reinbeau
Moderator Extraordinaire
I got this off another forum, I thought it might interest some of you:
Kombucha Tea is a fermented drink made with water, tea, sugar and a kombucha culture. It strengthens the immune and digestive system. It is drunk in small amounts, 2-4 ounces at a time. I purchased mine a few years ago and because it reproduces I have given away many of it's "offspring" to friends and students. I make the tea with herbs rather than black tea as is conventionally done. I can't drink black or green tea so the herbs work extremely well. I have tried Kombucha tea made with black tea at Whole Foods and found it sharp, acidic, too sweet and it made me dizzy! My tea, made with fresh and dried herbs from my garden, depending on the season, is light, refreshing and with a very low alcohol content, I believe. (All fermented products have some alcohol in them) I have used mint, lemon balm, raspberry leaves, dandelion, and violet (in small amounts). In spring and summer I just cut about 10 stems of mint or lemon balm, rinse the bugs off and drop it in the pot of hot water. Throughout the season I am harvesting leaves to dry for the fall and winter and early spring kombucha tea.
You can purchase a culture from http://www.anahatabalance.com (note from Ann - this blog is a really interesting discussion about many fermented things and other nutrition issues we've discussed here, very nice blog!) and for a 10% discount type in: new_customer_10 This is a wonderful company.
Here is the recipe. Don't be daunted by the seeming complexity. It's really quite simple once the concept is understood. Email me if you have questions. I have a photo on my blog of a healthy batch of kombucha brewing: http://sophisticatedpeasant.blogspot.com
Ingredients for one gallon-size brew:
1. Kombucha culture
2. 2 cups of starter tea from the previous kombucha brew
3. 5-6 tea bags or 4-6 Tablespoons of herbal loose tea made from leaves rather than flowers. I avoid teas with added flavorings. If you use Black tea you can use less than 4-6 Tablespoons.
4. one cup sugar
5. 3 quarts of filtered water
Supplies needed:
One gallon or larger glass container, jar or bowl
or a food grade plastic bowl may be used, either number 1 or 2 in the triangle on the bottom.
Clean cloth, paper towel or coffee filter to fit over fermenting container and a large rubber band to secure if needed.
A warm quiet spot, (does not need to be dark)
Boil water: bring water to the boiling point and let it boil a minute or so. Add tea bags or loose tea in a strainer.
I let the tea steep about 30 minutes.
Remove tea
Add the cup of sugar and stir to dissolve.
Let it come to room temperature (about 2-4 hours) or overnight
Put the room temperature tea and sugar into your jar or bowl. If it is too hot it will damage the culture.
Add the starter tea
Add the kombucha culture.
Cover with the cloth or paper towel or filter and leave alone.
The entire brewing cycle can take up to 14 days. Usually the tea is ready to drink about day 5-6. You should see a light film starting to cover the top of the tea surface. I ladle out a bit to taste it. If its still very sweet, its not ready. Sometimes it has some carbonation. This is fine. Sometimes bubbles form in the culture and the culture looks bumpy and strange. Its okay.
Start drinking one tablespoon at a time, on an empty stomach. Build up the amount you drink slowly, as your body suggests.
This drink isnt right for everybody but if its good for you, your body may start to crave it.
Its a powerful detoxifier so you dont want to start drinking too much in the beginning. Let your body start its detox process in a slow and gentle way.
Ive settled on drinking about 1/4 -1/2 cup 1-3 times a day 20 minutes before a meal. Anymore than that really feels like too much.
It is suggested that once the culture is in the tea, no metal should come in contact with the brew. I use a plastic ladle.
Some people strain the tea before they drink it because sometimes theres some squidley stuff floating in it. The stuff is part of the brew and can be drunk.
If you dont finish the brew after 10-12 days it will become very vinegary and for some, undrinkable. This can be used for salad dressings and marinades.
Always save the last 2 cups for the next batch.
The film that forms on the top is the offspring of the culture. You can use this to start a new batch when it is substantial enough or you can just leave it attached. To detach it from the culture, with clean hands pick up the culture and peel the film off. If it is too small to start a new batch, store it in a glass jar with 1-2 cups of fresh tea and a paper towel cover. Keep adding new films as you get them. You should add fresh tea every 14 days. After a while the filmy pieces will meld into one new culture that can be used to start a new batch.
At this point I always have 2 different batches going. This is enough for me. I put my extras in a jar and save them until I have someone brave enough to try it.
