Kombucha Follow-Up

Okay, so here's a little follow up to last Sunday's post on kombucha, where I go into a bit more detail and hopefully answer some questions that I forgot to include in the first post.

First, I'm aware that my SCOBY picture is a little scary looking, so I've updated that with a little quick fix. I figured adding a smile to it might make it seem a little friendlier. Trust me, this is what the SCOBY would look like if it had a mouth to smile with:



In regards to preparing the tea:

The goal here is a strong, sweet tea. The sugar is what the SCOBY (Symbiotic Commnunity of Bacteria and Yeast) eats, and the tea provides essential nutrients to help keep the SCOBY healthy.

I've been asked if a sugar substitute is acceptable, such as Splenda. The short answer is no. The sugar is not for you, it's to feed the kombucha. If you want less sugar in your kombucha, then let it age longer; the yeasts will eat and process the sugar, making it less sweet. The yeasts and bacteria need real sugar of some sort in order to eat. Plain white sugar is the easiest for the SCOBY to process, so it ferments fastest and produces a good "clean" flavor. Right now I'm experimenting with honey, which is more complex and therefore produces a more complex flavor and nutrition profile. Later on I want to experiment with agave nectar and other natural sugar sources. I will certainly post my results. If you are just starting out, I recommend starting with white sugar.

My general formula is about 2 cups of sugar per gallon of water.

What kind of tea is best? Green tea, black tea, white tea, or a combination of teas all work fine. Because the different teas have different nutritional profiles, some kombucha brewers recommend a combination of black and green teas. This kind of makes sense in producing a healthy happy SCOBY, but some people use just one kind of tea with no problems.

I use a loose leaf tea, but tea bags work fine. I put a small handful of tea, or about 4-5 teabags per gallon. As in using wine for cooking, I recommend a decent quality "drinkable" tea, but you don't need to go crazy and get something very expensive. This is a situation where Lipton's, Tetley, or PG Tips is perfectly fine. I tend to use a tea called "Madame Butterfly" which I buy from a local coffee and tea place; it has a nice peach flavor to it, is not too expensive, and complements the natural kombucha flavor very well.

Length of time for fermenting varies with temperature and personal preference. After about a week, start sampling your kombucha. I use a clean turkey baster to draw up a small sample. The longer you let your kombucha ferment, the more tart the flavor becomes. I tend to let my kombucha ferment for at least 2 weeks at a stretch.

When the weather is warmer, the kombucha ferments faster. Also there are variations in flavor between a kombucha that is fermented in warmer temps than cooler ones. If I were producing kombucha for commercial purposes, I would want to keep my culture at a constant of about 85 degrees F for consistant flavor. Since I'm producing kombucha for personal consumption I really enjoy how every batch is different.

One other thing I'm doing with my kombucha is "racking" it. I set aside a quart or two of kombucha, put it in sealed bottles or jars and put it in a relatively cool dark place, aging it like wine. I wasn't sure if this would work or if I'd just end up with vinegar. So far the results are promising: The kombucha is becoming more wine-like, drier and pleasant. I've only been doing this for a month and this is an experiment that will take 6 months to a year. I will post later on the success (or lack thereof) of this technique. Kombucha wine? Oh yeah!

Kombucha!

Welcome to my first posting for Life in a Jar. This is my blog about fermentation and cultured foods. Most of these products can be done simply and easily, without much outlay in either time or money. Most of these products I do in canning jars, hence the name. It's also a metaphor for my life at this time, where I live in a small space, have limited travel ("You live in Los Angeles and you don't have a CAR?") yet I live a full, rich, and varied life. Now, on to my first posting...I'll try not to suck!

Today I started a new batch of kombucha.

Westerners have this beautiful knack for misnaming things...for 400 years we've been calling Native Americans "Indians" after a continent on the other side of the planet, and we continue this tradition with "kombucha" which is Japanese for "seaweed tea," a broth made from dried kelp that is fed to invalids. In Japan it's called "kōcha kinoko" ("Red tea mushroom".) Although I prefer the term "tea-kvass," I'm going to stick to the name "kombucha" as that's the term by which it is best known in the U.S. Who am I to buck tradition? It IS similar to Japanese kelp tea in that it has many health benefits (more on that below.)

