If you have been to the supermarket, then you have seen kombucha showcased. Over the last few years it has gained a lot of momentum and popularity. Kombucha isn't new to the world though. It has been seen in history dating back to as early as 220 BC. It has always been known for its “healing” properties and was thought to be used as an immortality drink. It also was popular in China in the 1960s, in which many people would have their own home brew. Today, kombucha is gaining popularity in America for a multitude of reasons. One of the biggest being for the benefits it brings to our gut-health.
In this article, I am going to go over a brief history of kombucha, the benefits of this fermented tea, and how you can get started brewing your own! I will be following this article up with a blog post on Flavoring and Bottling Your Kombucha.
HISTORY OF KOMBUCHA
The exact origin of kombucha is still not exactly known. Details have been lost through thousands of years of stories and translations. However, this is a few stories that have been passed down through history.
One of the most popular origin stories dates back to the Qin Dynasty, 221 BCE, in China. The story says that it was accidentally found by what was believed to be sweetened tea left out and bacteria created the perfect environment for fermentation. Other legends have said that a Korean doctor - Dr. Kombu - brought his special remedy to the ailing Japanese emperor In-giyo.
One thing we do know is that all stories and legends reference this fermented tea as a healing drink. But what is kombucha? In short, Kombucha is a fermented tea. When you combine a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) with starter liquid (an inoculant) and sweet tea and allow it to ferment you get kombucha. There is a lot of science behind how the bacteria and yeast interacts with caffeine and sugar to create our delicious brew.
BENEFITS OF KOMBUCHA
Kombucha is like many other fermented food and are rich in probiotics - a beneficial bacteria for the gut. They have been shown to help with nutrient absorption, vitamin synthesis, breaking down proteins, alkalizing pH, restoring homeostasis, boosting immunity, and producing immunoglobulins. Kombucha is also known to reduce toxins, free radicals, and boost liver function and aid digestion.
But why is our gut health so important? Our gut is like a second brain. The enteric nervous system is located in our gut and carries out complex processes and is capable of learning and remembering. This is what we call gut-instinct. It is connected to the brain by the vagus nerve. About 90% of all stimulation of the vagus nerve comes from the gut. It is a key pathway of communication to the brain. This is why the food we eat impacts not only our physical well being but also our mental and emotional well being.
I have found that a proper diet helps me so much because of this. When my gut is healthy and happy, I feel much better. I think clearer and I feel more positive, energetic, and healthy. I can tell a difference when I am drinking kombucha and eating a healthy well balanced diet.
SUPPLIES NEEDED TO START YOUR OWN BREW
1 gallon glass vessel (I personally like to use ones with a spigot to help make bottling easier)
SCOBY (if you can get one from a friend that is great! Otherwise here is a link of one on Amazon.)
1-2 cups starter liquid (Your SCOBY will usually come with some, but you can also add GTS original Kombucha for an extra boost)
Water
Sugar
Tea
Reusable Tea Bag or Infuser
Cheese Cloth or Breathable Tea Towel
Air-Tight Bottles
TYPES OF TEA AND SUGAR
Tea
When it comes to deciding what tea to use for your kombucha, I have found that starting with a black tea is best, to help establish a healthy SCOBY. With anything in life, the quality does matter. When I first started brewing my own kombucha, I started with some fairly cheap varieties of tea bags. It was fairly successful, however, I realized how much waste I was creating with the tea bags, and I felt that the brew was slower overall.
The best teas to start your kombucha with is black, oolong, green, white or pu-erh. I personally have used black and green and prefer green tea, now that it is established. The caffeine in tea is essential for the brewing process. It provides nitrogen for building new cells in addition to energizing the yeast and bacteria, stimulating the fermentation. So be sure you don't use decaffeinated tea or just herbal teas to brew your kombucha with.
If you are like me, extremely caffeine sensitive, do not worry. The caffeine is reduced by the sugar added and then the fermentation reduces it by as much as two-thirds! I can drink a glass at night before bed, without any disturbances in my sleeping pattern.
Overtime, once you have established a healthy SCOBY and brewing method, you can start to introduce herbal teas to your brew. I started adding some floral notes to my brews, and personally love them!
Sugar
When we hear the word sugar, we want to run and hide! People gawk at the idea of adding 1 cup of sugar to their tea during the brewing process. However, just like the caffeine in tea, the sugar is essential in this process. The yeast and bacteria feed off of the sugar.
Some of the sugars you can use is evaporated cane juice, white sugar, sugar in the raw, maple syrup, or honey. I have used evaporated cane juice, white sugar, and sugar in the raw over the last 2.5 years that I have brewed kombucha. I have changed types based on was was available to me. However, I am able to buy the evaporated cane juice in bulk (yay! #zerowaste). I have found that I received the best results with the evaporated cane juice and sugar in the raw.
Depending on how you want your brew to taste, this will determine how much sugar is even left for you to drink. We like our kombucha pretty tart so I do not have a worry for sugar. Commercially bottled kombucha tends to have more added sugars. This is to accommodate the everyday customer who may not like their drinks as tart. This is why brewing your own is an added benefit.
HOW TO BREW
There are two types of brewing methods. Batch and continuous brewing. It is very much what their names imply. We are going to focus on batch brewing. I prefer this method because we like to bottle our brew and flavor it for a second fermentation. This allows us to do this while a new batch is brewing so we have a fairly regular supply of finished kombucha.
