October 17th, 2018 by Chris Chapman

Everything You Need to Know About Making Kombucha, the Probiotic Drink

If you’re a follower of health and wellness trends, you’ve probably heard all about kombucha tea and the benefits it offers. Kombucha is full of good bacteria that – it’s claimed – helps your digestive system, and it’s become so popular that you can now find it in many high street health shops. What’s more, kombucha is actually incredibly easy and inexpensive to make, so many people have taken to brewing up their own. If you’re thinking of brewing your own kombucha, you’ll want to read on; we’ll give you all the advice you need to brew this wondrous drink hygienically and safely.

What Is Kombucha?

SCOBYs don't look appealing, but they're what makes kombucha! It’s important to fully understand what kombucha is before you start brewing it as it’ll help you do so safely. Kombucha – also known as mushroom tea or Manchurian tea – is a fermented tea drink that’s made by combining sugar, water, and tea leaves with something called a SCOBY. The bacteria and yeast in the SCOBY are living things that digest the sugar in your kombucha tea mix and produce (very mild) alcohol, a slight fizz, and a unique sour taste. Often, high street stores will also add fruit or spices to their kombucha for flavouring. The bacteria in kombucha isn’t harmful and supposedly helps with digestion as it benefits the natural bacteria that live in your stomach. The health benefits of kombucha are still unclear – while it certainly isn’t a miracle drink that will cure any illness, it contains antioxidants and there is some evidence to suggest it helps with digestion, bloating, and low mood. What really attracts people to kombucha, though, is the taste – good kombucha is refreshing and fizzy with a faint alcoholic kick, and you can add in virtually any flavour you want!

Is Kombucha Safe to Drink?

You can flavour kombucha however you like according to taste Even though kombucha only contains a very small amount of alcohol (usually less than 0.5%), and the bacteria within it aren’t harmful, it’s still not advised to drink kombucha if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. There have also been reports of side-effects in people who drink excessive amounts kombucha, so use your common sense and drink it in moderation. Be wary of having too much of a good thing! If you drink it in moderation and are careful when brewing it, though, kombucha should be perfectly safe to introduce into your diet. As you’re dealing with bacteria and yeast, it’s important to be extra-hygienic when fermenting kombucha as you don’t want your tea to become contaminated.

How to Prepare for Brewing Kombucha

Kombucha fermentation is essentially a process where you encourage good bacteria to multiply inside your drink by giving it everything it needs – sugar, warmth, and moisture. Unfortunately, it’s not just good bacteria that thrive in these conditions, bad bacteria do too! This means you need to be careful not to let your brewing kit get contaminated by following the steps below.

1. Make sure your working area is disinfected. Wipe it all down with some disinfectant before you do anything else.
2. Wash all your utensils and your hands with warm, soapy water. Don’t use any extra anti-bacterial chemicals on it, though – that’ll kill off your good bacteria, too!
3. To make extra sure, wash your fermentation jars with distilled white vinegar and leave to dry.
4. Keep your fermentation jars covered at all times, even when you’re not brewing. This will help prevent insects, mould spores, and other bacteria from contaminating the inside of your jar.
5. Wear gloves when brewing kombucha. Even if you wash your hands thoroughly, you may still have bacteria beneath your fingernails that can contaminate your SCOBY. Also, SCOBYs aren’t the most appealing things to hold, so you’ll want to wear gloves anyway!

How to Make Kombucha Hygienically

Making kombucha is easy - the SCOBY does the hard work! You will need:

• 1 half gallon (2.5l) glass jar
• 1 SCOBY
• Muslin (or similar tight weave cloth) to cover your jar
• 200g unrefined cane sugar
• 4 teabags/1 tablespoon loose tea
• Starter kombucha tea or distilled white vinegar
• Fruit or spices for flavouring (optional)

Step 1

Prepare your working area and utensils as listed above.

Step 2

Boil up around half a gallon of water in a saucepan to get rid of contaminants and then reduce to a simmer.

Step 3

Add the hot water to your jar and stir in the sugar until it’s fully dissolved.

