How to Make Kombucha at Home | Consumer Media Network

In the past few years, kombucha, a fermented tea with beneficial nutritional properties, has captured the hearts of the health-conscious masses. Once a specialty item only found at high-end stores like Whole Foods, it can now easily be found in the health food section at most grocery stores, along with its distant cousin, kefir, a fermented dairy beverage. Kefir and kombucha both contain probiotics, healthy bacteria thought to aid in digestive health and potentially offer other health benefits. As public interest in probiotics and healthy foods in general has steadily increased in the U.S., so has interest in products like kombucha and kefir.

Brew Dr. Kombucha, brewed and bottled by Townshend?s Tea Company in Portland. Each bottle of this kombucha hosts over 2.2 million live and active cultures. It is made with Townshend?s teas, organic medicinal herbs, and organic sugar.

?People are becoming more aware of fermented foods partly because they?re becoming more aware of food in general,? said Sandor Katz, author of The Art of Fermentation and Wild Fermentation. ?A couple of decades ago, people were content with the mass production of processed food and drinks. Now they?re realizing that what they put into their bodies matters, which is why we?ve seen such interest in the local foods movement and things like fermented vegetables, beers, breads, and other kinds of fermented drinks like kombucha.?

As processed food giants like Hostess go out of business, companies that make kombucha like Synergy and High Country Kombucha are thriving, thanks to kombucha?s nutritional merit. In addition to containing probiotics, kombucha contains a number of B vitamins, antioxidants called polyphenols, and beneficial enzymes. The fermented drink is also believed by some to boost people?s energy levels and prevent ailments like canker sores, acne, staph infections, arthritis, and colds.

?Drinking kombucha, and fermented foods in general, has done so much for my health. I?ve completely rebuilt my gut flora, overcome systemic candida, and greatly improved my overall health and immune system,? said Sayward Rebhal, founder of BonzaiAphrodite.com. ?I think that fermented foods are a necessary part of a healthy diet, and kombucha is one of the very best.?

Because of its spike in popularity, kombucha can even be found at hip bars in trendsetting cities like New York, Portland, and Austin. It already contains a small amount of alcohol due to the fermentation process. Most of the kombucha you can find at stores only has around 0.05% alcohol content, but the drink is sometimes mixed with liquor to increase its intoxicating effects.

The average $4 cost of 12 ounces of kombucha at grocery stores and bars can be prohibitive, especially if you want to drink the beverage every day. The good news is that making your own kombucha is actually pretty easy and affordable. As the number of kombucha fans grows, so does the number of people making the drink for themselves at home.

The only ingredients you need to make a batch of kombucha at home are tea and SCOBY. SCOBY stands for Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast, and it?s something you can grow yourself using store-bought kombucha or get from other homebrewers. New SCOBYs naturally grow during the kombucha fermentation process, and these can be shared among friends or sold.

Once you?ve obtained a SCOBY or grown one yourself, the process of making kombucha is relatively simple. Here?s a basic kombucha recipe for to try out:

Ingredients

• 1 light cloth
• 1 gallon wide-mouth glass jar
• 1 rubber band
• 8 black or green tea bags
• 12 cups of water
• 1 cup of refined sugar
• 1 cup of store-bought or finished homemade kombucha

Process

1. Brew the tea using the water and tea bags on the stove.
2. Stir in the sugar.
3. Cool the tea until it reaches room temperature. Remove the tea bags.
4. Pour the tea into the glass jar, and then mix it with the store-bought or finished homemade kombucha.
5. Place the SCOBY in the jar. It should float at the top of the jar.
6. Cover the jar with the light cloth, and use the rubber band to secure the cloth on the jar.
7. Store the jar for a week to a week and a half. Monitor the brew during this period. If you see any signs of mold, you may need to throw out the batch and try again.
8. Remove the SCOBY and store in a glass container in your refrigerator.
9. Refrigerate your batch and enjoy!

As you become a more experienced kombucha brewer, you may want to try out different teas and flavoring options. Before you experiment with any different ingredients or brewing processes, make sure you research which ingredients you should avoid and which precautions you should take to keep your kombucha batches safe.

There have been instances of people getting sick after making their own kombucha. To avoid contamination, it?s best to you use a glass jar to store the kombucha as it ferments. You should avoid using pottery or any sort of ceramic container to store kombucha because the materials used to make ceramic containers can seep into the beverage.

?Ordinary cleanliness and washing hands and utensils is all that is needed to keep kombucha safe,? advises Beverly Ferguson, Kombucha Manna Drops owner and moderator of the Yahoo! Groups blog, Original Kombucha List. ?Adding some acidic kombucha tea to quickly acidify the new batch as well as pouring some finished kombucha on top of the SCOBY when starting a new batch helps to get the brewing process going well from the start.?

?Fermenting Is not as difficult, dangerous, or scary as most people seem to think,? said Rebhal. ?I?ve made enough ?mistakes? to know that ferments are actually really forgiving. And they?ll tell you when something is wrong, so you don?t have to worry. If they?re not telling you something is wrong (mold, stench, etc.) then they?re perfectly safe. You can trust that.?

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Source: http://www.cmn.com/2013/01/how-to-make-kombucha-at-home/

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