How To Make Easy Continuous Brew Kombucha
For The Family
Dear Friend,
Have you ever had Kombucha?! Do you love it? Kombucha is a slightly sweet carbonated super healthy drink loaded with natural probiotics! Balance Me Beautiful has a wonderful article that outlines "The Hidden Health Benefits of Kombucha." Forget soda, this is a daily treat that the whole family can enjoy! Checkout this super easy recipe for how to brew enough Kombucha for the whole family, AKA continuous brew Kombucha! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do and welcome your comments. You can also like my FB page to follow my family's current healthy lifestyle journey.
Love,
Michelle
Have you ever had Kombucha?! Do you love it? Kombucha is a slightly sweet carbonated super healthy drink loaded with natural probiotics! Balance Me Beautiful has a wonderful article that outlines "The Hidden Health Benefits of Kombucha." Forget soda, this is a daily treat that the whole family can enjoy! Checkout this super easy recipe for how to brew enough Kombucha for the whole family, AKA continuous brew Kombucha! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do and welcome your comments. You can also like my FB page to follow my family's current healthy lifestyle journey.
Love,
Michelle
KOMBUCHA RECIPE & INSTRUCTIONS
INGREDIENTS & TIPS:
* 8 Organic Black/Green Tea Bags
-You can do all 8 Organic Black Tea, which is helpful when just starting because the scoby really likes black tea and it will help make a great first batch!
or
-4 Organic Black Tea & 4 Green Tea
-I just learned that you can get a 70 count box of WholeFood's 365 brand organic black and green tea for less than $4!
* 1 cup White Sugar
- I like to use light colored fine organic evaporated cane sugar from Trader Joe's. You have to use real white sugar (not dark cane, palm, coconut, or a sugar substitute), but the cool part is the sugar isn't for you to eat, it is food for your scoby!
* 1 quart of Filtered Water + 3 more quarts of Filtered Water = 1 Gallon Total
* 1 Healthy Scoby
-The best is to get a baby Scoby from a friend, there are a bunch of FB Groups. You can join a group and see if anyone local has one. If not, Amazon is a great way to go!
-A Scoby stands for "Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast." What is it & Picture Link.
* 1 cup of Starter Liquid
-Starter Liquid is Kombucha from the prior batch. Your Scoby will come with 1/4 - 1 whole cup. If you don't have enough starter liquid purchase a bottle of Kombucha with from your local health food store, Trader Joe's, Target, WholeFoods, Giant, etc. GTS Ginger is my favorite brand because it doesn't have any added sugar.
* 8 Organic Black/Green Tea Bags
-You can do all 8 Organic Black Tea, which is helpful when just starting because the scoby really likes black tea and it will help make a great first batch!
or
-4 Organic Black Tea & 4 Green Tea
-I just learned that you can get a 70 count box of WholeFood's 365 brand organic black and green tea for less than $4!
* 1 cup White Sugar
- I like to use light colored fine organic evaporated cane sugar from Trader Joe's. You have to use real white sugar (not dark cane, palm, coconut, or a sugar substitute), but the cool part is the sugar isn't for you to eat, it is food for your scoby!
* 1 quart of Filtered Water + 3 more quarts of Filtered Water = 1 Gallon Total
* 1 Healthy Scoby
-The best is to get a baby Scoby from a friend, there are a bunch of FB Groups. You can join a group and see if anyone local has one. If not, Amazon is a great way to go!
-A Scoby stands for "Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast." What is it & Picture Link.
* 1 cup of Starter Liquid
-Starter Liquid is Kombucha from the prior batch. Your Scoby will come with 1/4 - 1 whole cup. If you don't have enough starter liquid purchase a bottle of Kombucha with from your local health food store, Trader Joe's, Target, WholeFoods, Giant, etc. GTS Ginger is my favorite brand because it doesn't have any added sugar.
SCOBY "SYMBIOTIC CULTURE OF BACTERIA & YEAST"
TOOLS:
* 2 gallon Glass Beverage Dispenser
* 1 high quality Stainless Steel Spigot
-It is a really good idea to change out the spigot. Most spigots that come with glass beverage dispensers are a plastic with silver paint that will chip into your Kombucha. You want one that is high quality stainless steel that will not react with your Kombucha.
* 2 gallon Glass Beverage Dispenser
* 1 high quality Stainless Steel Spigot
-It is a really good idea to change out the spigot. Most spigots that come with glass beverage dispensers are a plastic with silver paint that will chip into your Kombucha. You want one that is high quality stainless steel that will not react with your Kombucha.
1ST FERMENTATION INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Boil 1 quart of filtered water in a large pot. Once the water boils, turn off the heat.
