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Kombucha Revisited

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So, it’s been a while since I first started writing about

kombucha. My original kombucha 3 part series is 4 years old this month: “Part 1 What’s all the fuss about?” 

My follow-up article, “The Day my Scoby Died” is already 2 years old. By far, my kombucha articles have the most traffic and have gotten the most queries (both posted and emailed). I wanted to do an overall update, especially with some recipes. But, I also wanted to update some of my practices with kombucha. When I first wrote, I was new to making kombucha. I’ve since learned a lot and developed some standard recipes– well, standard for me.
A side note, the only company I’ve ever purchased kombucha from and would have happily continued to do so forever, Beyond Kombucha the brainchild of Kombucha guru Spiro B. Yond, closed in 2015. Beyond kombucha was the only company I would ever condone buying kombucha from simply because they did what is very hard to do at home. All other brands of kombucha on the market are pale comparisons to Spiro’s elixers and shadows of what you can do at home.



Me describing a Kombucha experience to Spiro in the Sanctum Sanctorum (Beyond Kombucha’s Brew House)

In brief: never buy kombucha. Never buy kombucha kits. The only time you should buy a bottle is if your scoby dies and you need to grow a new one. Otherwise– do it all yourself.


Read my other articles for details on how to get a scoby, how I got mine, and specifics on equipment. I will repeat a few details here, but since I already wrote extensively on the basics– check out what I wrote using the above links– to get detailed instructions on what you’ll need and how to use it.


1. Kombucha Basics Redux

The most important things you’ll need are as follows:

  • scoby

  • ½ cup of starter per gallon, minimum (1 cup maximum) 
  • white cane sugar (minimum 1 cup per gallon, but see below) 
  • tea and flavorings (see below)

capacity)

  • large stainless steel stock pots (minimum of 2 gallon capacity; use larger for larger batches)

  • cheesecloth or muslin strainers

  • stainless steel measuring cups

  • digital scale with gram weight measuring

  • rubber bands

  • reusable labels (for use on fermentation vessels and bottles) and some erasable marker or wax pencil
    Avery is also a good brand and cheaper than this one

  • food thermometer

  • A place to put your kombucha while it’s fermenting


  • Then, once fermented, GLASS bottles to house the elixir of life. Do Not for the love of the gods use plastic bottles. They’ll impart bacteria and could ruin a batch.


  • You’ll also need, a funnel and a fine mesh strainer to filter out the bucha funk.


As I noted in my past articles, you can buy fancy bail-top brew bottles or spend a fortune on wine or beer bottles from a brew store. I find bail-top bottles are more cumbersome to use, especially with my arthritic hands. They’re tough to open. I prefer screw-top bottles and bottles that were originally intended for alcoholic beverages. Recycling beer and wine bottles are best because the bottoms are slightly concave– and help prevent explosions. Honestly, the best bottles are from cheaper beverages. My favorites are from 40 ounce Budweisers and that cheap supermarket wine. The labels are relatively easy to come off and they last. Perrier bottles are also good,

though a little smaller in capacity– so you’ll need more of them. Just make sure you’re using screwcap bottles and stay away from corks. For a 2 gallon batch, I need anywhere from 4-6 40 ounce bottles (depending on how much liquid has evaporated). It’s always better to have more on hand.


Then, you’ll need a mild dishwashing detergent to wash all your hardware before immediate use. Don’t pull anything off the shelf without it being thoroughly washed in HOT water. Since the glassware is fragile, it’s best to do it by hand. You’ll need several size bottle brushes for your bottles as well. One other tip, when washing by hand– don’t use a sponge or dishcloth that’s been lying around. You don’t want cross contamination. Use a fresh cloth.


2. Crafting your own recipes: Ingredients


At the risk of repeating myself, again, when crafting kombucha at home: use only the best ingredients. Readers know, I’m an herbalist and tea connoisseur. I know the vast majority of Americans think brand names like Lipton and Tetley when they think tea. Kombucha recipes that call for such “tea” are to be avoided. If you’re not a tea drinker, then get yourself a pound of some good quality green tea. I suggest White Peony from Mountain Rose Herbs. It’s not cheap, but a pound will go a long way. It’s a mild tea, will adapt to most basic kombucha recipes, and really has no down side. More on tea in a moment.



White Peony Tea
Other things to consider with kombucha are flavorings. I generally don’t truck with the trend of most kombucha companies in terms of flavoring their kombucha. Some of them, like Kombucha Brooklyn, sell flavor packets that amount to overpriced conglomerations of dehydrated fruits, roots, and spices. Years ago, when I chatted with a KB rep at the Union Square holiday market, he told me that their brews were all standard with the flavorings added after fermentation. I’ve found other brands add juices as a flavoring agent, again after fermentation. As I said in other articles, I’d be concerned with juice causing explosions during the second fermentation process.


Personally, I’m not a huge fan of fruit in kombucha– but if you like a certain blend you’ve been used to (something either store bought as a kit or as a finished product) then you can easily find freeze dried fruit in the store (Trader Joe’s has a pretty large variety and the prices are decent) or online. Then, experiment. I’d treat the fruit the same as any other herb or spice– and put it in the original steeping of the tea. Also, using fruit means you might have to cut back on the amount of sugar in the blend.


