Kombucha, what the hell is it you say?
Boocha, as we affectionately call it, is an effervescent beverage made from a culturing process that involves a kombucha colony, sugar, and tea. I've read that it has its origins in China and was consumed for its believed digestive benefits and all-around goodness. As a self-confessed addict (and at $3.25 a fix) I was in desperate need for a DIY hack. A few moments spent in front of a glowing monitor and the Internet spilled her information-filled guts — revealing a relatively simple process. All that was required was a mother colony, a batch of sweet tea, and a little patience. For around twenty bucks, there are several sites on the web from which one can purchase a culture also known as a mushroom, SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast, yum) or mother. Hmm.... Twenty bucks felt steep for my tight pursestrings...to my delight, a friend shared it was possible to circumvent the initiation fee and grow my own culture using a bottle of the store-bought stuff. Again I consulted the wise Internet and sure enough, I uncovered a couple of recipes and even a video.
So where to begin? Growing your mother...
The Gear:
1 bottle of plain kombucha (I used the ubiquitous G.T.'s)
6 t. loose leaf black tea (Assam, Keemun, Darjeeling are some personal favorites)
1 C. sugar
1 gallon of filtered water
1 non-reactive container i.e. glass or plastic, I use a gallon-size glass cookie jar
a piece of cotton cloth large enough to cover the mouth of the jar, I use a clean dinner napkin
1 rubber band
Begin by brewing your tea. Place your tea (I use loose leaf but you may substitute an equal number of tea bags as long as the tea is black) in 2 large glasses and top off with boiling water. Allow the strong tea to brew until the tea comes to room temperature. In your gallon-size, non-reactive container measure 1 cup of sugar and add the strained, room-temperature tea. Stir the tea and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved. Fill the container nearly to the top with filtered water and add the bottle of kombucha; stir well. Place the piece of cloth over the mouth of the container and hold it in place with a rubber band. Now take your entire rig and place it in an undisturbed area, sheltered from direct sunlight. You are looking for a colony to form on the surface of the brew. It will take the form of a milky floating film. The rate of film formation is directly dependent on the ambient room temperature, so expect a longer brew time for colder seasons. I started mine in the spring and it took four weeks for a 1/4" momma to grow. Check on your colony nursery every couple of days, making sure the film is covered with tea and that no mold forms. Mold is bad. If molds sprouts, get rid of your batch and start over. Once you've grown a vital, robust colony, reserve 2 cups of the brew along with the mother. Discard the remaining sacrificial broth. Now you're ready to make kombucha.
The List: the brew is the same as above
1 C. sugar
6 t. tea to 1 gallon of water
kombucha colony
non-reactive container
cotton cloth rubber band
ginger, fresh a 1" x 2" piece (optional)
Whip up a batch of the same sweet tea as directed above and add the 2 C. of the reserved brewed tea and the momma. Make sure the colony is submerged, then cover the vat with the cotton cloth and secure with a rubber band. Brew time will again depend on the time of year and temperature. In the summer, brew times will be shorter (7-12 days) rather than 12-16 days in the winter. Give your brew a taste — if it's too sweet give it a couple more days; too tart — shorten the time for the next batch. Every time I start a new batch, I write the date on a piece of tape and affix it to the exterior of the jar so I have an idea of how much time has passed.
Bottling
6 pint bottles or containers with tight fitting lids. I save G.T. kombucha bottles for bottling — you can use whatever you like as long as the seal is secure and tight.
This recipe yields 6 pints of kombucha. Using a 2 C. measuring glass reserve two cups of brew, along with the mother colony, in a separate bowl. Decant the remaining brew into clean bottles. I usually fill the bottles to the top of the G.T. label followed by the ginger juice. If you're making plain kombucha, fill the bottles to an half inch of the top and cap tightly. For a ginger version (my personal favorite) grate fresh ginger, skin and all, and add 1 cup of boiling water. Once the water has cooled to room temperature, strain the grated ginger. After filling the six bottles to the level of the label there should be approximately 1 cup of brew remaining. To this remaining cup add your ginger juice and distribute this mixture equally among the six bottles of brew. Cap the bottles tightly and place in an undisturbed location at room temperature for 1-2 days. This resting time develops the effervescence — which you can test by uncapping a bottle and listening for the telltale fizz. At this point you can put the bottles in the fridge which will stop the fermentation process. Enjoy at your leisure.
One of the beauties of this process is that it's perpetual — you always have a batch of brew in the works — but as with all good things it also requires a bit of vigilance. Imagine yourself as teenage babysitter, for that's about how much work is involved and remember — mold is bad. With every batch the momma will thicken, forming a new layer often called the baby. This baby or new layer is capable of breeding its own batch of brew — hence the mail-order-boocha brides at twenty dollars a pop. Give one away free-puppy-style, or do as I do and keep the boocha family together in one incestuous flotilla.
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