How to make Kombucha Tea. The hardest part is finding the glass jar to make it in. Here's Kombucha* demystified, Kombucha* for everyone. Kombucha* "as easy as 1-2-3."
* aka Manchurian Mushroom Tea, Karagasok Tea, others.
By the time you got here, you have probably read a myriad of intimidating instructions and dire warnings. Now if you can just forget all that, here's the nitty gritty basics. It's sooo easy.
<-- Here it has achieved its golden color in a Mason jar, with paper towel cover, and the other is being kept in a EZ top bottle to get fizzy.
First get a 1-gallon glass jar (like 4 pickle or mayo) from thrift store or restaurant, & a SCOBY.
1) make some strong, sweet tea:
-- e.g. 4-5 bags black tea, 3+/- quarts water, 2 cups white sugar.
2) put the cooled tea in the jar,
-- top up with water,
-- add the SCOBY, and
-- cover with cloth
3) let sit for 8 days, then
-- remove SCOBYs (now there are 2),
-- strain liquid into bottles and
-- refrigerate.
Further NOTES:
If you have friends that make Kombucha, ask them for a SCOBY ("culture"/"mushroom"), they have plenty. Size does not matter. Otherwise, you can buy one on eBay, quicker and easier than growing your own from store-bought Kombucha tea. Don't pay more than $5 total. If you can get more glass jars, get them, so you can have more batches going, and get friends started. You can use plastic, but it will damage your SCOBY over time, and probably compromise some benefits. It's OK to use porcelain, like a crock pot or sauerkraut pot, even a mixing bowl, you just can't see what's happening. You can start with a 1/2 gallon jar, or even a quart jar. You can cut the SCOBY culture into 2 or more, since size is immaterial. The Kombucha SCOBY should not touch metal or anything other than glass, plastic, porcelain, wood, sweet tea, vinegar.
(1) You can use black, green or oolong tea. Don't use Earl Grey, herbal, or flavored tea. When I make it, I use approximately 3 quarts water, add sugar and 3 black and 2 green tea bags, bring to a boil, turn off heat and let sit on burner overnight. Do not use less sugar or any other than regular white sugar. The sugar is not for you, it's for the Kombucha SCOBY culture, which needs the energy from sugar to produce the healthy Kombucha drink and the new SCOBY. Same goes for that over-brewed tea.
(2) When I remove the bags and put the tea in the jar, I top it up with tap water to the beginning of the curve in a 1-gallon jar (just under 4 quarts). All that about adding finished Kombucha tea or vinegar is not necessary for making the Kombucha; it is just for the acidic pH to prevent mold. I have been making this for over 25 years, with no "starter," and only got mold once in all that time. It makes its own acidic pH after 2-3 days. The cloth is to keep out bugs and airborne contaminants, but the mixture must breathe. You can use a coffee filter. Secure with rubber band to keep out insects. Write down date. The SCOBY might sink or float, it doesn't matter.
(3) The liquid will become golden. Mother SCOBY does not grow, baby should get to be about 1/2 inch. You can leave it longer. More days = more sour. I like 8 days, hubby prefers 10 days. Taste it with a straw until it is what you like. If you are taking it for diabetes (highly recommended), leave for at least 9 days. If it's too sour to drink, use as vinegar in salads, etc. or sweeten w/agave nectar.
Use a plastic strainer or cheesecloth, not metal. Separate and rinse off the 2 SCOBYs and refrigerate in zip-lock bag or container with a little water. They will keep like that for months.
Always use a strainer when pouring your Kambucha into a glass or cup. Even refrigerated, it continues to produce the makings of a new SCOBY -- gelatinous stringy thingys, not pleasant to drink (but very healthy). If you leave a little Kambucha in a glass for a week or so, it will have a tiny baby SCOBY floating on top, with no mother.
After the tea is made, it will continue to ferment, even in the fridge.
If it's is in sealed bottles, it will effervesce. If you want sodapop-like carbonation, you can leave it capped at room temp for 2-3 days (but beware bottle explosion). Research www to learn more, after you have made a batch or 2.
<-- Here it has achieved its golden color in a Mason jar, with paper towel cover, and the other is being kept in a EZ top bottle to get fizzy. Remember. Kombucha's SCOBY culture has survived for over 2000 years, and it depends entirely on human beings to provide it with the food and care it requires. So it must be very hardy and extremely tolerant. It must also have been providing perceivable benefits in exchange for all that trouble.
