Kombucha is everywhere you turn, from high-end restaurants and grocery stores to quick in and out gas stations. If you are not familiar with kombucha, it is a probiotic-rich, fermented tea drink with a fizzy vinegary tang. It is largely classified as a functional beverage, which means that it is a non-alcoholic drink that contains vitamins, amino acids or other nutrients associated with health benefits. Kombucha’s rapidly rising popularity seems to reflect a renewed interest towards health, wellness, and an active lifestyle. It is sold as a health tonic that can positively impact a person’s health in a variety of ways, including detoxification, joint health, elevated energy, digestion/gut health and immune-boosting properties, with some believing it to have cancer prevention and weight loss properties as well.
 History Of Kombucha
This drink is just not a millennial’s fad or a health food kick but a fermented beverage steeped in history and tradition. Kombucha is thought to have originated in from Manchuria China in 200 BC and spread throughout Asia along trade routes.The name kombucha is a Japanese word that means “Kelp Tea”, and in one story it is from a Dr. Kombu who was a Korean physician, who brought the fermented tea to Japan as a curative for Emperor Inkyo.  Kombucha has a name in about 80 other languages worldwide.  A 1965 mycological study called kombucha “tea fungus” and listed other names such as: ‘teeschwamm’ (a Japanese or Indonesian tea fungus), and ‘kombucha’, ‘wunderpilz’, ‘hongo’, ‘cajnij’, ‘fungus japonicus’, and ‘teekwass’. With this much history it is definitely not a fad. My grandfather used to make something called mushroom tea, which I believe was Kombucha, he said it it was a drink he learned to make when he was stationed in Japan after World War II. Obviously, my grandfather was ahead of his time.Or behind?! I guess it depends on how you look at it.
 
 Brewing The Kombucha
The process of preparing kombucha can vary but generally involves a double fermentation process wherein a SCOBY (a Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast) is placed in a sweetened tea mixture and left to ferment at room temperature for 1-3 weeks. SCOBY’s can be found in stores, you can obtain one from a friend’s SCOBY, or buy one off the internet. Regardless of where you obtain your SCOBY, start with the largest and healthiest SCOBY you can find.
Basic Kombucha Recipe
I use a gallon jar as my brewing vessel so this recipe is for a gallon of kombucha. Subtract or add ingredients to fit your brewing vessel size.
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Organic Sugar
- 6 tsp Green or Black Tea/ 1 bag tea = 1 tsp of loose leaf
- 1 SCOBY
- 1 Cup Starter Liquid
- 14 Cups Purified Cold Water
Instructions
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Boil 4 cups of water and add tea and steep for 15 minutes.
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Remove tea/bag and add the sugar, make sure it is dissolved completely.
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Add sweetened tea to brewing vessel.
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Add 10 cups of purified COLD water to the brewing vessel.
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Make sure temperature is lukewarm, hot water will harm the SCOBY. add the starter liquid and SCOBY. The SCOBY should hover around the top but don't worry if it sinks.
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Cover with a cloth and secure with a rubber band. Do not use cheesecloth the weave is too loose and fruit flies can enter your kombucha.
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Set in a warm location out of direct sunlight and leave undisturbed for 7-10 days.
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After 7-10 days, taste test your kombucha until it reaches your desired taste, if it is too sweet, it needs a few more days.
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At this time you can do a second fermenting to add carbonation or you can drink it as is. Brew another batch of sweet tea and add 1 cup of kombucha or starter liquid and add the SCOBY and repeat!!!
 Second Fermenting
So now that you have made a successful batch of Kombucha you are ready for the second fermenting. This is an optional step. Mostly what the second fermenting does is give the kombucha extra flavoring and adds a natural carbonation.Youll need a strong brewing vessel for this next step, I like my swing top jugs but a growler or even a half gallon jar would work.
- Fill the jug with the finished Kombucha and leave about a 2-3 inch headspace at the top.
- Pour in your flavoring, I like blueberry puree, ginger and lime juice, 1 teaspoon of lime juice, 2 tablespoons of blueberry puree and a bit of finely grated ginger.
- Don’t use too much flavoring because the fermenting will go faster than you will like.
- Â Close that lid tight. For this fermenting, you don’t want any oxygen. Put jug into a dark cupboard for about 4 days.
- After four days burp it and check the carbonation. Close the lid tightly and leave for another week.
- After that, it should be ready. Check flavor and carbonation.
- Put it in the refrigerator and enjoy.
- Word of caution- Do not put the jug into the cupboard and forget about it, the carbonation can cause it to break.
Tips Tricks and Hints
Do not use bleach, harsh detergents or chlorinated water. Kombucha is a live brew and very sensitive to these products.
Kombucha needs air to thrive, and grow,
Don’t skimp on the sugar, sugar is what the SCOBY uses as food.
Don’t worry if your SCOBY is ugly, they can look very different from batch to batch, BUT…..If fuzzy mold forms on the SCOBY throw it out, fuzzy mold isn’t salvageable.
Brew in a warm environment, cold will make the SCOBY go dormant if you live in a very drafty house or cold climate try a Kombucha heater, in the winter I occasionally use a seedling heat mat.
Do not store your SCOBY in the refrigerator, store it in a cool cupboard instead.
When you pass along a new SCOBY to a friend don’t forget to give them starter liquid, when I pass along the joy of a new SCOBY, I place it in a ziplock bag with 2 cups of starter liquid.
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