Kombucha Recipe

Ingredients

• Kombucha mother-culture known as SCOBY with 1/2 to 1 cup of fresh Kombucha tea from previous batch (The first Kombucha culture needs to be purchased from a reliable provider, of which several can be found on the Internet. Once the culture has been grown and it maintains its purity then new batches can be fermented from it!)
• 4-cups of tea (either Japanese bancha tea, Green tea or conventional tea or any mixture). Prepare the tea with three heaped tsp of loose tea or 3-4 tea bags (loose tea is best).
• 4-Tbs of sugar. You can instead use 2-Tbs each of honey and liquid malt extract or dry malt powder (maltose)
• 2-litre (8-cup) clean glass container.
• A piece of pre-ironed clean cloth to cover the fermenting vessel with an elastic band to secure the cloth in place.
  

Method

1. Pour 4 cups of tea in a 2-litre (8-cup) glass jar.
2. Dissolve the preferred sweetener in the tea and let stand to cool to room temperature.
3. Add the Kombucha SCOBY, or just the kombucha tea from a previous batch.
4. Place a clean cloth over the mouth of the container and secure with an elastic band.
5. Ferment at room temperature for 7 - 10 days, depending on temperature
6. Strain the Kombucha (tea) and *repeat the process for the next batch.
7. * As a buffer and as an inoculum, include 5% to 10% of previous brew with the freshly prepared sweetened tea solution. This will ensure a good kombucha is prepared on an ongoing basis.

You may need to experiment with fermentation time. The finished Kombucha tea should have a slight sour taste with a slight to moderate effervescent sparkle. If still too sweet and flat, ferment for a few days longer.

 Two non-cane sugar Kombucha brewing along nicely

Precaution ... Please Read

Contamination due to mold-growth is sometimes found growing on the surface of the mother-culture, if this happens one should discard the Kombucha, and start or obtain a new culture. Some species of fungi or molds, especially of the Aspergillus family, have been known to propagate on MOV and SCOBY cultures. These molds usually have green coloured spores, while some strains may produce black spores. Some varieties of fungi produce aflatoxins and mycotoxins, which one should completely avoid in their brew!!

• Never culture either Kombucha with a contaminated Kombucha SCOBY. Instead, inoculate the fresh media with approx. 10% of a previous non contaminated brew. In other words, an active-brew (non-pasteurized) may also be classified as a mother-culture and used as such. A new SCOBY colony will begin to propagate within days. But do not attempt this process by inoculating fresh ingredients with a previously contaminated brew! It's best to inoculate with a previously saved brew, which had no evidence of mold propagating on the SCOBY itself.
• Never culture kombucha near a compost or rubbish bin. If a compost bin is near by, mold spores may contaminate the mother-culture. This is especially in the case where acid-fruits, potatoes or their skins are spoiling.
• A clean cloth should be placed over the mouth of any brewing vessel. I recommend using a tightly woven piece of pre-washed, then hot- ironed cotton or linen cloth, doubled over to form two layers in thickens. This may be held in place over the mouth of the vessel, secured with an elastic rubber band.

TIP IN PREVENTING MOLD-GROWTH ON SURFACE OF SCOBY OR MOV

Gently rocking the kombucha once daily, seems to be an effective preventative measure, to ensure that molds do not propagate on the surface of the SCOBY. This may be due to the fact that rocking forces some of the vinegar to wash over the surface of the SCOBY. Performing this once daily, maintains the surface of a SCOBY wet at all time, which is the main factor in the prevention of mold-growth. A SCOBY that may become submerged due to a heavy rocking action, will force the brew to form a new SCOBY within a few days. This action also provides soluble oxygen for the specific aerobic bacteria (oxygen lovers), Gluconacetobacter xylinum, which synthesize cellulose from glucose in the presence of oxygen.