Kombucha

I began making Kombucha last year when I was given a scoby. The person who gave me the scoby also gave me a drink of her Kombucha – it was delicious and I was hooked. She bottled hers in 1 litre glass bottles and put fresh ginger root with it for the second ferment. It reminded me of old fashioned, homemade ginger beer. So, armed with the scoby and some started liquid, hastily scribbled instructions I was off, brewing my own.

I started off with one 3 litre glass jar, bought from a “cheap” shop. In went my strong black tea brew, ¾’s of a cup of sugar, topped up with water and then the scoby lovingly lowered into that liquid and a muslin cloth (well, actually, a new chux multi dishcloth) was put over the top of the jar and secured with elastic. That stops all the little fruit flies and ants getting in as it ferments and grows a new scoby. I left my first brew for 7 days and sure enough, a new scoby had formed across the top. I removed it and ½ a cup of liquid, strained the rest and bottled it with cut up fresh root ginger and into a cupboard for 3 days before hitting the fridge and then my stomach. It was yum, but not as fizzy or strong ginger flavor as the lady who I got my starter from was.

Since then I have played around, graduated to a 5 litre glass jar with metal tap in the bottom, which I make continuous Kombucha from. I now put frozen blueberries in the bottom of my bottles for the second ferment and leave them for a lot longer than 3 days before consuming. The Kombucha goes a pretty burgundy colour and the flavor is subtle but delicious. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on which way you look at it, no-one else in my household likes it, so I get to drink it all myself. I start every day off with a glass of it.

               

Trial and error has led me to only buy round bottles. While the fancy square ones are pretty, the pressure as the brew ferments can cause a buildup of pressure, resulting in cracked or completely broken bottles and Kombucha leaking out the cupboard onto the floor – not a pleasant surprise when returning home from an evening out.

I have found out that SCOBY stands for Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast. A Scoby isn’t pretty by any stretch of the imagination. Depending on what research you read, Kombucha has many health benefits, including aiding of digestion, due to the probiotics that occur naturally in it; detoxification of the liver; boost immune health and help with joint care.  To be honest, I don’t drink it for the health benefits, although I have to admit my digestive system has certainly been a lot better behaved since I have been, but for the taste. 

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