2. Add 1 cup of white sugar to the pot. Stir to dissolve.
3. Add 8 tea bags to the pot. Steep covered for 5 minutes. Remove tea bags.
4. Add 3 quarts of cold or room temperature filtered water to the pot.
5. Let the Sweet Tea cool to room temperature, with lid on, but partially cracked. Keeping the lid mostly on, keeps the sweet tea in and other foreign bodies out. Since you diluted your hot tea with cool water. This cooling process should only take 20-60 minutes. I often stick my pot on my screened back porch to cool off faster.
6. While your tea is cooling I thoroughly clean my glass beverage dispenser with soap and water first. Then I swirl some white vinegar in the dispenser and rinse it out to make sure all of the soap is really gone. Soap can kill your scoby.
7. Once your sweet tea is at room temperature pour it into your glass beverage dispenser. Then pour in your 1 cup of starter tea. Lastly using clean hands (make sure no soap residue though), place your scoby on top of the liquid in your beverage dispenser. It will probably sink. Don't worry about that, it is normal for scoby's to sometimes sink and sometimes float.
8. Cover your beverage dispenser with a clean breathable cloth. Secure the cloth over the opening with a big rubber band. I found cloth napkins to be perfect and have learned not to use cheese cloth, which is to porous.
9. Use a sharpie to label the start date, one week, and two week mark on the glass (the sharpie stays well, but can be rubbed off for the next batch).
10. Place your beverage container, now Kombucha Vessel, in a place with circulating air, and minimal direct light exposure. I learned that closets and pantries don't allow enough air circulation. I found on the top of my fridge to be a good place, you just have to be careful getting the container down.
11. At one week, you can taste a small amount through the spigot into a cup. You want it to be midly sweet to almost a vinegar level of sweetness, depending on your preferences. The longer the batch goes the lower the residual sugar. Normal length of time is 7-21 days. I typically let my Kombucha ferment for 14-21 days because I prefer it less sweet.
12. Once your Kombucha has finished it's 1st fermentation and you think it has the right amount of sweetness for your preference, you are ready to bottle, and move into 2nd fermentation! Details for this come below!
1. Boil 1 quart of filtered water in a large pot. Once the water boils, turn off the heat.
2. Add 1 cup of white sugar to the pot. Stir to dissolve.
3. Add 8 tea bags to the pot. Steep covered for 5 minutes. Remove tea bags.
4. Add 3 quarts of cold or room temperature filtered water to the pot.
5. Let the Sweet Tea cool to room temperature, with lid on, but partially cracked. Keeping the lid mostly on, keeps the sweet tea in and other foreign bodies out. Since you diluted your hot tea with cool water. This cooling process should only take 20-60 minutes. I often stick my pot on my screened back porch to cool off faster.
6. While your tea is cooling I thoroughly clean my glass beverage dispenser with soap and water first. Then I swirl some white vinegar in the dispenser and rinse it out to make sure all of the soap is really gone. Soap can kill your scoby.
7. Once your sweet tea is at room temperature pour it into your glass beverage dispenser. Then pour in your 1 cup of starter tea. Lastly using clean hands (make sure no soap residue though), place your scoby on top of the liquid in your beverage dispenser. It will probably sink. Don't worry about that, it is normal for scoby's to sometimes sink and sometimes float.
8. Cover your beverage dispenser with a clean breathable cloth. Secure the cloth over the opening with a big rubber band. I found cloth napkins to be perfect and have learned not to use cheese cloth, which is to porous.
9. Use a sharpie to label the start date, one week, and two week mark on the glass (the sharpie stays well, but can be rubbed off for the next batch).
10. Place your beverage container, now Kombucha Vessel, in a place with circulating air, and minimal direct light exposure. I learned that closets and pantries don't allow enough air circulation. I found on the top of my fridge to be a good place, you just have to be careful getting the container down.
11. At one week, you can taste a small amount through the spigot into a cup. You want it to be midly sweet to almost a vinegar level of sweetness, depending on your preferences. The longer the batch goes the lower the residual sugar. Normal length of time is 7-21 days. I typically let my Kombucha ferment for 14-21 days because I prefer it less sweet.
12. Once your Kombucha has finished it's 1st fermentation and you think it has the right amount of sweetness for your preference, you are ready to bottle, and move into 2nd fermentation! Details for this come below!
My Kombucha Vessel
|
My Kombucha's Happy Home On Top
|
1st Fermentation Helpful Video Tutorial
2ND FERMENTATION ~ "TIME FOR BOTTLES, FLAVOR, & CARBONATION"
Once you have completed the 1st fermentation you are ready to bottle, flavor, and bring on carbonation. This is called the 2nd fermentation, when you get the flavor and fizz!
