Kombucha Tea Recipe...aka boochie makin' with Rachel

Kombucha Tea

If you are not a kombucha addict yet, you will be soon. I've been hooked for nearly 6 years now and haven't turned back. This effervescent, refreshing, gluten free drink is said to have an endless list of "magical cures" from curing cancer to belly aches. I don't know about all that, but I do know that, magical cure or placebo, it still just makes me feel good, energized, stable, and refreshed. This fermented beverage is known to be packed with probiotics, antioxidants, and immune boosting properties. So I say, at the very least, it is a refreshing drink that is a million times better for you than a silly soda or fake sugary drink.

Once a rare treat, kombucha is now found in grocery stores and restaurants across the nation. Synergy is probably the most popular brand on the market, but new companies have been popping up all over the place. At $3.69 or more per bottle, drinking kombucha can get to be a very expensive habit. Luckily, Brian and I have been living with our friend Rachel and her brother Adam who have been brewing their own kombucha for years. (Adam's new Hillcrest-based restaurant, the Local Habit, even brews and sells their own kombucha - which pairs well with their uber gluten free and vegan menu).

Rachel teaching us how to make kombucha tea

So last night, it was just our luck that we got to do a hands-on lesson on kombucha home brewing, taught by brewmaster Rachel. I can't recommend that you use the following as a step-by-step recipe since I am by no means a kombucha pro. But, I would hope that this amazingly simple process inspires you to do some more research on the possible idea of brewing your own kombucha. Plus, I thought it would be a fun addition to The Gluten Free Homemaker's Gluten Free Wednesday Carnival, since this month's theme is drinks.

Kombucha Tea Recipe

kombucha mothers

First, you need to get a kombucha mother - or a scoby. This bizarre mushroom-like culture is live and looks a lot to me like a raw piece of fatty meat that has been shaped like a pancake. This is a living culture and you will want to care for it with love so it continues to bear boochie babies for more and more boochie. Keep your kombucha mother at room temperature in a sugary tea to feed it.

Brewing kombucha is a sustainable, continuous cycle, so our kombucha mothers were already in a batch of fermenting kombucha tea. But I will work backwards to explain how you would do it from a starter culture.

Bring a gallon of quality water to a boil in a large stainless steel pot. Turn off the heat and dissolve in 2 cups of organic sugar and stir in 1/4 cup of black tea. Let this come to room temperature.

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Place your kombucha mother in the bottom of a sterile, glass, wide-mouthed container. We used two large vase-like containers and had a kombucha mother in each. The scoby will multiply in layers. You only want one layer to brew your tea, so you can either peel apart the layers and discard one or use it to start another batch. Just keep it in some of the reserved kombucha tea from the previous batch.

peel apart the kombucha mother for a sustainable source of goodness

Pour the room temperature tea (make sure it is room temperature and not warm or cold!) through a fine mesh strainer into the containers holding the kombucha mothers. Cover them with a cloth and rubber band to keep bugs out but oxygen circulating. Then set the tea aside to ferment at a steady, slightly warm temperature of about 77 degrees for about 6 days. 

At this point (which is when we walked in last night), you will have a beverage that tastes somewhat similar to apple cider vinegar. The longer you ferment it, the more vinegary it will taste, and likewise the less you ferment it, the sweeter it will be. At about the 6th day you will want to prep a new tea for the next batch. Meanwhile, remove the kombucha mother from the containers. Pull out a few growlers or other glass bottling containers and fill about 1/4 with fruit juice of your choice. Then fill the bottles with your fermented kombucha tea. But be sure to reserve enough kombucha tea in the containers to cover the mothers back up. Then start the whole cycle over again by peeling apart the kombucha mother (using just one per container), add it back tot he reserved liquid, and then add in new tea to ferment for another week. 

Add organic fruit juice to flavor your kombucha and boost the nutritional benefits

Using a funnel was very helpful for pouring the kombucha from the wide mouthed fermenting container

Seal these beverage containers and keep out of light at room temperature for another 3-5 days. I have heard that it is recommended to open the containers and then close them at least once a day to prevent them from exploding, as they will get bubblier with each day. Once it has reached your desired bubbliness and taste, keep in the fridge and enjoy within a few days. 

This website has a few interesting kombucha recipes that I would love to try next. 

I think I will have to barter a kombucha mother off of Adam when we finally get our own place. Homebrewed kombucha could really bring on some savings if you are as addicted as I am. Meanwhile, I am super happy to be living with such amazing health food masters!

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