Let me start by saying that I am not a fan of ice tea, and because of that it took me a really long time to hop onto the kombucha train. Plus I was already fermenting a lot of food and beverages and I didn't see the need to start making kombucha just because all the "cool" fermenting folk were doing it.
Then somebody gifted me a scoby pellicle, so I figured, why not just give it a try. If I didn't like it, or it didn't work out, all it would cost me is a cup of sugar and a couple of tea bags.
I am now fermenting around two gallons of kombucha a week... yup! After that first delicious batch of kombucha, that "fungus wee" bug bit and I am now addicted. So much so, that I think it's possibly the most fermented item in my kitchen currently.
The recipe below is the same if you want to ferment black tea, green tea, white tea or rooibos tea kombucha, with only one small change in time if you are creating rooibos tea kombucha, but I will mention that when we get to that point.
What you will need:
4 to 5 bags (teaspoons for loose leaf tea) - depending on your preferred strength
1 litre boiling water
2 to 3 litres warm water
2 cups of sugar
1 x SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeasts) WITH ITS TEA, at least 1/2 a cup
A sterilized glass container large enough to hold all of the above contents, preferably with a lid that can be left loosely on.
A tight woven cloth that will fit over the mouth of your container, and elastic bands to hold the cloth in place.
The First Ferment
Step 1: In your sterilized container, place the litre of boiling water and stir in your sugar until mostly dissolved. Add in your tea bags (or loose leaf tea in an infuser) and leave for one to two hours to cool to room temperature and to make a strong tea mixture.
Step 2: Remove the tea and add the remaining 2 to 3 litres of warm water (room temperature or just above). Pour in the tea that came with your SCOBY pellicle, and lastly add your SCOBY itself. Place the lid of the container loosely on top. This is an aerobic ferment, so there needs to be an exchange of air.
Cover the top of the container with a cloth and keep in place with elastic bands. This is to prevent any dust and insects from getting into your ferment.
Leave to ferment at room temperature for around 4 to 5 days. This is the only time where rooibos tea varies, it takes a little longer to ferment compared to the other teas and I recommend the initial fermentation period be 7 days.
The Second Ferment
For this you will need a selection of glass bottles with screw on lids, in a size of your choosing. Please make sure it is a bottle that can hold an active ferment, to prevent any unwanted explosions from happening in your kitchen in the middle of the night, and giving you and your family mild heart attacks - been there, done that! All I can say is that at least we can laugh about it now, but at the time, it's not funny.
Make sure your bottles are sterilized. Add half a teaspoon of sugar for smaller (+-250-500ml) bottles and a full teaspoon of sugar for larger bottles (750ml to 1 litre). This is to create the natural carbonation.
If you want to flavour your kombucha, you can do so now. I usually like to add a quarter cup of fresh fruit or a quarter cup of fruit juice. My favourites so far are granadilla pulp and fresh chopped pineapple pieces.
Decant the kombucha into the bottles, leaving space for the active ferment, DO NOT fill your bottles all the way to the top.
PRO TIP: Leave some kombucha and tea in your original fermentation vessel, and just re-fill it with more warm water that you have already infused fresh tea into, and one and a half cups of sugar. This way you can keep your kombucha ferment going on, almost indefinitely. Make sure the water is warm, hot water will kill your ferment.
The now filled bottles with kombucha, leave to stand on your kitchen counter at room temperature for 3 days, after which it is ready to drink. you can place it in the fridge just before serving if you like to drink it cold.
PRO TIP: After each first ferment, in a separate sterilized jar, pour half a cup of the kombucha tea and cover with a cloth. Leave to the side to grow a new SCOBY - eventually you can grow a selection of pellicles and start a SCOBY Hotel - as the pellicles won't always "live" forever, it's always good to have younger, stronger pellicles growing on the side to be able to replace your older ones as you go along.
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