Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Kombucha

I got a Kombucha Scoby a few weeks ago and we've been enjoying homemade Kombucha! It's SO yummy and it's been fun experimenting with different teas. If you can get your hands on a Scoby it's worth trying. Here are the instructions:

You need a gallon jar (a sun tea jar will work fine).

Bring a gallon of water to a boil.
Turn off heat and add 1 cup of white sugar.
Stir until dissolved.
Add 8 tea bags (not herbal tea – green tea and black tea work great) and let steep for 15 minutes or more.
Let cool and toss out the tea bags.
Take your gallon jar and add the scoby along with 1 cup of your previous batch (if you don’t have a full cup add some Apple Cider Vinegar until you have a full cup).
Once the tea has cooled completely pour it into the gallon jar on top of the scoby and liquid (if you use loose leaf tea instead of bags be sure to strain it).
Cover jar with cloth and secure with a rubber band.
It’ll take 7-15 days before it’s ready. You can start tasting it at any time and when you like the flavor it’s ready!

When it’s ready I’ve found it’s easiest to strain all of the tea into a sun tea pitcher. Leave the scoby in the original jar and add back 1 cup of the kombucha.

Put the Kombucha in the fridge and enjoy! Then follow the instructions above to start a new batch. You can keep using the same jar over and over again. It’s rare for Kombucha to go moldy, but if it does it will have a soft fuzzy mold (it’ll definitely look like typical mold – you won’t question it) and then you’ll know that batch is contaminated – throw it out if this happens! You’ll have a new Scoby start to form with each batch. You don’t want to separate your baby Scobys for the first few batches, but then you can separate your Scobys and share with friends!

It really is super easy!