In this video produced by SupremeMasterTV, Patricia Ganswind (the Gourmet Vegan Chef from Eternal Delight) and Julia Ganswind (creator of the Go Further Go Vegan line of vegan belts, wallets, etc.) instruct us on how to brew our own kombucha tea at home:
The kombucha culture is a ‘zoogleal mat’, often referred to as a SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast) or as a kombucha mushroom because of its appearance.1 Even though the ingredients used to make kombucha tea are not raw, the end result after being brewed can be considered a ‘live food’.
The following is a basic recipe for home-brewed kombucha. Please refer to the video above for more details:
Equipment
- 2 liter (or larger) glass brewing container
- a kitchen towel and rubber band to cover the top of the brewing container during the fermentation stage
- a pot or kettle to warm a little water
- reusable tea bags or tea balls if you use loose tea
- small jar (for the kombucha culture and about 1/4 cup of brewed kombucha for your next batch)
Ingredients
- 2 liters of filtered water (set aside about 300ml to warm to help brew the tea)
- 4 teaspoons of loose tea or 4 tea bags of organic caffeinated green, black, white, or mate tea (do not use teas infused with essential oils or other additives).
- 5 tablespoons of organic sugar
- a Kombucha culture
- 1/4 cup of starter tea
Directions
- Important: Sterilize your brewing container, any utensils you utilize, etc.
- Heat the 300ml of filtered water enough so that you can steep the tea and melt the sugar
- Add the tea and sugar to the heated water, stirring until the sugar completely dissolves. Let the tea infuse/steep for about 15 minutes.
- Put the strained tea & sugar mixture into the brewing container and add the rest of the filtered water. Let the mixture cool down to room temperature.
- Add the kombucha culture and the starter tea
- Cover the top of the brewing container with the kitchen towel, securing it with the rubber band.
- Move the container somewhere it can be left undisturbed at around room temperature for a minimum of about 5-6 days. However, the brewing duration depends on
the brewing environment, as explained in the video. - Please refer to the video above on how to tell when your kombucha tea is ready (typically, your brew will no longer be sweet and will have a slight acidic bite)
- When it’s finished brewing, remove the SCOBY and place in a jar in your fridge with about 1/4 cup of the tea for your next batch of kombucha
You can see some photographs of Patricia’s kombucha concoctions by exploring posts with the kombucha tag.
Please note that fermented foods don’t agree with everybody. Additionally, because of the fermentation process, there is a small amount of ethyl alcohol, typically around 1% by volume.1 So you will likely want to enjoy kombucha in moderation. A good place to start to learn more about kombucha (and for links to references with differing opinions on purported health benefits), please check out the Kombucha article on Wikipedia linked to in the references below.
Please share your thoughts, tips, etc., on kombucha or any announcements of kombucha tea making classes in the comments section of this post.
References
- Kombucha http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kombucha Accessed December 18, 2009.
Patricia first taught me about kombucha last May. I have never heard of it being referred to a “zoogleal mat” before today! Mushrooms, pancakes and cultures are other names it goes by. I have taken over teaching classes since Patricia is now overseas. Please see: http://blowingupmykitchen.blogspot.com or http://rawfood.meetup.com/372/ for for announcements, next one will be in January sometime.
I have just started a series of blog postings on the topic of kombucha, see: http://blowingupmykitchen.blogspot.com the first one is on there, more to come in the next little while!