Kombucha

In a blog post the other day when I was talking about you all blaming me, I was pleasantly surprised at how many of you were “blaming” me that you are  now making and loving kombucha!

Kombucha is another one of those things that is said to have health benefits but I can’t say that with certainty. There are claims on the internet that it lowers cholesterol, helps with arthritis, and aids digestion. I figure whether it is of benefit or not, it has to be better than drinking soda, right?

No matter what health benefits it may possess, if it doesn’t taste good, who’s going to drink it? I’d be interested in knowing what everyone else says about their experiences with taste. 

1. When you first drank it, did you dislike it, like it or not like it at all? I first drank a purchased bottle to see what it was all about and didn’t like it all. Then a friend offered me a SCOBY and we thought it would be fun to make and . . the rest is history. We both really like it.
2. If making your own, what flavors do you like? (I’ll talk about flavors more below.)

Yesterday was my kombucha making day and I smiled the entire time I was making it, thinking about folks who read about it here and started making their own.

In the above photo you see:

1. The big jar – back right: That’s the jar where I do the first ferment/brew.
2. The small jar – back left: Each new batch starts with at least 2 cups of the previous batch, along with the SCOBY.  The reserved tea is in there.
3. The cup – front right: I use that cup with the pouring spout to fill the bottles. I also use a small funnel.
4. The glass – front left: That’s my kombucha I’m drinking!

I’m glad I persevered with the SCOBY I started from a bottle of kombucha after losing my SCOBY because after ordering a new one, the little one I started took off and now I have two batches going again. We’re drinking a couple of bottles of kombucha each day. Vince and I usually split one at lunch and then I’ll sometimes drink half a bottle in the afternoon and sometimes we’ll split a bottle in the evening, depending on what we’re having for our dinner/snack.

Each batch gets tested. Very tart is about 2.5 and barely safe is about 3.6 (some say 3.5). This particular batch was bordering on 2.8 – probably about 2.95!  🙂   I do have a pH tester but I find it easier to use the test strips and toss them. Maybe I should start using the tester to save money.

The second jar wasn’t quite as tart — I’d say about 3.3. They were both made the same day but the second one has a larger SCOBY which I would think would have caused it to be more tart but  . . what do I know?

With two batches, I got 9 bottles. They will sit out on the counter for the second ferment and this is when they will get all fizzy and yummy! If the kitchen is warm, and it still is, it will take 4 or 5 days for them to get as fizzy as we like them. Once the kitchen gets cooler, it could take 8 to 10 days. That’s when we run the danger of running out of our favorite drink! I can’t brew it as quickly as we drink it. I could but I would need to buy more bottles . . and possibly enlarge the kitchen and Vince might squawk at that idea. OK . . I just ordered more bottles. Our last bottle order was placed in November, 2014 so we’ve been drinking kombucha for almost two years!

The flavors are added when the kombucha is bottled and left on the counter for the 2nd ferment. Whatever I add is strained out as I pour the kombucha into a glass. When I first began making kombucha, I added one part storebought juice to three parts tea but now we mostly use dried or fresh fruit and berries and never add storebought juice. My favorite flavors (in the order in which I like them). 

• Ginger/Lavender – Vince doesn’t like the lavender but I love tossing in a few organic dried lavender blossoms, along with some of the fresh ginger I’ve grown. The glass in the first picture near the top of this post is ginger/lavender.
• Ginger – Plain ginger from the ginger I’ve grown.
• Elderberry – Add about 6 dried elderberries to the bottles. These give the drink a deep pink, sometimes red color. (The photo just above is Elderberry Kombucha)
• Fig – About half a large fig is sliced and added to a bottle. Not only does it give the kombucha a wonderful flavor, but it creates a beautiful, pink drink.
• Plain – no additional flavor added. This is basically a fizzy, fermented tea.

Tips for first time kombucha drinkers:

I can’t stress this one enough! Start slow. Start with maybe 1/4 cup per day. Even now, if I don’t drink it for a few days, I start back slowly. Drinking too much when your system isn’t used to it can give you the most incredibly horrible heartburn/chest pain ever. 

Whatever you’re adding, think about how you’re going to get it out of the bottle! I’ve poked some pretty large chunks of ginger or fig down those little holes and it’s a heck of a lot easier to get them in there than it is to get them out!

Some of these bottles build up an amazing amount of pressure/fizz and they are liable to spew . . all the way to the ceiling. I always hold a towel over the top when releasing the pressure. I may end up with a sticky mess on the countertop and floor but that’s a lot better than the ceiling.

To get the kombucha into the glass, I first put the jar funnel (from canning and available at Walmart if you don’t have one)  and then use a small plastic strainer to filter out any of the fruit, berries or SCOBY particles.

For those wanting to get started making kombucha, here are the items I use and some of these are Amazon affiliate links – meaning if you purchase through them, I’m paid a small commission. As always, these are the items I use and are not there to try to get you to buy something I’ve never tried.

SCOBY (Kombucha Starter) – You can find them for less but this is the one I’ve used twice and I’ve been happy.
Bottles
Plastic Strainer
Big Jar for First Brew – Walmart sometimes has these too.
Jar Funnel – Walmart should have this.
Test Strips – Plain litmus paper or a pH tester will work also.
Elderberries – Dried
Lavender Blooms

As far as tea, I use Great Value (Walmart) green tea. Some people prefer black tea. We tried both and liked the green best. I have no idea what we pay for the tea but when making two batches at a time, I use 10 tea bags every week so 40 bags lasts us about a month.

There you have it . . all I know about kombucha. If you have questions, feel free to ask in a comment and I’ll respond there.