So first things first. You need a SCOBY and about 1-2 cups of starter liquid. You can create this with a plain kombucha that you receive from a grocery store, through a few more steps, or you can often times buy a SCOBY online or in a health foods store. If you can get a SCOBY from a friend who is already brewing and has established SCOBY's, this is your best option.
You will then want to clean your new vessel. You do not want any bad bacteria to interfere with the growth of your SCOBY. If you are buying a vessel with a spigot, be sure that it is not metal. The acidic composition of kombucha and the long fermentation causes it to leach toxins from its container. You can have stainless steel food grade spigot because it is non-reactive, this is the only exception.
In a large pot you will want to bring your water to a boil. The volume of water will be based on how large your vessel is. If you have a 1 gallon vessel, you will want to be adding 1-2 cups of the starter liquid, and then approximately 12 cups of freshly brewed tea. I always just add more water than I need just to be sure I have enough.
In your reusable tea bag or infuser, add 1-2 Tbsp of loose leaf tea. Once water is brought to a boil, remove from heat and add your tea bag and then mix in your sugar. (Below is a great chart to determine how much tea and sugar to use based on your size vessel)
Courtesy of The Big Book of Kombucha
Now you will want to allow your sweet tea to cool to about 75-85 degrees. If you try to combine your hot tea with your SCOBY, you can kill the good cultures. You also do not want your liquid to become too cold. A cold brew means a slow brew. You can shorten this cool down time by brewing only half the amount of water needed with your tea and sugar, and then adding the rest with cold water. This will quickly lower its temperature.
Next, you want to assemble your brew! Add your sweet tea to the vessel. Then add your 1-2 cups starter liquid, followed by your SCOBY. Don’t worry if it sinks or floats sideways, that is normal and it will oftentimes straighten itself out. If it doesn’t over time, be sure to check the temperature of your brew to make sure it is in an ideal temperature of 75-85 degrees. 68-75 degrees is acceptable but may cause your brew to be a little slower.
Now cover the brew with a breathable material. I have a tight-knit linen and also a multiple layered cheese cloth. (If you opt for the cheese cloth make sure you have several layers so fruit flies can not get through!) Your brew does need to be able to breathe but you want to keep anything like lint, bugs, fruit flies, and ants out of your brew. Secure your material of choice with a nice and tight rubber band.
FERMENTATION
Now that you have your tea and brew assembled, place it in a location that it is out of direct sunlight. It is time to patiently wait. It can take anywhere between 7-21 days to reach your preferred flavor. I have found that newer brews do take a little longer at first, to get established. With our established SCOBY, we can bottle every 7-10 days. We prefer our brew to be on the more tart side of things, so we sometimes wait 10-14 days.
This time frame truly depends on how you like your brew to taste and your environmental conditions. A warmer temperature allows for a quicker ferment. In the summer months, our kombucha reaches our ideal taste faster than in the winter. Like I mentioned before, the ideal brewing temperature is 75-85 degrees. If yours is in the 68-75 degree range, the fermentation process will slow down.
Every time you brew a new batch, a new SCOBY will grow on the surface of your liquid. I keep several of these layers in my brew each time, it allows us to create a quicker brew. If you start to have too many you can peel the layers off and compost them or add them to a SCOBY hotel. This is basically just a container of SCOBY’s that you can cycle through and use, or give to a friend to start their first batch!
BOTTLING
The best way to know when it is finished is to taste test. Your brew should have a tart flavor to it. If your brew is too sweet, you may have bottled it prematurely and you will not get all the benefits of a fermented tea. It would be more like drinking a cup of very sweet tea. The brew will also have a lot more sugar and caffeine.
It is also possible to over brew your kombucha. It will have a very strong vinegar-y smell to it. But, no worries, save some liquid for your next batch and save the over brewed kombucha. You can make a lot of things with it, such as cleaner, toner, and many other things.
Once you have decided that your brew is ready, it is time to bottle it up! You will pull out as much kombucha that you wish to bottle leaving a minimum of 1-2 cups of original liquid to start your next batch. (The more you leave in the quicker your next batch will be ready) You will want to bottle your kombucha into air-tight bottle. We use the flip-top style bottles, similar to theses, here.
From here you can add a couple ounces of fruit juice, purees, herbs, etc, or drink it plain. You will leave the bottles to sit on the counter for a few more days to allow for a second fermentation. This is where you will get some great carbonation! Some ingredients cause more carbonation than others. We actually had two bottles explode one night because we let them sit out too long and the pressure was too much for the glass! It was a terrible mess to clean up in the morning. Once you move them to the refrigerator the fermentation will stop.
I will be doing a follow up blog post on Flavoring your Kombucha where I will go into more details on this. Along with some of my favorite flavors!
STARTING YOUR NEXT BREW
Now it’s time to start again. The process is very much the same as the first. Just brew more sweet tea and pour it on top of the SCOBY and the leftover Kombucha brew. Then you wait and watch your new SCOBY grow!
It is a never ending cycle that provides so many benefits. Overtime you can begin to experiment with the 2nd fermentation, flavoring the brew, and trying different teas and sugars.
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