ARTS & CULTURE

RECIPE: How To Brew Kambucha At Home: Here Is What You Need To Know

A new drink called Kambucha is selling like hot buns on the streets of Harare. The rate at which people, mostly men, are consuming the beverage, it’s certain the producer is racking in massive greens daily.

The theory among most men is that the drink activates one’s beast mode in bed, hence the demand despite a pricey tag of US$1

However, instead of parting with your hard earned dollar several times in a week, did you know you can brew the concoction in your home?

Before we present how to make it at home, let’s define it.

What is kambucha?

The name Kambucha is borrowed from the original name of the product which is used worldover, Kombucha

It is a fermented drink made from sweetened tea, with a history going back a couple of thousand years through Asia.

INGREDIENTS on how to brew kambucha with Kitchn

  • 3 1/2 quarts water
  • cup sugar (regular granulated sugar works best)
  • bags black tea, green tea, or a mix (or 2 tablespoons loose tea)
  • cups starter tea from last batch of kombucha or store-bought kombucha (unpasteurized, neutral-flavored)
  • scoby per fermentation jar, homemade or purchased online

Optional flavoring extras for bottling

  • 1 to 2 cups chopped fruit
  • 2 to 3 cups fruit juice
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons flavored tea (like hibiscus or Earl Grey)
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 to 4 tablespoons fresh herbs or spices

EQUIPMENT

  • Stock pot
  • 1-gallon glass jar or two 2-quart glass jars
  • Tightly woven cloth (like clean napkins or tea towels), covvee filters, or paper towels, to cover the jar
  • Bottles: Six 16-oz glass bottles with plastic lids, swing-top bottles, or clean soda bottles
  • Small funnel

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Note: Avoid prolonged contact between the kombucha and metal both during and after brewing. This can affect the flavor of your kombucha and weaken the scoby over time.
    Make the tea base:
     Bring the water to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar to dissolve. Drop in the tea and allow it to steep until the water has cooled. Depending on the size of your pot, this will take a few hours. You can speed up the cooling process by placing the pot in an ice bath.

  2. Add the starter tea: Once the tea is cool, remove the tea bags or strain out the loose tea. Stir in the starter tea. (The starter tea makes the liquid acidic, which prevents unfriendly bacteria from taking up residence in the first few days of fermentation.)

  3. Transfer to jars and add the scoby: Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon glass jar (or divide between two 2-quart jars, in which case you’ll need 2 scobys) and gently slide the scoby into the jar with clean hands. Cover the mouth of the jar with a few layers tightly-woven cloth, coffee filters, or paper towels secured with a rubber band. (If you develop problems with gnats or fruit flies, use a tightly woven cloth or paper towels, which will do a better job keeping the insects out of your brew.)

  4. Ferment for 7 to 10 days: Keep the jar at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, and where it won’t get jostled. Ferment for 7 to 10 days, checking the kombucha and the scoby periodically.

  5. It’s not unusual for the scoby to float at the top, bottom, or even sideways during fermentation. A new cream-colored layer of scoby should start forming on the surface of the kombucha within a few days. It usually attaches to the old scoby, but it’s ok if they separate. You may also see brown stringy bits floating beneath the scoby, sediment collecting at the bottom, and bubbles collecting around the scoby. This is all normal and signs of healthy fermentation.

  6. After 7 days, begin tasting the kombucha daily by pouring a little out of the jar and into a cup. When it reaches a balance of sweetness and tartness that is pleasant to you, the kombucha is ready to bottle.

  7. Remove the scoby: Before proceeding, prepare and cool another pot of strong tea for your next batch of kombucha, as outlined above. With clean hands, gently lift the scoby out of the kombucha and set it on a clean plate. As you do, check it over and remove the bottom layer if the scoby is getting very thick.

  8. Bottle the finished kombucha: Measure out your starter tea from this batch of kombucha and set it aside for the next batch. Pour the fermented kombucha (straining, if desired) into bottles using the small funnel, along with any juice, herbs, or fruit you may want to use as flavoring. Leave about a half inch of head room in each bottle. (Alternatively, infuse the kombucha with flavorings for a day or two in another covered jar, strain, and then bottle. This makes a cleaner kombucha without “stuff” in it.)

  9. Carbonate and refrigerate the finished kombucha: Store the bottled kombucha at room temperature out of direct sunlight and allow 1 to 3 days for the kombucha to carbonate. Until you get a feel for how quickly your kombucha carbonates, it’s helpful to keep it in plastic bottles; the kombucha is carbonated when the bottles feel rock solid. Refrigerate to stop fermentation and carbonation, and then consume your kombucha within a month.

  10. Make a fresh batch of kombucha: Clean the jar being used for kombucha fermentation. Combine the starter tea from your last batch of kombucha with the fresh batch of sugary tea, and pour it into the fermentation jar. Slide the scoby on top, cover, and ferment for 7 to 10 days.

RECIPE NOTES

  • Covering for the jar: Cheesecloth is not ideal because it’s easy for small insects, like fruit flies, to wiggle through the layers. Use a few layers of tightly woven cloth (like clean napkins or tea towels), coffee filters, or paper towels, to cover the jar, and secure it tightly with rubber bands or twine.
  • Batch Size: To increase or decrease the amount of kombucha you make, maintain the basic ratio of 1 cup of sugar, 8 bags of tea, and 2 cups starter tea per gallon batch. One scoby will ferment any size batch, though larger batches may take longer.
  • Putting Kombucha on Pause: If you’ll be away for 3 weeks or less, just make a fresh batch and leave it on your counter. It will likely be too vinegary to drink by the time you get back, but the scoby will be fine. For longer breaks, store the scoby in a fresh batch of the tea base with starter tea in the fridge. Change out the tea for a fresh batch every 4 to 6 weeks.
  • Other Tea Options: Black tea tends to be the easiest and most reliable for the scoby to ferment into kombucha, but once your scoby is going strong, you can try branching out into other kinds. Green tea, white tea, oolong tea, or a even mix of these make especially good kombucha. Herbal teas are okay, but be sure to use at least a few bags of black tea in the mix to make sure the scoby is getting all the nutrients it needs. Avoid any teas that contain oils, like earl grey or flavored teas.
  • Avoid Prolonged Contact with Metal

 

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