Christie C. “In a world full of sodas, be a kombucha.”
Anonymous
I first drank kombucha a little under ten years ago when I was still baking full time. A coworker was raving about it and described it as a mixture of “beer and tea.” So, I got myself some good old GT’s Synergy Raw Kombucha, Original.
I was hooked.
What is Kombucha?
Kombucha is a beverage made by fermenting sweetened tea with a yeast and bacteria culture called a “SCOBY” (Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast). During the fermentation process, the SCOBY metabolizes the sugars in the tea, producing organic acids, vitamins, enzymes, and trace amounts of alcohol. The result is a sweet and tangy tea, often with quite a bit of carbonation.
There are different ways to make kombucha. The type I am brewing is called Jun Kombucha, which is a variation that uses honey and green tea as opposed to sugar and black tea. I drink both conventional and jun kombucha, but I do prefer jun for its fresh and complex flavor―I get to be creative with the flavors based on the type of honey I use.
Best Christmas Present!
My parents got me the Fermentaholics Essentials Jun Kombucha Brewing Kit for Christmas in 2023. It includes a heating mat, pH strips, thermometer, jar, and even a fresh SCOBY! Good thing I did a lot of de-cluttering the week before I received it because I found a spot for it on my grandmother’s phonograph.
The kit is super user friendly. After washing my supplies, I only had to boil 2 cups of water, steep 4 ounces of green tea, strain it, then stir in 1 cup of wildflower honey. Once I used the heating pad to ensure the temperature of the mixture was safe for the SCOBY, I added it and its liquid to the jar.
I checked on the young kombucha the next morning, and it smelled a little floral and pleasantly tart. After a week, it was ready for tasting.
Getting over the “ick” factor
Despite being a huge kombucha drinker, I would be lying if I told you that the process is pretty. SCOBYs, the symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, can be pretty rank looking. The pellicle, which is the fleshy looking cellulose floating within the swirls of yeast, can look like brains or a mashed up Mr. Saturn from Earthbound (at least, that’s where my mind goes as a classic video game player).
I was honestly grossed out by it, but as Jess from Roots and Refuge Farm says, “Good food comes dirty.” We have to reeducate ourselves on how food is actually produced. I decided to call my SCOBY “Scooby-Doo” for short. Naming the pellicle helped me get over its slimy feel and fleshy appearance.
My first batches
My first batches were delicious, but missing much of that characteristic fizz. I made a few plain flavors, mango using mango puree, and lavender rosehip using lavender buds and ground rosehips. I was not entirely sure how much to fill the bottles, so my first few bottles have a lot of space left in the bottlenecks.
Making Improvements
After about six weeks of practice and additional pellicle growth, I got the hang of the brewing process and my kombucha got that characteristic fizz I love so much. After making at least six one gallon batches, I have only had one explosion (YAY!). I also had to convert my old cookie jar into a SCOBY Hotel, a place for keeping the additional SCOBYs and pellicles as they continue to grow in the fermented tea.
I am still getting the hang of my process and have tried various flavors, but so far I have taken a liking to brewing primarily mango and guava kombucha.
I have never tried it, but I understand it is supposed to be very good for the GI system.
Yes! It’s so good. I highly recommend it recommend GTs Kombucha as an introduction.