Kombucha is drink made from sweet tea cultured with a kombucha SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) which looks sort of like a big rubber pancake. Here's a rather scary picture of my SCOBY at rest waiting to be put into the new batch:



Here's a picture of the same SCOBY in a 2 gallon jar filled with tea that is ready for drinking:



Note the bubbles. This is a sign that this is an active culture and still fermenting.

Yesterday I boiled 2 gallons of water, added a couple of handfuls of green tea, a "hand" of sliced ginger, and 4 cups of honey. I allowed this to boil for about 10 minutes, then left it covered to cool overnight. Normally I use 2 cups of sugar per gallon instead of honey, but I am experimenting with the honey. Ginger is optional, and many people will tell you that ginger will kill the culture, but I've been adding ginger for nearly a year with no ill effect. Also, although flavored teas are considered bad for the culture, I've been using a blend called Madame Butterfly which is a peach flavored tea with great success (and flavor.)


Once the tea cooled to room temperature, I was ready to begin. I keep the kombucha for drinking in my refrigerator in a 2 gallon plastic water bottle with a spigot for easy decanting. I was nearly finished with the previous batch so I pulled it out, had one las glass of the old batch, and washed out the container.

I then opened up the jar with the fresh batch of fermenting kombucha. I pulled out the SCOBY and gently rinsed it. I poured the new kombucha into the plastic container, quickly washed out the jar, and poured the cooled tea into the glass jar.

I pulled off a bit of the kombucha SCOBY and put it into a jar with some of the fresh kombucha, sealing it tightly and putting it in the fridge. This is in case something goes wrong with the main culture (something that has only happened to me once in the past three years.)

I put the rest of the SCOBY (the "mother") into the jar with the tea. If you look at the picture above, you can see that I put cheesecloth over the top, and a plate upside down over the top. This is to prevent critters from getting in. Everything loves the kombucha and wants to get into it (except perhaps my cat.)

So, why do I do this? First and foremost I REALLY like the stuff. It has a sweet/tart flavor, similar to cider. There is delicate effervescence to it, as the process produces a gentle carbonation. I like it better than most sodas, and I can age it be as sweet or tart as I want it. It is chock full of vitamins like B and C as well as a cocktail of amino acids.

It's very cheap to produce. I can make two gallons of tasty kombucha for about the cost of a 12 oz can of Coke. I can make about 4 gallons for the cost of a 12 oz. bottle of commercially produced kombucha AND I know that the culture is alive and fresh.

Tasty AND healthy? Woo hoo! Cheap? BONUS!!

NOTES:

Kombucha is a living cultured food, and like all cultures, try a small amount at first. Although the bacteria in kombucha are generally considered good for digestion, some people may experience some upset if they imbibe to much the first time. If you've never had kombucha before, start with a small glass (say, about 4 oz.) and then try more later. I should mention I NEVER had any trouble with kombucha. Still, better safe than sorry.

Many people report miraculous results from drinking kombucha. Most of that info is anecdotal, and although I believe kombucha is very good for you and will have beneficial effects, I do not promise miracles. I DO promise a very tasty drink! The fact is that no real study of the benefits of kombucha have been done in about a century. The Russians and Germans at the beginning of the 20th century wrote about the benefits of kombucha in treating a variety of conditions. My personal belief is that because kombucha is full of healthy vitamins and amino acids, it had an overall effect of making people healthier, and a variety of conditions were helped as a result.

If you are interested in trying to brew your own kombucha, you can get a culture from a health food store, online, or find a kombucha discussion group, where you might find someone who will give you a culture for free. If you want a free culture from me, no problem. If you live outside my area I'll ask for a couple dollars for shipping.

How do I know when it's ready? Basically I start tasting it after a week. Nowadays I can tell just by smell. It's ready when it tastes as tart as you want it. I've seen where they sell PH strips so you can check it, but your tongue is the best way to tell. Remember, the longer you leave it, the tarter it will become.

If you wish to experiment with herbal or flavored tea, I recommend you always keep a spare kombucha on hand. Almost every time you brew kombucha it will peel off "babies" and I always keep a few in a sealed jar filled with kombucha in the refrigerator. I have in the past three years only had one batch go bad. I started over again with a culture that I'd kept in the fridge for over a year. You will hear about how delicate the culture is, but it's really very tough.

Lastly, remember that kombucha is a living thing. Think of it as a pet. Feed it, treat it with love and respect, and it will respond in kind, feeding and nourishing you.

Okay, that's my first blog! Hope you enjoyed it and got some interesting information from it. Please feel free to comment and critique.