Kombucha is a pleasant tasting, powerfully effective health drink / food supplement which you can make at home for next to nothing.

The taste can vary depending on how you make it but the basic recipe, which most people use, will produce a slightly sparkling drink that tastes like an apple cider or dry white wine.

Though there is alcohol in it, it is normally so low that commercial producers can sell Kombucha as "non-alcoholic". You can expect less than 1% by volume alcohol content (clean rawies, like me, actually get a buzz off of it!).

Sugar is used as part of the recipe but it is not used as a sweetener. The sugar is broken down and converted into different components of the finished drink through the fermentation process.

I was gifted a Kombucha culture, which is also called a mushroom or the "scoby", this holiday season. I have been purchasing ready-made Kombucha from the health food store for quite some time now. I am learning to make Kombucha myself to cease the needless consumption of glass bottles store-bought Kombucha comes in, and to offer the internet population a Kombucha recipe fermented on something other than refined white sugar.

In order to do this, I figured I'd begin by making Kombucha according to the standard means. Get it right a few times. Then start experimenting.

Here are the two basic Kombucha recipes I am following:
http://learn-about-tea.com/organic-kombucha-tea.html
http://www.happyherbalist.com/index.asp ... ustom&ID=5

Procure a five quart fermenting container (I got mine from the thrift store for $1), a live Kombucha scoby, one cup of refined white sugar and your choice in unflavored black or green tea.

Kombucha scoby and refined sugar...


Because the Kombucha fermentation process contains considerable acids, it is important to use only sterile bottles, containers and hands in all parts of the process.

Using boiled or clean sourced water, boil one quart sterile water in a pot. Reduce heat below simmer, but still warm and add one cup refined white sugar and three four teaspoons black or green tea (I chose jasmine). Allow sugar to disolve and tea to steep in hot water for fifteen minutes.

Disolving sugar and steeping jasmine tea...


Allow steeped tea and disolved sugar to reach room temerature. Since this mixture is highly sweet, now is the time to assure closure from the airborne bacteria of the outside world - keep cooling mixture well covered to prevent contamination. After room temerature, add cooled liquid to one gallon fermenting container. Add three more quarts sterile water.

With clean hands, reach in and grab out a scoby (Sybiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast). Eery time you ferment, a second scoby will be formed which you can gift to another Kombucha enthusiast or save just in case of an unlikly disaster.

Squishy...


The Kombucha scooby might float or sink. It does not matter. Add one cup of juice from around your original scooby, or distilled white vinegar (must be distilled). I used the scooby juice.

Sink or swim...


Cover your fermenting jar with a towel, a coffee filter or musin and a rubber band. Place in a secluded area in 70 - 80 degree constant temperature. IGNORE IT. Don't disturb the fermenting culture because every time it is moved it will restart the entire fermentation process.

Don't even think about it...


After five days it is time to taste your culture. Press a sterile spoon down upon the culture to bring up a sip. It should taste slightly acidic (not sweet). If the culture is not quite there yet, return the lid and let ferment a day or two more. If you would like to be more scientific about it, you can use pH strips. The culture should test between 2 - 3.5 on the pH strips.

Pour finished Komucha tea into sterile glass bottles. Fill all the way to the top - no gaps. Allow to sit for five days at room temperature to 1) allow the build up of CO2 which provides that fizzy taste and 2) helps the Kombucha develop a mellower taste.

Place the scobys back in their original home or practice the continuous fermenting method by starting your very next batch!

Of course, I have just begun the process. I will check back in with you at day five to let you know how my first taste goes ...

Components of Kombucha and more Kombucha information:

Components within Kombucha tea

Research has been carried out for many years into what exactly is in this drink. Based on research old and new, I can tell you of some of the known active components in Kombucha Tea.

Lactic Acid: Found in Kombucha in its most potent form L-lactic(+). Lactic acid is essential for the digestive system. Interestingly, it is not found in the tissues of people with cancer, and its lack has been established as indicating susceptibility to cancer.

Acetic Acid: Its main function is to inhibit harmful bacteria. Acetic acid is used as a preservative because of this action. It is also what gives Kombucha that 'kick' to its smell and taste.

Malic Acid: Is also used in the body's detoxification process.

Oxalic Acid: Encourages the cellular production of energy and is a natural preservative.

Gluconic Acid: Is effective against many yeast infections such as candidiasis and thrush.

Butyric Acid: Is produced by the yeasts and when working with gluconic acid, helps combat yeast infections such as candida.

Nucleic Acids: Work with the body aiding healthy cell regeneration.

