Been given a SCOBY or bought one online and need some instructions? This is what we do at Smallholder Kitchen......
Key Points:
Keep all equipment and your hands squeaky clean
Maintain a temperature between 20-30 deg C
Use a glass fermenting vessel
Put SCOBY into your fermenting vessel pale side up
Add some finished Kombucha
Add fresh sweet tea cooled to 20-30 deg C
Cover with breathable cover
Wait between 7 and 30 days for your 'booch' to mature
Cleanliness
Cleanliness is of paramount importance especially when handling the SCOBY to prevent unwanted contamination. Ensure all utensils and vessels are as clean as possible and have no soap residue. Scrub hands and if possible wear sterile food safe disposable gloves when handling the SCOBY.
Fermenting vessel
The fermentation of Kombucha is documented as being able to leach out toxins in fermentation vessels eg leaching lead from the glaze of ceramic pots (yes incredibly it seems to be legal to still have lead in ceramic glaze). Also metal is said to be detrimental to the SCOBY and should be avoided. Here at Smallholder Kitchen we use glass fermentation jars with plastic taps fitted for ease of periodic tasting to see if brew is complete. More details on equipment page here.
SCOBY
You should put the SCOBY into your glass fermenting vessel pale side up (this is the younger part of the SCOBY). Sometimes it is difficult to see which side is lightest in colour, if this is the case don't worry it's not essential.
Add Kombucha
Your SCOBY should arrive in some fermented Kombucha and this 'booch' must be added to your fermentation vessel with your SCOBY as it will be acidic (pH around 3). This will ensure that your tea is acidic as it ferments. It is essential to keep your brew acidic to provide a friendly environment for your SCOBY and to prevent the development of any bad bacteria. Although not essential we use a pH meter to verify this, details on equipment page here.
Add Sweet Tea
Using the recipe below make the required volume of tea - if you have a Smallholder Kitchen SCOBY it will make 2 litres for your first ferment.
Recipe for Tea for Kombucha Brewing
(makes 2 litres)
7 Tea Bags (Black, Green or White)
175g Demerara Sugar
1 litre boiling water
1 litre of cold filtered or bottled water
Into a 2+ litre container (not the fermenting vessel) weigh 175g of Demerara Sugar. Add 7 of your favourite teabags (we use clipper organic white tea) and 1 litre of boiling water. Stir vigorously, cover and leave to stand for 30 minutes. Remove the tea bags and add the litre of cold water (this helps to cool the mixture quickly - we use 900mls cold water and 100g ice cubes which brings the temp down to around 30 deg C so we can quickly get on with the business of brewing Kombucha.
Cover with Breathable Cover
Brewing 'booch' is an aerobic process so the fermentation vessel needs to be covered with a breathable membrane that lets air in whilst keeping contaminants out such as a muslin square or coffee filter paper secured with an elastic band.
Wait Patiently
Store your fermentation vessel in a dark place with an ambient temperature between 20-30 deg C. Depending on the temperature and size and activity of the SCOBY your Kombucha will be ready between 7 and 30 days.
A tap on the fermentation vessel is useful to enable periodic sampling of the Kombucha without exposing the brew to contamination.
Once you are happy with the sweet/tart balance of your finished brew decant it into flip top bottles such as grolsch bottles or old fashioned lemonade bottles like
these and refrigerate to prevent further fermentation. Enjoy!
See our article Continuing with Kombucha to see what to do next!
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