INGREDIENTS:
* 1 gallon or more of Kombucha that has completed the 1st fermentation
* A few pieces of fruit and/or ginger per bottle (you don't even have to peel the fruit or ginger)
-Pieces should be about 1 inch in length and 1/4 inch in width. I highly recommend starting with 3 pieces of ginger per bottle. This is the basic recipe and ginger is super great for you! Another good starting point is a few pieces of apple or pear with the ginger or by themselves. After you give this a try, there are tons and tons of other flavor options, but sometimes they are a bit more involved so I don't recommend starting with them. Pinterest is the best for fun new recipes!
INGREDIENTS:
* 1 gallon or more of Kombucha that has completed the 1st fermentation
* A few pieces of fruit and/or ginger per bottle (you don't even have to peel the fruit or ginger)
-Pieces should be about 1 inch in length and 1/4 inch in width. I highly recommend starting with 3 pieces of ginger per bottle. This is the basic recipe and ginger is super great for you! Another good starting point is a few pieces of apple or pear with the ginger or by themselves. After you give this a try, there are tons and tons of other flavor options, but sometimes they are a bit more involved so I don't recommend starting with them. Pinterest is the best for fun new recipes!
TOOLS:
* 6-12 Glass Swing Top Bottles
-Ultimately you will probably want 12 bottles because you will find that some bottles will be in 2nd fermentation, some will be in the fridge, and some being washed. Once you get brewing you will find that most of your 12 bottle will be in use.
-Opt for bottles with rubber stoppers over plastic.
-As much as I love mason jars, the above bottles are really worth it for Kombucha. The shape helps with carbonation and there is no metal involved (which you want to avoid with Kombucha).
-You can wash the bottles with a bottle brush or in the dish-washer. I do both, but definitely feel the tops will hold up better with hand washing.
* Plastic Funnel With Strainer
-This is one of the few plastic kitchen tools that I use and feel is really worth it. OXO makes the best funnel with strainer set.
* 6-12 Glass Swing Top Bottles
-Ultimately you will probably want 12 bottles because you will find that some bottles will be in 2nd fermentation, some will be in the fridge, and some being washed. Once you get brewing you will find that most of your 12 bottle will be in use.
-Opt for bottles with rubber stoppers over plastic.
-As much as I love mason jars, the above bottles are really worth it for Kombucha. The shape helps with carbonation and there is no metal involved (which you want to avoid with Kombucha).
-You can wash the bottles with a bottle brush or in the dish-washer. I do both, but definitely feel the tops will hold up better with hand washing.
* Plastic Funnel With Strainer
-This is one of the few plastic kitchen tools that I use and feel is really worth it. OXO makes the best funnel with strainer set.
2ND FERMENTATION INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Start your next batch of sweet tea using the exact same directions as above. It works best to have your sweet tea cooled and ready to go, at the time of bottling. Thus, I often will make my sweet tea in the am or at lunch, then bottle in the evening.
2. Make sure your bottles are clean with no soap residue. You can swig some white vinegar inside after washing to make sure.
3. Place 3 - 5 pieces of ginger and/or fruit in each bottle. For 1 gallon of sweet tea, I am able to fill about 4, 16 oz swing top bottles.
4. Put the funnel in a bottle with the strainer inside of it. Using the spigot, fill each bottle with Kombucha, leaving about an inch at the top. The strainer isn't essential, so don't worry about residue that still gets through. This is normal, and similar to the residue you see in Raw Apple Cider Vinegar With The Mother. Fasten each bottle to close.
5. Put your filled bottles in a pantry for 2-3 days, then check to see if they are carbonated. Once carbonated store your Kombucha bottles in the fridge to enjoy 2-8 ounces each day as a whole foods source of great probiotics for the family! If you are new to Kombucha I recommend starting with a smaller quality to allow your body to ease into it.
1. Start your next batch of sweet tea using the exact same directions as above. It works best to have your sweet tea cooled and ready to go, at the time of bottling. Thus, I often will make my sweet tea in the am or at lunch, then bottle in the evening.
2. Make sure your bottles are clean with no soap residue. You can swig some white vinegar inside after washing to make sure.
3. Place 3 - 5 pieces of ginger and/or fruit in each bottle. For 1 gallon of sweet tea, I am able to fill about 4, 16 oz swing top bottles.
4. Put the funnel in a bottle with the strainer inside of it. Using the spigot, fill each bottle with Kombucha, leaving about an inch at the top. The strainer isn't essential, so don't worry about residue that still gets through. This is normal, and similar to the residue you see in Raw Apple Cider Vinegar With The Mother. Fasten each bottle to close.
5. Put your filled bottles in a pantry for 2-3 days, then check to see if they are carbonated. Once carbonated store your Kombucha bottles in the fridge to enjoy 2-8 ounces each day as a whole foods source of great probiotics for the family! If you are new to Kombucha I recommend starting with a smaller quality to allow your body to ease into it.
