Fermenting is getting “hip.”  And so it should be, fermented food is magical.

Traditionally, fermented food was included at every meal – you just have to look at classic ethnic cuisines to see this – think sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, yoghurt. It really does make sense – fermented food helps with digestion, and absorbing the nutrients of food readily into the body.  Somewhere along the line, this practice fell out of being the “norm,” – but it is well on the way back to becoming mainstream, thanks to the growing popularity of store bought fermented foods.

So what are the health benefits?  To avoid me clumsily regurgitating scientific jargon – just read this.

We all know that I am cheap, plus I love to experiment – home fermentation projects are constantly on the go in my house.  Don’t be intimidated – it’s an easy process – and the scope to which you can extend your fermentation craze is limited only by your creativity.  For some excellent ideas, check out this site.

Anyway, today’s post is all about kombucha – my first foray into “home brew” if you will…. I started brewing about 2 years ago, and it has been a constant (and almost obsessive) practise ever since.  You will need a kombucha SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) to brew your own – put your feelers out – there will be some sort of hippie (!) in your neighbourhood brewing, I’ll bet.  The great thing will kombucha-brewing is that every brew creates a new SCOBY, so you end up getting overwhelmed with the things (most brwers will be happy to get rid of a few) Otherwise they are easily available to purchase online, or you can grow your own from a store bought drink.

Basic Kombucha Brew

• 6C boiled water
• 6 black or green tea bags (organic) – or a mix of both*
• 2/3C raw, organic sugar**
• 1 kombucha SCOBY
• 1/2C kombucha tea
• Wide neck glass jar/container – sterilised.
• Cheesecloth/muslin/clean tea towel and a rubber band

1.  Place water, sugar and tea in a saucepan and bring to the boil – make sure the sugar has dissolved.
2.  Take off heat and wait until is has cooled completely (too hot and you will kill your SCOBY – think blood temperature)
3. Remove tea bags, and gently pour mix into your prepared jar.
4. Add the already-brewed kombucha tea and handling the SCOBY with clean hands, pop it on top (doesn’t matter if it sinks)
5. Cover with cloth and secure with rubber band.
6. Store in a warm, dark place – the time it takes to brew will depend on the temperature – in the midst of Summer, a brew can be as quick as 3 days, but up to 2 weeks in Winter.  Using a straw (plastic/glass please) taste your brew every few days – it depends on your tastebuds too.  I like my brew on the TANGY side rather than sweet, so I generally let it brew for longer, so that the bacteria eats away more of the sugar.  It should be slightly fizzy too.
7. Once satisfied with the taste, remove SCOBY and place in a “Scoby Hotel” (a clean jar – you can put multiple SCOBYs in the same jar) and cover with some of the kombucha tea – this keeps the SCOBY happy & alive.  Place in the fridge, ready to use for the next brew.
8. Store your kombucha in a glass bottle with a tight fitting lid (to keep in the fizz).

*Always use caffeinated tea – after you get used to the process, you can start to play around with adding herbal tea bags, but this is truly trial and error depending on the type of tea.  My rule of thumb is 3 fruity tea bags to 3 caffeinated tea bags – even then I have had some failures.

** This is the type of “food” the SCOBY likes best – I have had moderate success with alternatives like rice syrup/honey, but raw organic sugar produces the fizziest and nicest tasting brews – and makes sure that your SCOBY remains healthy.

Other pointers: Exercise extreme hygiene practises – you don’t want to go adding in any nasties to your brew.  Always handle the SCOBY with very clean hands and DO NOT touch the SCOBY with any metal utensil – use bamboo/ceramic/glass etc.  Don’t be freaked out by the “bits” that tend to swim around in the brew – drink ‘em down, they are good for you (or don’t, whatever).

To fridge or not to fridge? For extra fizz, allow the sealed bottles to sit at room temperature for 24 hours until refrigerating. 

Don’t stress about the amount of sugar used in the recipe – this is the FOOD for the bacteria – the longer you leave it to ferment, the less sugar there will be in the end product…. if you try and cut down the sugar, the end result will not be optimal.

Kombucha DOES have a very low alcohol content due to the fermentation process.

Now you have your brew sorted, you can start to play around with flavours.  Adding flavouring during the first brew will increase the likelihood of mould or contamination of your SCOBY…. so don’t go trying to get funky before this point.  Store your kombucha in glass bottles with tight fitting lids – try adding 1/8C fresh juice to 750ml kombucha brew – orange/apple/lemon/cranberry – whatever takes your fancy – or try my Ginger Tonic which is my favourite “medicine” when I’m under the weather.

Fermented Ginger Tonic

• 4C boiled water
• Fresh ginger (around a 3 inch piece, roughly chopped)
• 1/2C raw organic sugar OR rice syrup OR honey
• Optional: 1/4C fresh lemon/orange or lime juice – just for a little citrus kick.
• 2C brewed kombucha tea

1. Mix all ingredients EXCEPT kombucha tea together, making sure the sugar is dissolved.
2. Let the mix infuse (I place it all in a sterilised jar) for at least a few hours.
3. Strain out ginger pieces and combine with the kombucha tea.
4. Pour into a glass bottle (I find the large V8 veggie juice bottles/ are great for this) and leave in a warm, dark place for about 2 days (again, depending on your climate/temperature) – again the process is to let the bacteria eat away the sugar – it will become nice and fizzy.
5. Store in the fridge.

So there you have it – an ancient fermented tea drink (the Chinese have been brewing it for over 200 years) all in the comfort of your own home, at a fraction of the cost of the store bought stuff.

Something that I have taken from all my fermentation experiments:  trust your NOSE - always give things the “sniff test,” and if it smells WRONG, then it is probably not fit for consumption – sour/tangy/vinegary are all OK – if the smell makes you gag, then don’t run the risk – chuck it and start again.  You will hone your nose skills as you continue to experiment.

Kombucha – tried it?  Love it?  Do you brew?