Don’t use juice in the initial fermentation. The acid from the juice can adversely affect the scoby. If you absolutely MUST put juice in your bucha, do it before drinking. But, you can get some nice flavor without using juice.


Overall, the flavoring of kombucha crafted and brewed at home may be more subtle than what you’ve been buying in the store. So I’ll give you recipes I use– but feel free to adapt them. The only things are non-negotiable are the minimums I give you in “KombuchaPart 3: Recipes and Basics.” 


I’ve been brewing kombucha, give or take, for about 5 years now– which isn’t that long in the scheme of things. Over the years, I have played around with the standard recipe I learned from Spiro way back at that Evolver Reskilling event in Brooklyn.


A healthy young scoby forming
The basic recipe for 1 gallon was:

  • 3 grams of tea (Camellia Sinensis) minimum

  • 1 cup of white cane sugar

  • scoby plus starter (1/4-1/2 cup)

  • water


I’ve played around with this quite a bit over the years, adjusting to suit my own personal tastes. I do NOT like kombucha that tastes like vinegar. I prefer something a little sweeter, though I also like something that’s more champagne-like. Feel free to use my recipes as guidelines. Adjust to suit your own taste. When I make kombucha, it’s a process that takes some time. As I note in my earlier articles, make sure you have a clean workspace and don’t rush the process. If you’re missing any hardware, don’t make kombucha til you get your mittens on the missing link. Likewise, don’t skimp on the ingredients– otherwise you might wind up with a dead scoby. Ditto for not taking the temperature and putting the scoby into tea that’s too hot.


Ok.. here are some of my favorite recipes.

3. Recipes: Finally


Here are the ratios of tea, sugar, and other flavorings (herbs and spices). I measure all tea, spices, and flavorings in gram weights.


Most of my recipes are for 2 gallon batches. If you want a smaller batch, do the math. But, in my opinion, if you’re going to go through the hassle of making your own– make a good batch. In January, after going on a kombucha hiatus for a few months (we just got too bogged down with other things and I kept putting it off) I just made 27 gallons of kombucha– and we finished every ounce yesterday. So, depending on your tastes, you can plow through the kombucha very quickly. When making a batch, I have at minimum 8 gallons fermenting at a time.


It goes without saying that you need the appropriate amount of water for each recipe. Most of these are 2 gallon batches fermented in Anchor Hocking style glass jars. Use 2 gallons of water, plus a little more. You’ll lose some water through evaporation and some will be absorbed into the steeping material.


The recipes below are also not including the scoby and ½ cup starter (minimum). I use between ½ and 1 cup per 2 gallon batch. Any more and you have a very sour kombucha. Any less, you risk the batch not fermenting properly. I use a lot of sugar in mine and I decant the batch early because I like a sweeter brew. Don’t use less than 1 cup of sugar per gallon. And don’t use more than what I have here, 1 and ¼ cup per gallon.


I’m not giving instructions on how to brew kombucha with each recipe– otherwise a long article would be too long. Please read my other articles for detailed instructions regarding steeping, straining, taking temperature, fermentation, and bottling.


Unless otherwise noted, all herbs and spices are dried. All teas noted refer to the tea leaves. Believe it or not I’ve gotten emails asking if someone can use a bottle of iced tea. No. Buy the tea loose. I suggest Mountain Rose Herbs for the herbs and basic teas. For some more exotic teas, like Guayusa, try Harney and Sons.


And, don’t be so quick to throw away what you strain out of the tea. When I strain my brews, I have a clean stock pot at the ready. After each steeps for 2-3 hours, I carefully strain each batch of tea and use the clean stock pot to house the leavings until I’m done straining each batch. I usually have about a gallon or two of spices and tea amassed in my pot. Then, depending on how much I have put together, I put on another massive pot of water to boil– using a large stock pot. Like I said, I make large batches, so I put at least 2 and a half gallons of water on to boil. After it boils, I add the strained out material and fresh sugar and let it sit for 2-4 hours. This will in turn be strained and make an eclectic batch of kombucha I label simply: Mix. Every “Mix” will be different depending on what your original brews consisted of. By far I’d say this is my favorite kombucha.


Ginger III

This is the 3rdversion of my Ginger Kombucha. I started with a measly 18 grams of fresh ginger. Now, I use as much as 150grams. Keep in mind, using a harsher spice will shorten the life of the scoby. But, it’s worth it.


For a 2 gallon batch:

100-150 grams fresh, chopped ginger root

10 grams white peony tea

15 grams hoijicha or oolong tea (or a blend of both)

2 ½ cups white cane sugar


Once you master a basic Ginger Kombucha recipe, you can spin off.