Amino Acids: A group of acids which are the building blocks of protein. Your muscular system is made of proteins. As a group they have many benefits including building cells and repairing tissue, they also form antibodies to combat invading bacteria & viruses.

Enzymes: Are proteins that act as catalysts, speeding the rate at which biochemical reactions proceed. Therefore they boost the actions of other health giving components within the Kombucha and your body.

Kombucha also contains vitamin groups B and C, beneficial yeasts and bacteria.

But then, as one Kombucha drinker so beautifully put it:

"Its overall effect - an extended feeling of well-being - cannot be fully explained by the individual ingredients alone. Kombucha is certainly more than the sum of its parts".

Coyote Whips, jump in here, man!

Of course, I have to be the rebel. I think the jar has to be clean, but not sterile, if the starter tea is strong. Vinegar is bacteria's way of hanging a keep-out sign for unfriendly organisms. Before I start the brew, I swish around some pure kombucha vinegar in the bottle to get it ready.

Also, I believe that once water starts boiling, it doesn't make any difference if it started out sterile or not -- it's sterile now.

I would never add sugar before the tea. It gives me great angst thinking that any amount of sugar is dragged away by the tea bags, or that the tea doesn't have pure water to steep. That water is still plenty warm enough to dissolve the sugar, after I take out the tea bags.

That said, I am a novice. There's a chance my hubris will result in a big ol' fungus infection and I'll end up tossing it.

Only been six days, but I tried out my brew and it tastes very kombucha-ish. I started it with plenty of strong vinegar, so I think it's ready.

I've decanted half the jar into a half-dozen six ounce bottles that were San Bitter in a previous life. Corked them and put them up for a bit of aging. I'm going to let the rest turn to vinegar and go again.

Well, it is day 7 of fermentation at a constant 70 degrees F with my first batch of Kombucha and .... more brewing time is needed.

My Kombucha still tastes entirely sweet with no bitter tang at all. When tested with pH strips, the acid/alkaline level registered approx 6 (as opposed to the desireable 2.5-3.0).

As I have learned from vermicomposting in my kitchen, temperature has everything to do with the qickness of such yeast and bacteria driven fermentation parties. More brewing time is needed.

Coyote Whips, how warm your Kombucha's brewing spot in your home? And I thought clean containers were "sterile". Maybe I am just a little kid when commiting to doing dishes or other sterilizing jobs. I just wash the bottles, my hands and containers in very hot, soapy water for sterilization. We have to put the warning out there for Kombucha makers everywhere to do with what they will though, since the potential for other bacterias growing where our yeast is fermenting is unlikely, but present.

How's your Kombucha batch tasting?

I've started popping the corks and drinking my bottled tea.

...except in one case where the cork popped itself!

I've got a light fizz. The taste reminds me a little bit of mead, but I like this better.

With our heated house, the temperature rarely strays from 70f.

Part of it may be that I mixed a very strong starter. My brew was half finished from day 0. Currently, my mushroom is floating contentedly in the remaining quart. Seems to be healthy, so I'm ok with drinking the bottled half.

The air around us is filled with spoors -- have you ever watched the little dust specs in a sunbeam? That's still there, even when the sunbeam is gone. You can have sterile conditions, but it's very hard. In my finite experience of culturing food, sterilization is a euphemism for reducing contamination to the point where your culture has the upper hand.

The tea is so much easier than real mushrooms, because you start with a well establish scoby and plenty of the natural antiseptic she produces to protect her environment.

I agree that nobody starting out should remotely consider my variations -- especially starting out. Follow the directions! My differences are either the result of personal experience or stupidity or divine inspiration. One of those might kill you and you have no way of telling which it is.

My next batch is gonna have pictures!

I know that fire is one of my top qualities and that one of my more flattering fire qualities is massive impatience. I am seeking your lullaby here, but also some advice, Coyote Whips:

My Kombucha is taking too long!

It is day nine here and the temperature of this house stays almost 70 degrees F all the time. I mixed about 1C of the original scoby's liquid in as starter (for 4Q Kombucha). And the scoby I used from the original gifting (there were two) was the solid one, not the squishy one. And the Kombucha is still sweet - not even kinda tangy - after nine days. I'm dying here! I need some encouragement.

Hello Fire, I'm Earth. I got my scoby by mixing live tea with fresh tea and leaving it alone for two months.

Could be your scoby needs a couple of weeks to wake up. Sometimes they take a while a acclimatize. My advice is to give up. Neglect your culture, until the day your nose says, "Hey, what's the tangy scent? Is it that jar of delicious kombucha tea over there?" If you can find a good canteloupe, you've got the nose for tea.

