Kombucha

[talon]

There's been a renewed interest in kombucha, so I thought I'd say a few words about it. First: what kombucha is. Kombucha is a mildly alcoholic beverage made with sweetened tea, yeast, and bacteria in much the same way that wine is made.

There are many claims made for kombucha, healthwise, that are not supported scientifically or through valid medical research. Anecdotally, there is a large body of literature and many, many people who claim kombucha has resolved digestive issues, boosted their energy levels, increased their immunity, and overall improved their health. Some of these claims could simply be the proven benefits of the tea upon which kombucha is based. As a phytotherapist, I can't say that kombucha will do all it is claimed to do, but tea and yeast have proven themselves, and the bacteria used in the symbiotic community to brew kombucha, while itself is unproven, does leave behind proteins in the gut that create a good environment for beneficial bacteria.

If you want to buy or brew your own kombucha, it is a beverage many people like: tart, sweet, and fizzy if done right. It will take on the flavor of the tea used to brew it. Most people use a black tea, but a pu-erh is outstanding as a kombucha base. Fruit teas, Earl Grey, Lady Grey, oolongs, green teas, fruits added to the tea, herbs - all of these alter the flavor. If you make your own, you experiment with the flavors, make seasonal favorites, and find the flavors that suit you best.

I would not treat it as a soda - as so many people do - but rather as a hard cider or hard lemonade or a kinderbeer - ummm - sort of like O'Doul's only tastier. Kombucha falls somewhere around the hard ciders, beers, and country wines. If drunk soon after brewing, before it's had time to ferment in the bottle, the alcoholic content should be below 0.5%. The longer it sits in the bottle and carbonates, the higher the alcoholic content.

For a while, kombucha was available commercially, then pulled when the ATF realized that it could exceed that 0.5% alcohol and the FDA realized it was unpasteurized. Those issues have been resolved and some manufacturers are starting to produce commercial, bottled kombucha again. There's at least one manufacturer of kombucha seeking a wine license to circumvent the pasteurization process and resolve the higher alcoholic content issue, too, so I'm sure we'll soon be seeing kombucha in the wine section as well as the bottled teas and sodas section. Some of these commercial brands are excruciatingly sweet, some are tart. Taste around until you find one you like. There can be a huge difference between brands so this is one product where you find a brand you like and stick with it.

The kombucha mother is often called SCOBY (Symbiotic Community Of Bacteria and Yeast). You can buy SCOBYs off of CraigsList, some food co-ops, kombucha communities, from kombucha retailers like getkombucha.com, or from friends who brew their own kombucha.

Each time you brew kombucha, the mother SCOBY produces a baby SCOBY you can sell or give away.

It takes 10 days to brew a batch (usually a gallon) of kombucha.

You do not have to brew a batch of kombucha every 10 days. The mother can live for years without being brewed. Simply store it in a cup's worth of prepared kombucha in a glass bottle or jar set in a cool dark place (NOT the refrigerator, but if you have a wine cooler, that would work).

If mold grows on the SCOBY - toss it and the liquid it's in away and start over with a fresh SCOBY and starter kombucha tea. It will look a lot like the mold on bread. It's pretty unmistakable.

Cane sugar or beet sugar work with kombucha, but agave nectar, honey, molasses, corn syrup, and maple syrup do not.

If you experiment around with teas and flavorings, use at least 7/8 tea to 1/8 of flavoring ingredient, ie, 3 1/2 quarts of tea to 1/2 quart of fruit or fruit juice.

I do not use tea bags, but if you choose to, use 8 individual serving sized tea bags per gallon of filtered or bottled water. I use 8 teaspoons of loose leaf tea in a large silk drawstring bag.

To make your own kombucha:

1 gallon of filtered or bottled water
8 teaspoons loose leaf tea
3 cups cane or beet sugar
1 cup brewed kombucha
1 SCOBY

Bring the water to a first boil (approximately 190ºF) in a large stockpot - stainless steel is fine for this part, but I have an amber Visions Dutch Oven that I use. Turn off the heat when the water reaches 190ºF - 200ºF, add the tea and sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar. Let it steep for 45 minutes, remove the tea, and cool it to room temperature (probably another 45 minutes to an hour).

Pour the sweet tea into a sterilized 1 gallon glass jar with a wide mouth and add the SCOBY. You can use clean hands or wooden tongs or a slotted wooden ladle to move the SCOBY. If you choose to use half gallon or quart jars to brew the kombucha, you'll need 1 SCOBY per jar.

Cover the top of the jar with a coffee filter secured with a rubber band. Or with a double layer of cheesecloth, or a single layer of thin, unbleached muslin or silk.

Set the jar(s) in a place where it won't be disturbed for at least a week (in summer) or 3 weeks (in winter).

Once a baby SCOBY forms (usually about a week), start tasting the tea to see if it's ready yet. After each tasting, if it's not ready, re-cover the jar and leave it alone for another day.

When the kombucha is ready, pour 1 cup of the fresh kombucha into a glass jar for each SCOBY, and then add a SCOBY to the jars. Cap loosely - I usually use wide mouthed pint sized canning jars and put some cheesecloth over the mouth of the jar before screwing on the lids.

Pour the remaining kombucha into quart sized canning jars and cap. Put them in a cool dark place for 3 days. Check the seal on the jars twice a day. When the seal is taut, the kombucha is ready. Refrigerate and drink.

Then, start over if you want more kombucha.

It's pretty hard to mess up kombucha. You might get a flavor you don't like, or get it too sweet or too tart, but unless it gets mold, it's usually good to go.

Do be careful to use sterilized glass jars, and clean your hands and any utensils you use. Keep the jars covered, either with cloth while its brewing or jar lids when it's done, to keep flies, dust, and other things out. These can contaminate it and encourage mold growth, so watch it carefully for mold.