Step 4

Let your tea mix cool before adding the SCOBY Add your tea to the warm sugar water. If you’re using loose leaf tea, you can use a tea strainer to contain the tea leaves. Make sure you remove the strainer before you add your SCOBY, though. Leave the tea to mash for around 10-15 minutes.

Step 5

Let the tea cool to around 20-25°C. Remove the tea bags/tea leaves before, during, or after the mixture cools depending on how strong you want the tea to be.

Step 6

Add starter tea from a previous kombucha batch to the mixture. If you don’t have any starter tea, use a tablespoon of distilled white vinegar instead. This will make your tea slightly more acidic while will help your SCOBY to thrive.

Step 7

Add your SCOBY and cover the jar with your muslin.

Step 8

Place it in a warm area or near a radiator. Your jar should be kept between 20-25°C to encourage fermentation. Leave your kombucha to ferment for 5-7 days. Keep it out of direct sunlight while it ferments.

Step 9

After 5-7 days, you can taste the kombucha and see if it’s to your liking. The longer you leave the kombucha, the more sugar will be consumed by the SCOBY, and the less sweet it’ll taste. This is a matter of personal preference – you can pour the kombucha tea out of the jar after the 5-7 days are up for a sweeter drink, or you can leave it in a few days longer for a sourer, fizzier beverage. Bear in mind the longer you leave your kombucha, the higher the risk is of it being contaminated.

Step 10

When you’re happy with the taste, pour out your kombucha tea into another container. Keep the SCOBY and a small amount of tea in the glass jar – this can be used as starter tea for your next batch!

Step 11

You can flavour your kombucha with virtually anything Add fruit or spices to your kombucha to flavour it. Raspberries, lemons, apple juice, ginger, cinnamon – you can add whatever takes your fancy! Just add the fruit or spice of your choice to a bottle of kombucha, leave to culture for a few days to let a light fizz build up, then refrigerate until ready to serve. Just strain the fruit out when pouring for a delicious drink! If you don’t want to add any flavours, you can enjoy kombucha naturally, too.

What to Look Out for When Making Kombucha

Luckily, SCOBYs tend to be quite resilient and can fight off any competing bacteria most of the time. You might notice your SCOBY forming white spots on the surface of the tea mix, and it’ll grow weird brown stringy bits on its bottom. This is completely normal and is a natural part of the fermenting process. However, if the worst does happen, you need to be aware.

Mould

One of the most common problems people encounter when brewing kombucha is mould growing on their SCOBY. If you notice any form of mould growing on your SCOBY, you should throw it out and start again. As mould can be so disastrous for kombucha brewing, it’s wise to thoroughly clean your fermenting room top to bottom with some mould and mildew remover before you start. Mould can start to form in the corners of warm rooms even without you noticing, so you could be at risk from mould spores without even realising. If a room is good for brewing kombucha, chances are conditions are ideal for mould as well, so keep your eyes peeled.

Bad Tastes and Smells

Healthy kombucha should smell slightly sweet, slightly sour, and a little vinegary. It’s a hard smell to describe but it is instantly recognisable, so you’ll know when it’s not right. If your kombucha starts to give off a rotten egg smell, or a smell like overcooked cabbage, it could be a sign that it’s been contaminated by airborne bacteria.

Spilling the Tea: Kombucha Myths and Legends

Kombucha has been brewed in China for thousands of years Kombucha is an ancient drink that’s been around for so long, nobody seems to know the truth about it! One thing you can be sure of, though; when you drink kombucha, you’re enjoying a drink that’s been steeped in the legends of emperors and royalty across the world for thousands of years.

1. The first recorded use of kombucha was in China in 221BC, however, no one knows exactly where or when it was invented. The mystery is a big part of kombucha’s appeal!
2. In China, kombucha was known as the “tea of immortality” thanks to its supposed medicinal qualities. It’s also been called “sea treasure”, “stomach treasure”, and the decidedly less appealing name of “gout jellyfish”!
3. The name “kombucha” wasn’t coined until a Korean doctor treated the Japanese Emperor Inyoko with it in the 5^th century – or so the story goes!
4. Some believe kombucha was brewed for the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt some 4000 years ago.
5. It’s believed kombucha was spread across Asia and Europe by Genghis Khan and his armies.