Ginger Mate Lemon

For a 2 gallon batch:

130 grams fresh, chopped ginger root

5 grams cardamom (whole pods)

10 grams dried lemongrass

12 grams fresh lemon zest (about 1 large or 2 small lemons worth)

30 grams yerba mate

10 grams white tea

2 ½ cups white cane sugar

Lemongrass


Ginger Mate

For a 2 gallon batch:

100 grams fresh, chopped ginger root

30 grams yerba mate

6 grams white tea

6 grams oolong

2 ½ cups white cane sugar


Guayusa III

My original recipe called for more Guayusa. Guayusa is one of those South American teas that’s relatively new to the US and has only recently been easier to get. Some of the sources we used a few years ago, sold a less potent Guayusa– which was actually more expensive. More recently, I stumbled upon Harney and Sons Guayusa.

It’s not cheap, but it’s of a very high quality, much fresher than what I used a few years ago. I’m also using broken up guayusa and not whole leaves.


For a 2 gallon batch:

30 grams guayusa

12 grams oolong or white tea

2 ½ cups white cane sugar



Rhodiola Oolong

For a 2 gallon batch:

15 grams rhodiola root

30 grams oolong

2 ½ cups white cane sugar



Rhodiola Guayusa II

For a 2 gallon batch:

12 grams white tea (or houjicha)

12 grams guayusa

12 grams rhodiola

9 grams oolong (or dao ren)

2 ½ cups white cane sugar

[As a variant use 17g citrus guayusa blend, or add 5 grams lemon zest, 5 grams orange zest, and 10 grams chopped ginger root; adjust weights depending on your tastes]


Gunpowder Mate

For a 2 gallon batch:

12 grams gunpowder green tea

12 grams mate

2 cups white cane sugar* (I use less sugar with this for a dryer brew)


Sage Vanilla

For a 1 gallon batch:

4 grams dried sage (or 6 grams fresh)

13 grams dried lemon peel

4 grams vanilla bean (you can use the husk leftover from using the seeds in another recipe)

6 grams gunpowder green tea

1 ¼ cups white cane sugar


Catuaba Damiana

Don’t let this one steep for more than 2 hours and don’t use more catuaba than noted here. Catuaba has a flavor not unlike pencil shavings if left to steep for too long. Damiana is also pretty bitter. Much longer than 2 hours, you’ll get a harsher brew.

For a 2 gallon batch:

20 grams oolong

12 grams damiana

12 grams catuaba

12 grams dried orange peel

60 grams fresh ginger root, chopped

4 grams cardamom

2 ½ cups white cane sugar

optional: 2 grams vanilla bean


Turmeric Kombucha

This can only be used if you have fresh turmeric root. It’s not easy to come by. Mountain Rose Herbs has been sold out on their dried turmeric root for ages. Once I get my mitts on that

and try it out, I won’t know if it’s usable. Dried turmeric and fresh turmeric are completely different animals. Do NOT use powdered turmeric. It will be undrinkable! Fresh turmeric is floral, spicy, and has a flavor unique. It almost reminds me of saffron in how indescribable the flavor is. Fresh turmeric tastes like fresh turmeric.


Also, as odd as it sounds, if you get your hands on some, don’t throw away the used turmeric. Make a batch of the tea for kombucha, strain out the leaves and turmeric but save the material. I popped it into a freezer bag and used it for 3 batches. I added a little more tea to brighten the flavor and used the normal amount of sugar but since turmeric is pretty potent, you can get a few washes out of the initial batch.


For a 2 gallon batch:

17 grams oolong

125 grams fresh ginger root, chopped

165 grams fresh turmeric root, sliced

2 ½ cups white cane sugar


Oolong tea

Lemon Ginger Turmeric

For a 2 gallon batch:

26 grams lemon zest, fresh

2 grams cardamom pods, whole

2 grams fresh lemon leaves (optional)

20 grams white tea

7 grams lemon thyme, dried (optional)

120-150 grams fresh ginger root, chopped

50 grams fresh turmeric root, sliced

2 ½ cups white cane sugar



Above all, experiment. Keep in mind the flavor of the finished kombucha will not resemble a hot cup of the same tea. If you taste the batch as you’re brewing it, each taste will be different. When you’re at your initial steeping stage, the tea might taste watered down. Do NOT be tempted to boost the flavor. I did that early on and the result was bitter and unpleasant kombucha.


I find green teas work better than black teas. I’m not sure why. It could be my personal taste. I’m a big drinker of Black tea though and my mornings wouldn’t be complete without Earl Grey Hot (though now I’ve opened my mind to Assam, Kenyan, and the bliss of Scottish Breakfast). But, when I tried to make kombicha from Earl Grey, the finished kombucha tasted tinny. I wound up using it as a meat marinade because it wasn’t pleasant to drink.



Damiana leaf
And, if you have a batch that you just don’t like– don’t throw it away. If it’s drinkable– and not really off in terms of mold, contamination, or bitter flavor– even if it’s sour or too much like vinegar for your palate (or even too sweet for you)– use it in place of vinegar in salad dressings, marinades, soups, and so on. I even use it in place of water in baking. I’ve made bread and cookies using kombucha instead of water. I use it religiously in smoothies and add some to homemade juice. When seriously unpalatable, I’ve used kombucha as a hair rinse and in place of water in a facial mud mask.


Let me know if you have suggestions or questions and I welcome your comments. Happy Fermenting!
Me and My first Scoby


Source: http://www.green-and-growing.com/2016/02/kombucha-revisited.html



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