This is a practical Guide on how to Make your very own KOMBUCHA at home.
Kombucha is a 'living' drink made from fermenting tea. The basic ingredients are tea, sugar and a kombucha culture (SCOBY). In the right conditions the kombucha works with the sugar and tea to create a slightly sparkling drink that is brimming with all kinds of goodness and tastes delicious. The flavour can differ depending on the kind of tea used and any herbal infusions added. The tartness can be controlled by the amount of time the tea is left to ferment.
The exact origins of the ancient drink have become lost over time, but it is believed to have originated in the Far East. The first recorded use of kombucha comes from China in 221 BC during the Tsin Dynasty. Kombucha has also been consumed in Eastern Europe, Russia and Japan for several centuries. It is believed that the name kombucha came from Japan in 415 AD where a Korean physician “kombu” treated the Japanese Emperor Inyko with the fermented tea and from then it took his name “kombu” and “cha” meaning tea.
WHAT IS A KOMBUCHA SCOBY?
“Scoby” is an acronym for “Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast”, and that’s exactly what it is! A scoby is the living home for the bacteria and yeast that transform sweet tea into tangy, fizzy kombucha — think of the kombucha scoby as the coral reef of the bacteria and yeast world. It a rubbery raft that floats around in the kombucha. Bacteria and yeasts feed on the sugary tea mixture and form cellulose, which forms the disc like scoby.
Now for the science bit:...........
Kombucha contains multiple species of yeast and bacteria along with the organic acids, active enzymes, amino acids, and polyphenols produced by these microbes. The precise quantities of a sample can only be determined by laboratory analysis. Finished kombucha may contain any of the following components:
- Acetic acid, which is mildly antibacterial
- Butyric acid
- B-vitamins
- Alcohol
- Gluconic acid
- Lactic acid
- Malic acid
- Oxalic acid
- Usnic acid
Normally kombucha contains less than 0.5% alcohol, which classifies kombucha as a non-alcoholic beverage. Older, more acidic, kombucha might contain 1.0% or 1.5% alcohol, depending on more anaerobic brewing time and higher proportions of sugar and yeast.
Trust me the SCOBY looks 'ugly as'...but the rewarding drink that you get from this gel like disc is refreshing and good for maintaining a healthy gut!
If you feel you require addditional help with making Kombucha or taking to the next leave and creating intersting flavours and combos I will be running zoom classes in the future to help you on your KOMBUCHA JOURNEY!