seems to stay warmer than the rest of the kitchen. After 6-14 days, you have a delicious, nutritious beverage. Taste it at 6 days to get an idea of how sour you want it. When you like the way it tastes remove the scoby from the container and set aside in a clean bowl. Add juice concentrate and sugar stir until just dissolved. I use the sanitize setting on my dishwasher, but you can just rinse the bottles with boiling water to get them nice and clean. Bottle carefully to ensure cleanliness and let it sit 2-3 more days on the counter; any longer and you may have explosions, so be cautious. This is where the carbonation happens. Refrigerate and-voilà!Happy brewing and cheers to your health!
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