How to make Kombucha. This recipe was written a couple years ago. The updates are how I currently do it. Kombucha • Brew some tea, about 1 to 1.5 litres water. Add 2 cups sugar and dissolve. Add 12 tea bags or equivalent and let it sit until room temperature. This makes sure the culture won’t be hurt by the temp and lets the tea get strong. I prefer organic green tea and I have been told it should not be tea with oil based flavourings added as those might impact the culture, so I play it safe and just use green tea. I have used black or English breakfast tea as well. • Move tea to large glass jar (4 to 5 litres). • From this point forward make sure nothing metal touches the kombucha or the liquid. • Add the culture (mushroom - SCOBY) and retained liquid (if not your first batch, this will be a small amount of liquid from the last batch. If your first batch, the SCOBY you sourced should come with some liquid). • Add pure water (preferably spring water) until jar is almost full. • Use paper towel (Update: I have switched to light weight cloth towel) and rubber band to cover top of jar (I try to have the paper towel puff up above the jar as the mushroom will rise and you want to have room). • Let sit in room temperature place, out of the sun, for two plus weeks (I usually go about 2 ½ weeks). Update: I now go 3 or even 4 weeks! • Transfer mushroom and some liquid (a few ounces) to another jar to start again or you can transfer to plastic container add a cup or two of very sweet room temperature brewed tea and store in refrigerator for up to three weeks (this has always worked from me but I have read warnings against putting it in the refridgerator). • Bottle the remaining liquid (which is the bulk of it) as follows: • I use 330 mil/12 oz or so glass bottles and bottle caps I buy from the brew store and use a capper. You can also use really good screw top bottles, preferably glass. • Add heaping half teaspoon sugar to each bottle. • Fill until close to top. • Cap tightly. • Let sit in dark place for at least two weeks, can go at least a couple months but you won’t have it that long. Update: I have since learned that it should actually stay in the bottles at least 6 weeks to have about a 99% chance of having some good carbonation. • The longer it sits the more likely it will naturally carbonate. This is somewhat variable in my experience. It is good carbonated or not but I like carbonated better. Enjoy as you wish (I refrigerate one the day I am going to have it). My yield is usually 12 to 13 – 330 mil/12 oz bottles from this.

Posted by Deleted (cad1b4eb) at 2020-12-19 04:05:58 UTC