Made some Kombucha tea

Discussion in 'The Good Life' started by Red Rider, Sep 25, 2016.

  1. Red Rider

    Red Rider Well-Known Member

    Ever hear of Kombucha tea ? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kombucha

    I'm on my 6th batch and make this every so often. Mostly use organic black tea but sometimes add some Darjeeling or Jasmine. Have also experimented with Rooibos and adding some Yerba Mate.
    Post brew I add different fruits and sometime herbs/spices.

    Here is my latest batch black tea\Rooibos post brew in glass containers with the addition of mulling spices and chunks of mango and peach.
    The Rooibos addition makes for a milder less acidic flavoured result. Previous batch I added strawberries, blueberries and backyard mint which made for a red coloured tea that tasted a lot like cranberry juice concentrate.

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    Last edited: Sep 25, 2016
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  2. PickledNorthern

    PickledNorthern Fabulous, the unicorn

    How long does it take to ferment, and do you use a starter, or does it just do it on its own?


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  3. Red Rider

    Red Rider Well-Known Member

    I do use a starter called SCOBY (for symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast) which I purchased from a local home brewer.

    It takes about 10 days on average. As little as 7 if you want some thing milder and as long as 30 if one is looking to make vinegar. If using Rooibos in the mix I would suggest 14 day brew.
     
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  4. CliffDweller

    CliffDweller Well-Known Member

    Very cool, and I like that serving container.

    I made kombucha for about a year and a half when I lived in Seattle a while back. It was a lot of fun. Eventually I got lazy and gave it up, but it really tastes great. I liked putting ginger in there to give it a little zing and I'd also experimented with dried hibiscus, which gave it a cranberry-like tartness. Never put fruit in there like you're doing, very cool!
     
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  5. Red Rider

    Red Rider Well-Known Member

    Sadly I developed a mild sensitivity with ginger, I get hives. I don't need more zing in my original recipe super zingy. Dried hibiscus sounds like a plan but have to find some. Thanks for the idea and input.
     
  6. Spit_Fire

    Spit_Fire Well-Known Member

    This is great, I've looked into some home fermentables, but never kombucha, though I do like the bottled stuff. Can you share the amounts and what not you use if someone is looking to get started?
     
  7. TheFiveO

    TheFiveO Well-Known Member

    Have yet to try my hand at that, but I have been home fermenting kefir for the better part of a year. Good stuff and man does it keep your guts regular!
     
  8. Spit_Fire

    Spit_Fire Well-Known Member

    Yeah, I did actually look into kefir, for a while I was waiting for a friend to have enough "seeds" from his to give me some, but he stopped doing it. I should just look into ordering some.
     
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  9. Red Rider

    Red Rider Well-Known Member

    Kombucha recipe:
    Equipment & Ingredients Needed
    1. A large water safe vessel. Make sure its really clean but no bleach. Rince well.
    2. 1 gallon of brewed sweetened tea (ratio: 1 cup of sugar per gallon of tea) – I use regular black tea, though you can use up to 80% green tea or even certain herbal teas.
    3. A SCOBY and 1/2 cup of liquid from a previous batch of Kombucha to speed brew.
    4. Heating blanket on low under brew vessel.
    5. Brew time 10-15 days. More if to sweet. To much time equals vinegar.
    The ideal temperature for brewing Kombucha is about 75ºF, lower than 70ºF makes the process of fermentation longer and gives more chances for mold to grow. Temperature higher than 80 degrees makes yeast grow faster than bacteria and thus puts the fermentation out of balance.
    Remove SCOBY and fill glass containers no more than 85%. Leave lid tight for forced gassing at room temp.
    You can add fruit after removing SCOBY for up to 3 days.
    Filter lightly through colander and chill if preferred.
     

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