One of my first Canadian friends asked me if I wanted Kombucha 6 years ago. Apparently, it was homemade. I thought it was interesting that she had a homemade Kombucha. Kombucha means a powdered algae tea in Japanese. It reminded me of my grandparent's house where I used to drink it. So I said, Sure!
She came back with a huge slimy jelly. It looked so gross!
What the hell is Kombucha then?! This is my first impression of Kombucha.
I started brewing it by myself. It's actually not bad.
I find homemade one is less fizzy, it doesn't hurt my throat.
Ready in: 2 weeks or less, Ottawa is too cold to brew it fast!!
Ingredients for 1L:
1L water
80g sugar
2 cafainated black tea bags
Required Equipment:
Scoby
30-50ml store-bought Kombucha, or starter fluid (depending on the size difference of your scoby and jar)
Mason jar
Cheesecloth or paper towel or coffee filter
Elastic band
Towel, optional
Step 1: Make sure your mason jar is bacteria-free!
Step 2: Make dark tea in hot water or boiling water.
Step 3: Add sugar while tea is still hot, and cool it down to room temperature.
Step 4: Once it cools down, pour tea in a jar.
<Important> Do NOT put your scoby in hot tea. You will kill her!!
Step 5: With your surgeon-clean hands, slowly put a scoby in the jar. Add store-bought Kombucha or starter fluid. Cover it with a cheesecloth and elastic band. Let it sit in a dark place where you don't need to move it around. You may want to wrap the jar with towel to keep 20 degrees around the jar for a better result.
<Important> New scoby layer will start. At the beginning, it looks like grease on the surface. If you move the jar, you disturb the growth of the new scoby.
Step 6: After 5-8 days, a new scoby layer starts growing. At some point, the original scoby comes on the surface. Once it gets about 3mm thick evenly, your Kombucha is ready to enjoy. Your Kombucha has a lighter color than black tea you made to start.
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| Keep a scoby in 30ml Kombucha, use it in your next brew as a starter |
Optional Step: For the second ferment, put Kombucha in a sealable bin. For its flavor, you may want to add some fruits directly in the jar. Keep it sealed in the room temperature for 1-2 days. When you open the lid, you will hear a fizzy soda sound.
