#brewkombucha

[colorinkbook]

Fresh batch of #homemade #kombucha #organic #probiotic grapefruit sage soooooo goood !! So easy to do!! #homebrew #homegrown #kombuchatea #kombuchalove #makestuff #brewkombucha (at South Oceanside, Oceanside)

[kombucha-with-mila-blog]

How to make the best kombucha ever

- recipe by Mila - let me know if you have any questions!

1. Cold steep tea to taste for 16-24 hours, or hot steep tea and let cool.  

2. Add 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup white sugar per litre of tea.  Stir to dissolve.  (Honey messes with the culture, don't use it).

3. Add sweetened tea to kombucha container with scoby (both at room temperature).  Cover with cloth, to prevent dust and fruit flies from getting in, while allowing exchange of oxygen (the scoby needs it).  If fruit flies get in, they will lay eggs in your scoby and you'll have to a) deal with being disgusted AF and b) throw it out and start over.  

4. Let sit in a dark place with ideally little temperature variation for one week, then taste each day until desired sweet/sour balance is achieved.  The longer you wait the less sweet it will be, and the more sour/vinegary the flavour will become.

5. Bottle liquid (without scoby) in something that closes really tight, let sit in dark place for a week or more.  This is the second ferment, and the part where the culture remaining in the tea creates carbon dioxide to make it fizzy!! Super exciting.  You can also add fruit/spices/etc at this stage (and this stage only) if you want to add extra flavour/spice up your life a little.  

6. Drink and reap the enjoyment and health benefits (that probably exist).

Important Notes:  

It is key to avoid particles of tea leaves or food or dust or bugs etc from getting involved at any stage of the process.  Mould may grow on foreign particles.  

Scoby stands for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast… it takes caffeine and sugar and turns them into probiotics, carbon dioxide, antioxidants, and growth.

Avoid containers that have metal or plastic because they can mess with the culture - glass definitely works best.  

The warmer the room you leave it in, the faster it will ferment.  

When starting your first brew, add 1/3 cup sugar.

If your scoby looks weird and patchy and slimy and strange... it's probably healthy!  Brown spots are fine, and so are stringy bits.  The only things to really worry about are blue mould spots (very very obvious), or larva from fruit flies (very obvious and v nasty).   Send me a pic if you're not sure!  

The Scoby is reusable - it’s a living thing and should stay alive for a long long time! (mine has been kicking for over a year now).  Each time you start a new brew, add the liquid to the same container with the same scoby.  It should grow a new layer at the top of the liquid for each cycle!