For thousands of years kombucha has been producing at home, making its preparation a cult and part of the everyday life of wise nations. There are many recipes and methods for its production, but here I will describe my own experience. There are dozens of subtleties to get this true elixir, which is a pleasure for the senses and the body.
Kombucha prepared at home – a true elixir and delight
Here on this website I will try to give you my skills and help you enjoy your homemade kombucha.
For some of you, the process will look easy, for others – not so much, but with my help you will see that with a little stubbornness and enthusiasm in just a few weeks you will not only have a kombucha drink, but a drink to your taste, aroma and carbonation.
So, what do we need to start making our kombucha at home?
Products
- Culture (sponge) kombucha – you can get it from someone who is already doing kombucha, or to purchase it via the internet.
- Starter Liquid – this is a ready-made kombucha drink, which should be about 10% of the amount of kombucha you want to produce. You can buy a ready-made drink from the stores, as long as you are sure it’s not pasteurized.
- Glass jar – the larger, the more kombucha you will have, but the good option is a 3-liter.
- Sugar – you can use all kinds of sugar, as long as it’s really sugar, not a sweetener. Sugar is a food for yeast, and it is important to be of high quality to produce a drink full of beneficial substances.
- Tea – generally, it is best for the process to have the drink made with green or black tea. You can also use herbal teas, but it is good to have them in combination with green or black tea. Researches have shown that in a green or black tea environment the drink is best developed and has the highest amount of beneficial substances in its finished version.
- Plastic strainer – never use a metal strainer! The drink has a high acidity and has a strong effect on the metal. You can use only the highest grade stainless steel appliances.
- Gauze – you will need gauze to cover the jar, allowing the drink to breathe (yeast need oxygen), but to prevent flies and other insects to reach the liquid and therefore to protect kombucha from infection.
- Bottles – durable on carbonation. You could use glass bottles or PET, as long as it does not bother you to use bottles other than glass.
Here is the recipe itself, it is for the preparation of 1 liter kombucha. Accordingly, it can be applied proportionally to other container you prefer.
Recipe
- Boil 1 liter of water. If it’s from the tap, it’s good to filter it through a filter jug or let it boil for 3-4 minutes.
- After boiling, put 2-3 grams of green/black tea and you can combine it with Bulgarian herbs. You will then find out for yourself how much they will be in order to get your taste.
- Leave the infusion for 1 hour, and then remove the tea mixtures.
- Put 100 grams of sugar at your choice. I personally use white beet sugar because it gives the most food to the yeast and hence you’ll get the strongest beverage.
- Allow to cool to room temperature – 22-26 degrees.
- Transfer the liquid to the glass jar, which is well washed and even better rinsed. Please keep in mind that the sponge does not tolerate traces of chemicals and of detergents – they would not allow it to develop. For best results wash your dishes and utensils with hot water only.
- Carefully place the kombucha sponge into the already cold tea.
- Add about 100 ml of starter liquid, i.e. from a ready-made kombucha beverage.
- Close the jar with a piece of gauze and elastic.
- Place the jar in a place with no shine from direct sunlight. Best choose a warm and dark place.
- You wish for a wonderful kombucha and start waiting.
- On the fourth-fifth day open the jar and with a straw inserted around the middle of the liquid in the jar (to make the sample correct), sip the drink. It must have begun to become acidic and slightly fizzy.
- From this day on, you try every day. The drink is ready for bottling, when the ratio of sweet and sour is to your taste. Note that the more acidic the more useful kombucha is, but this is an elixir that should delight your senses, rather than to cause sour faces.
- When you think it is ready for bottling, remove the sponge carefully (put it in a pre-prepared glass container, you will need it again), take the funnel (not metal) and pour the ready drink into the well washed screw cap bottles, leaving about 1/10 of the liquid. The available natural gas will make the drink foam when pouring, so overflow slowly and carefully.
- If the carbonation is sufficient and at your taste, put the bottles directly into the refrigerator. If not, leave them for 1-2 days at room temperature and then store them in the refrigerator.
- After cooling, the beverage is ready for consumption.
- Maybe we forgot something – the sponge we removed from the jar! We will need it for the next brewing. And to feel good until then, we need to store it in the right way – pour the 1/10th portion of the ready beverage into the container until it is well covered, then place it in the refrigerator. Let’s not forget that we will need a starter liquid for next brewing, so this kombucha will serve us just that.
Congratulations! You already have your own kombucha drink! From now on, you can only become better and more individual in kombucha brewing!
Here I answer some questions before you ask them because I have already commented on them over the last 5-6 years with hundreds of beginners in homemade kombucha.
However, if you do not find your question and answer here, do not hesitate to contact me through the blog on the site or the email address.
Did you make your homemade kombucha?
If you have any questions about making a combo at home, contact me.
