Kombucha

Kombucha is one of the only drinks that I enjoy. Here's a list of reasons I like it:


 * It's fizzy
 * It comes in a wide variety of flavours
 * It feels more hydrating than soft drinks to me

A lot of the Internet push it as a health drink. I don't care about this aspect enough to investigate.

Note that the hydrating feeling is just a feeling. Usually when drinking soda or coffee I need water nearby to somehow balance a feeling I identify as dehydration. It could be that I'm responding to sugars or some other taste. Regardless I don't need that with kombucha, and that's a benefit.

Getting started
There's a lot of good guides for starting to brew kombucha online.

You'll need to buy the following:


 * Starter kombucha liquid (known as the starter tea or SCOBY)
 * A glass jar with cloth to cover it
 * Flip-top bottles than can deal with high pressure inside
 * A water filter if your tap water is bad (mine is)

Most of these can easily be found online from shops dedicated to selling kombucha.

First fermentation
Tools:


 * Large jar for brewing
 * Cloth to cover the jar
 * Elastic bands to hold the cloth in place
 * Large containers for holding water
 * 1L container for starter liquid
 * Metric measuring cups
 * Water filter
 * Wooden spoon
 * Stove
 * Pot for boiling

Ingredients (for a 4L batch):


 * 800mL starter kombucha liquid (20% of the batch)
 * 3.2L water (80% of the batch)
 * 200g raw sugar (50g per litre)
 * 16g black tea bags (4g per litre) (I use 8 Lipton black tea bags)

Instructions:

Exact measurements don't matter that much, just approximate.
 * 1) Wash the brewing jar using hot water and a cloth, no detergent or vinegar
 * 2) Refrigerate and filter 2.6L (82% of the batch) filtered water
 * 3) Boil 576mL (18% of the batch) water on the stove
 * 4) Put the tea in the water
 * 5) Close the lid on the pot and let it brew for 10 minutes
 * 6) Add the sugar to the tea
 * 7) Stir tea with wooden spoon until the sugar is dissolved
 * 8) Pour chilled water in to the large jar
 * 9) Pour tea in to large jar
 * 10) Wait 5 minutes for the tea to cool
 * 11) Pour starter liquid in to the jar
 * 12) Cover the jar with cloth and elastic bands
 * 13) Write down the date on the jar with a marker

This takes around 30 minutes.

Second fermentation
Tools:


 * 12 750mL flip-top bottles

Ingredients:


 * 4L kombucha
 * Cane sugar
 * Measuring cups
 * Funnels
 * Blender (I use a nutribullet)
 * Various fruits

Instructions:

Pouring directly in to bottles like this is probably not the best method, it might be better to make a large intermediate jar then pour that in to bottles
 * 1) Set aside 800mL of kombucha as starter liquid (include the gross pellicle)
 * 2) Pick an empty bottle
 * 3) Using the funnel, add two teaspoons of cane sugar to the bottle
 * 4) Using the funnel, fill a third of the bottle with kombucha
 * 5) Cut and blend up some fruit
 * 6) Using the funnel, pour the blended fruit up to the bottle's neck
 * 7) Number the bottle with a marker and write down its contents somewhere
 * 8) Repeat from step 2 until you have no kombucha left

This takes around 1.5 hours.

2019
I did a few brews in 2019 but didn't write them down.

Eventually I didn't have the energy to keep brewing and my brew went vile. Don't do that.

2022-01-16 to 2022-02-31

 * Brewed for two weeks
 * Bottle 1: Blueberry, banana and apple puree
 * Bottles 2-4: Apple
 * Bottles 5: Mango and orange
 * Bottle 6: Mango and banana
 * Bottle 7: Half full, mango and banana