The only way you can hurt it is if you go away for six months and the jar dries up.

If you over ferment and it goes too acidy, mix the vinegar with an equal amount of fresh tea and leave it for one more week. Or, you can put it in a smoothy with apples!

Thanks for the advice. I am going on two weeks and still very little acid content. I will learn the unimaginable lesson of patience from this Earth project and .... eeeeek! .... wait.

Still building scoby. Where's your pics, Coyote Whips?

I've been a little too earthish, letting the scoby float unmolested. It is about time I made another batch!

Okay, after two weeks, here's what is happening with my kombucha! Finally, a second scoby is forming, which I've heard indicates that fermentation is taking place. The smell of the kombucha is still sweet, so I'm not going to bother the culture right yet. Coyote Whips, maybe you were right: the scoby needed an alarm clock waking up. It seems as the weather warms here in California and my kitchen temperature reaches 80 during the day, that fermentation has speeded up substantially.

The second scoby is the thin membrane on top:

It is alive!

It should really kick in, now.

Starting my new kombucha batch!

Coyote Whips! You are my hero! First of all, you look great. Second of all, I had no idea that kombu means "mushroom" and cha means "tea" so by saying that I am drinking kombucha tea is a cute way of saying I am an American redundant in optimistic translation. This video is great! And yes, no wonder my kombucha took so long. After I saw how much starter juice you put in there I realized that might be the difference. I put in maybe 3/4 of a cup compared to your 2 cups or more?!

But the action is definitely engaged now. I pH tested yesterday and it read 5 something (going for 3), however the flavor is almost free of sugar now and much more ... alive!

Thank you! You can tell I'm havin' fun with my little digital camera, eh?

I think the standard for starter tea is 1:10. I'm at least 1:8, plus I start with a strong vinegar, not just tea.

As we approach the ides of march, I'll draw off some of the tea for the mother jar. After that, I'm going to try to keep it going, drawing off a cup or two and replacing it with fresh tea every few days. I'd been waiting for months to find that kind of jug, so it's going to be fun experimenting!

I'll bet you're looking forward to your first bottles of fizzy tea!

CoyoteWhips;...thats a sun tea jar..for making/warming tea in the outside sun....five & dime stores might carry them...they break very easy, so get yourself a supply of them!

and by the way Miss K ..how are the BRUCES doing?

They seem to be a seasonal item 'round here. Retail Summer is just starting.

Where do they still have 5&10 stores!

wow...what they were were...like redone supermarkets....not dollar stores but retail stores....weird names...but you might check [targets] and [Kmarts]

I got my jars at the thrift store - why buy new when you can not pay sales tax, support reuse of perfectly good objects, prevent them from reaching the landfill and pay pennies on the dollar compared to a new jar. Even if made by five year old Chinese kids in sweat shoppes and sold at Target, the thrift store variety is quite a bit cheaper:-)

Alas, the technique for shopping thrift is perseverence rather than convinience. You have to visit weekly and see what comes up. There is always something valuable though!

Coyote Whips, my Kombu Cha is coming along nicely! I tested the pH the other day and it ran just above 3.0 acidity, where I've been told that 2.3 - 3.0 is desireable. When I tasted it, it definitely had a flavor of sparkeling life and it was all I could do to not gulp it down right there. Which I know is not the objective for Kombucha benefits. I've read that drinking 2oz before a meal yeilds ideal results for digestion and acid/alkalinity balancing in the body.

Please do tell specific instructions for the "continual fermenting" process. I remove a cup and replace it with a cup of new tea? Doesn't this make the entire batch, wich was hypothetically at the perfect pH less acidic then? How long would I have to wait for the altered batch to level?

At this point, that's as much as I know! I'm tapping my jar down to half, then adding more tea and judging by the scent when it's ready for drinking. I think you now have almost as much experience as I do.

It's official! The fermentation cycle has completed and my first batch of home made Kombucha measured in at 2 - 3 pH and a very acidic - not sugary at all falvor. I'm opting to not sweeten this batch, but just pour off four bottles, filling them all the way to the rim and allow them to age at room temperature an additional four days to increase fizzies in the drink.

My scoby created a twin during this fermentation process. The mother still is strong, but the baby is almost exactly her size!



Filling reused glass bottles. I filled four and left about 1/3 of the fermented liquid in the container for continual brewing. I just made another batch of the starter tea, poured it in and set it aside again for what I hope is this time, half the wait and therefore half the patience.

