Kombucha is a wonderful fermented tea that is rich in probiotics and good bacteria for your gut and immune system. It tastes a bit like lemonade—our kids love it! It’s a great alternative to fizzy drinks as it naturally carbonates. Traditionally, kombucha is made using black tea, but Fiona, our wonderful fermenter, makes two main varieties in the shop: a mixed berry kombucha based on rooibos tea (caffeine-free) and a lemongrass and ginger kombucha based on green tea. It’s easy to make, and there’s something beautiful about fermenting your own at home and growing a good 'mother' (another name for a mother is a SCOBY—Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast, which converts sugar into probiotic bacteria).
Takes
Serves 1
Ingredients
60gwhite cane sugar
2teabags(we love rooibos or green tea)
1scoby
180gkombucha(previously brewed or store-bought)
1litre water
Instructions
Pour 1 litre of water into a kettle and boil. Once boiled, add your teabags of choice along with the sugar.
Stir until the sugar dissolves and the teabags infuse their flavour—this should take about 5 minutes. Remove the teabags and discard them.
Leave the tea to cool, ensuring it’s below 37°C (body temperature). If it’s hotter, it could kill the scoby.
Add the scoby and the previously brewed kombucha into a jar. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to ferment for 10-15 days, away from direct sunlight, at room temperature.
After 10-15 days, remove the scoby, and your kombucha is ready to drink!
Notes
Kombucha Q&A
How long should I ferment kombucha?
Ideally, if your SCOBY is healthy and the room temperature is around 20°C, it should take about 10-14 days. However, if the temperature is hotter, it will take less time, and if colder, it will take longer. Additionally, if your SCOBY is small, it will also take longer. The easiest way to tell if your kombucha is ready is by checking if it’s naturally bubbly and not too sweet when you taste it (this indicates that the SCOBY has consumed the sugar and converted it into probiotic bacteria and carbon dioxide, better known as bubbles!).Taste the kombucha, and once it’s to your liking and bubbly, it’s ready to go! The longer you ferment it, the more acidic or vinegar-like it becomes. We’ve often left it to ferment for over a month, resulting in a lovely vinegar to use in salads!
What is the best container for fermenting kombucha?
Ideally, use glass jars, but if you can’t find any, plastic works fine (preferably BPA-free). Avoid using metal containers and cutlery, as they can damage the SCOBY.
Where can I get a SCOBY?
You can easily buy a SCOBY online for very little cost. A better option, however, is to get one from a friend who brews their own kombucha, as each time you brew a batch, the SCOBY grows and can be divided and shared. This means that if you continue making your own kombucha, you’ll have an extra SCOBY after each fermentation that you can share with others!
How do I grow a SCOBY from scratch?
It’s easy, but it takes a little more time. Start with a store-bought bottle of kombucha (500ml) that is unpasteurized and labeled as “living” or “raw” (pasteurisation kills the bacteria needed to grow a SCOBY).
Boil the kettle and brew a small cup of tea with 2 tbsp of sugar, ensuring that you use the same tea type as in the store-bought kombucha (usually black, green, or rooibos). Let the tea cool to below 37°C (body temperature).
Add the cooled sweet tea to the bottle of ready-made kombucha. This provides extra food for the yeast and bacteria to grow a new culture.
Pour the mixture into a larger jar or glass bottle. Cover with a clean, dry cloth so air can reach it, but flies cannot.
Ferment at room temperature, ideally around 20°C, out of direct sunlight for about 2-4 weeks, and a SCOBY should naturally develop.
After about a week, you’ll often see a baby SCOBY forming on the surface of the liquid. A new SCOBY starts off as a blob or a clear film and gradually becomes more white and thicker as time goes on.
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