Note: To avoid running out of peak tea: When the tea reaches its peak (6-10 days) you can ladle out all but 2 cups of the tea and store it in a smaller jar on the counter or in the refrigerator. This slows down the fermentation so you will have peak tea for a longer period of time. You can replenish the remaining culture and 2 cups of tea jar with fresh tea and that tea will probably be ready when you run out of the ladled out tea.- Gave it a taste
Kombucha Tea is a fermented drink made with water, tea, sugar and a kombucha culture. It strengthens the immune and digestive system. It is drunk in small amounts, 2-4 ounces at a time. I purchased mine a few years ago and because it reproduces I have given away many of it's "offspring" to friends and students. I make the tea with herbs rather than black tea as is conventionally done. I can't drink black or green tea so the herbs work extremely well. I have tried Kombucha tea made with black tea at Whole Foods and found it sharp, acidic, too sweet and it made me dizzy! My tea, made with fresh and dried herbs from my garden, depending on the season, is light, refreshing and with a very low alcohol content, I believe. (All fermented products have some alcohol in them) I have used mint, lemon balm, raspberry leaves, dandelion, and violet (in small amounts). In spring and summer I just cut about 10 stems of mint or lemon balm, rinse the bugs off and drop it in the pot of hot water. Throughout the season I am harvesting leaves to dry for the fall and winter and early spring kombucha tea.
You can purchase a culture from http://www.anahatabalance.com (note from Ann - this blog is a really interesting discussion about many fermented things and other nutrition issues we've discussed here, very nice blog!) and for a 10% discount type in: new_customer_10 This is a wonderful company.
Here is the recipe. Don't be daunted by the seeming complexity. It's really quite simple once the concept is understood. Email me if you have questions. I have a photo on my blog of a healthy batch of kombucha brewing: http://sophisticatedpeasant.blogspot.com
Ingredients for one gallon-size brew:
1. Kombucha culture
2. 2 cups of starter tea from the previous kombucha brew
3. 5-6 tea bags or 4-6 Tablespoons of herbal loose tea made from leaves rather than flowers. I avoid teas with added flavorings. If you use Black tea you can use less than 4-6 Tablespoons.
4. one cup sugar
5. 3 quarts of filtered water
Supplies needed:
One gallon or larger glass container, jar or bowl
or a food grade plastic bowl may be used, either number 1 or 2 in the triangle on the bottom.
Clean cloth, paper towel or coffee filter to fit over fermenting container and a large rubber band to secure if needed.
A warm quiet spot, (does not need to be dark)
Boil water: bring water to the boiling point and let it boil a minute or so. Add tea bags or loose tea in a strainer.
I let the tea steep about 30 minutes.
Remove tea
Add the cup of sugar and stir to dissolve.
Let it come to room temperature (about 2-4 hours) or overnight
Put the room temperature tea and sugar into your jar or bowl. If it is too hot it will damage the culture.
Add the starter tea
Add the kombucha culture.
Cover with the cloth or paper towel or filter and leave alone.
The entire brewing cycle can take up to 14 days. Usually the tea is ready to drink about day 5-6. You should see a light film starting to cover the top of the tea surface. I ladle out a bit to taste it. If its still very sweet, its not ready. Sometimes it has some carbonation. This is fine. Sometimes bubbles form in the culture and the culture looks bumpy and strange. Its okay.
Start drinking one tablespoon at a time, on an empty stomach. Build up the amount you drink slowly, as your body suggests.
This drink isnt right for everybody but if its good for you, your body may start to crave it.
Its a powerful detoxifier so you dont want to start drinking too much in the beginning. Let your body start its detox process in a slow and gentle way.
Ive settled on drinking about 1/4 -1/2 cup 1-3 times a day 20 minutes before a meal. Anymore than that really feels like too much.
It is suggested that once the culture is in the tea, no metal should come in contact with the brew. I use a plastic ladle.
Some people strain the tea before they drink it because sometimes theres some squidley stuff floating in it. The stuff is part of the brew and can be drunk.
If you dont finish the brew after 10-12 days it will become very vinegary and for some, undrinkable. This can be used for salad dressings and marinades.
Always save the last 2 cups for the next batch.
The film that forms on the top is the offspring of the culture. You can use this to start a new batch when it is substantial enough or you can just leave it attached. To detach it from the culture, with clean hands pick up the culture and peel the film off. If it is too small to start a new batch, store it in a glass jar with 1-2 cups of fresh tea and a paper towel cover. Keep adding new films as you get them. You should add fresh tea every 14 days. After a while the filmy pieces will meld into one new culture that can be used to start a new batch.
At this point I always have 2 different batches going. This is enough for me. I put my extras in a jar and save them until I have someone brave enough to try it.
Note: To avoid running out of peak tea: When the tea reaches its peak (6-10 days) you can ladle out all but 2 cups of the tea and store it in a smaller jar on the counter or in the refrigerator. This slows down the fermentation so you will have peak tea for a longer period of time. You can replenish the remaining culture and 2 cups of tea jar with fresh tea and that tea will probably be ready when you run out of the ladled out tea.- Gave it a taste