"How many atmosphere's is the ship designed to withstand?"

"Well, it's a space ship, so between zero and one."

I'm told we should be careful about sealing kombucha in bottles. There have been cases of the internal pressure causing bottles to explode. It appears the bottle you're using are actually designed for negative pressure -- the kind with the popping cap when you open them.

Maybe keep them in a bucket or bin where it's not a total disaster for a suddenly unbottled kombucha. Check them every couple of days to relieve built up pressure.

if you use a rubber dish glove or surgical glove or
big balloon that will strech across the lid opening..
it should swell and contract with the pressure...
'NO BOOM' in the middle of the night!...
and it will look pretty goofy too..haha...
food is supposed to be fun 'right'?

Food IS fun, Thromb! Why else would I eat? I've gotta get my hands dirty in the soil and my glass jars exploded by the fermentation and my chin all stained from the cherries or else it is not food to me!

I have completed now my second kombucha harvesting using the continuous fermentation method. I'm not going to stop, now - this is good times! After two or three more successful batches, I will experiment with new sugars - hopefully to provide a really raw, organic, white-sugar-free kombucha recipe. Who knows?

I was expecting a little carbon dioxide build up in the reused glass bottles I sealed my kombuchas in, but nothing - no burb and no bubble - emerged at all. I filled the bottles with only 1/4" of free space at the top. I wonder why I didn't get the cool volcano erruption or bottle burst?

I've been bottling some in a cider bottle with a cork. I'm gonna stop that -- damn cork goes off like a bullet!

Scaling Back

I'd somehow got the point where I was producing a gallon of komucha a week! Oh, that is way too much. I'm the only one here who drinks it and I like a few ounces a day. I've got bottles in the fridge. I wound up dumping a couple gallons, cleaning out the big jugs and saving a couple of scobys, discarding the rest. A quart a week is plenty for me. I'm just going to maintain a half-gallon culture.

I would drink a gallon every week! I can't keep my kombucha production up to my appetite, actually. To stay speedy in the fermentation process, I have begun keeping more starter fluid in the jar - that definitely keeps things kickin. I am looking for a second kombucha brewing jar to have two going at a time. But let me ask you this: do you think leaving bigger or double scobys in the jar would speed fermentation up too?

On a fermenting side note, I noticed that my unfiltered, unpasturized apple cidar vinegar has a lot of the "mother" in the bottom. So I collected four bottles' worth of mother and juiced some apples to add to it. I'm hoping to ferment my own apple cidar vinegar, too. Becuase I like to be involved with my food, but mostly because I wish to break the container consumption system all the way someday:-)

Just recieved a kombucha scoby in the mail from a gracious Craigslist saint. Going to begin the fermentation process after picking up some sugar. Will keep you posted!

I had my very first taste of the wonder drink last week and I have a feeling I am hopelessly addicted! I bought G.T.'s Mega Greens kombucha and from the first sip - wow! This is the stuff of superheroes (haha, tk).

Hey, Enchantress! That's a great idea! I wondered what I should do with all my new Scobys - every time you ferment, a new one is created. I should give them away on Craig's List or Freecycle.org. I can't believe you found one there. Brilliant!

You know, I've been experimenting with unrefined sugars and raw sugars for ferminting my kombucha and all work well, but the process has been quite different. For example, raw honey yields a delightfully honey flavored kombucha, but took three weeks to ferment. I also tried raw agave, which fermented as quickly as white sugar, with twice as much flavor, but ... I can't afford to pour $30 of raw agave into my little six serving kombucha fermenting jar! I also used the unrefined succanat sugar and even though I added an extra 3/4 cup of sugar, it took fives weeks to ferment. But wow, it tastes like molasas kombucha! Dark and yum...

Post pics of your process. It's so exicted to know another Soby has found a good home!

And taking a tip from a fellow Lonely Gardener, I put my excess kombucha SCOBYS up on http://freecycle.org and wow - I didn't know there would be so many COOL people that were as excited about receiving one as I am about gifting them away!

Because you know, you can't purchase a kombucha SCOBY (to my knowlege) and you shouldn't have to. They are a living culture that requires attention and care and it only seems appropriate that one would be gifted from a kombucha mother to a kombucha child. I've had five amazing people come over to receive their kombucha mushrooms sine my http://freecycle.org post. One drove WVO, one drove biodiesel, one was a nutritionist, one was a health advocate, another was a raw vegan-newbie and ... all are fermenting kombucha now because of our connection!

I love the feeling of gifting. To your health ...