Guide to making homemade Kombucha
Step 1: First Fermentation
Kombucha is fermented sweet tea. To brew kombucha, you have to go through two phases: 1st fermentation and 2nd fermentation.
1st fermentation (F1):
F1 typically takes around 1-4 weeks. During that time, the sweet tea ferments and is transformed into kombucha by the starter tea and a kombucha culture (a SCOBY). The acronym stands for symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. It is the mother culture required to make kombucha tea.
The optimal temperature range for kombucha fermentation is between 75 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Keeping your brewing kombucha in this temperature range can help the SCOBY ferment the tea properly, and avoid the development of mold or harmful bacteria. There are a variety of ways to maintain this temperature, including using a heating pad.
Ingredients to make fermented tea:
Bring 4 cups filtered water (to boil) + add 8 tea bags or 20 grams loose organic tea (green or black or combination)
Steep for 8 minutes
Add 1 cup organic sugar to dissolve (bacteria and yeast need cane sugar to eat and reproduce).
Add 8 cups filtered cool water (to bring temperature down)
Add 2 cups kombucha starter tea and 1 SCOBY
Cover the jar with a clean, tight-weave cloth (a bandana, tee-shirt, even a coffee filter would work) and secure it with a rubber band so fruit flies don’t get in.
Let it sit at room temp (between 70 – 85 degrees) with heating wrap away from direct sunlight for 1-4 weeks.
Materials:
Two- 1 gallon glass jars (one for tea and another for SCOBY hotel)
Cotton cloth cover (coffee filter, clean shirt/bandana, fine-weave cheesecloth) with rubber band
Plastic funnels
At the end of F1 fermentation (1-4 weeks), you’ll have unflavored, largely un-carbonated kombucha.
2nd fermentation (F2):
This is when your kombucha tea is flavored (usually with fruit, herbs) and bottled in a sealed container for around 2-4 days at room temperature to create carbonation. Add fruit and herbs to the bottom of the bottle and add fermented tea. After 2-4 days, put kombucha in the fridge.
Save 2 cups of the tea along with the SCOBY. SCOBY will produce a baby which can be split apart. One SCOBY will go into the next batch of tea. The other one can be given away, composted, or put in a SCOBY hotel.
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