# Homemade Kombucha



## Aleque (Oct 9, 2016)

I recently tried kombucha while I was in Portland and was instantly hooked on the stuff. Has anyone made homemade kombucha before and have any pointers on making it?

I know I'll need a SCOBY...but what exactly do I do with the it?


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## Matus (Oct 9, 2016)

My parents used to make their own for a certain time. I only tasted it a few time but recall the taste as rather particular. I am not 100% sure anymore, but was not it supposed to be kept in a fridge in great tea with some sugar? I think it was not that complicated.


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## alterwisser (Oct 9, 2016)

If you order the SCOBY thing online, it has instructions ... I just did, should arrive tomorrow. 

I think there was a thread here some time ago about it. One guy experimented a lot with it, to get the best tasting mix. I love buying the stuff mixed with ginger, so I'm shooting for that.

Funny thing: my parents made it and I HATED it. Now I'm making it myself. But I'm also wearing Birkenstocks now and at one point I refused leaving the house with my dad when he was rocking them lol


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## Aleque (Oct 9, 2016)

So I read last week that you can make your own SCOBY. I followed some instructions, but I'm not sure how I know it's ready. It's been about week fermenting and I have a floating layer on my sugar tea mixture. Anyone know how thick the layer needs to be? 

I was recently at a local festival and there was a vender selling a premade large SCOBY (mine isn't near as big). So if mine doesn't turn out, I know there are options. 

I'll have to look for that thread on here, hopefully it has more detailed information. I've read some blogs about making kombucha, but none of them seem to provide lots of details on timing, temperature, mixing ratios, adding additional flavors, etc.


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## copperJon (Oct 9, 2016)

Jumping in to flag for follow up tomorrow once the wine dissipates. I've been making booch for about three years and love the stuff. Jun is the way to go. Will give some details tomorrow.


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## Fedusa (Oct 10, 2016)

A buddy gave me one and I wasn't ready to start a batch yet so it went into the fridge. 

I only found out later they don't like that...

There's different ways he adds flavor like adding juice or flavorings after its bottled or using different types of tea.


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## ThEoRy (Oct 10, 2016)

There was a thread a while back about this. Search the forums, you know it to be true.


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## copperJon (Oct 10, 2016)

Sober now. Not much to add from the other thread, but I will say that if you haven't tried Jun (green tea/honey booch) then you really should. Much more delicate flavor, and takes to blueberry/ginger secondary very well. It's a different bacteria/yeast combo, so you'll need to grab a new scoby (etsy folks sell them for around $5 each). Same process, but is a bit more forgiving if you overbrew.


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## Mucho Bocho (Oct 10, 2016)

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php?t=23042


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## JayGee (Oct 10, 2016)

I've been making kombucha for a couple years.. Once you get it going, its pretty hardy. Lot's of people will tell you lots of different rules, but really you can do what you like. The important thing is to start with solid scoby. Never bought one online so don't know what that's like, but having a scoby from a well established line means you are less likely to get mould infestation. Some months ago all my batches got mould attacked (5 jars), only one was untouched. I restarted the colony from that one scoby, and it is a total battle hardened veteran beast baby/mama. Can't kill it. Reproduces way too fast. I'm giving away 5 scobies a week now, or just dumping them in the garden.

I usually boil a large pot of water for 10 - 15 mins (get rid of fluoride / chlorine), then add a large cup of sugar. Turn the heat off - add 3 tablespoons black tea - 2 tablespoons green/white tea - 2 tablespoons nettle tea. Put the lid on and let it cool. You could make a super concentrated tea then add cold water to cool it sooner but I'm happy to wait. Then its just a matter of filtering out the tea you have, reserving about half a cup to make the initial brew acidic. Then you should have a scoby, with about .5 cup of old kombucha, then add the fresh (cooled) tea. Make sure nothing is too hot. Fill it to the shoulder of the jar, cover it with a chux and a rubber band and wait 7 - 10 days (depending on the weather and your preferences - hotter makes it ferment faster). Then when you're ready to go - pull the scoby out of that jar, filter off the tea (for drinking), clean the jar, put the scoby back, add .5 cup of kombucha and fill with fresh tea again. I would get the basics down and make sure you have a strong mother before worrying about secondary fermentations etc. Also, keep the batches small until your mother is really established. You'll know when it's time to split the mother and start another jar because it will just be too big.


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## Cashn (Oct 10, 2016)

If you can find a large jar with a spigot it makes it really easy to take want you want and just add some more sweet tea to keep it going once you've drained it about half way or so.


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## Aleque (Oct 11, 2016)

Thanks for all the comments. Mucho, thanks for the link to the older thread. I think I'll need to play around with the timing a bit to get the flavor I'm after. 

Currently my SCOBY has been growing for a little over a week now. Its in a 500 mL jar with a wide mouth.

Should I just remove the SCOBY, brew a new batch of sweat tea, let it cool, add the SCOBY, and wait a few days? Or do you think I should grow my SCOBY bigger?


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## JayGee (Oct 11, 2016)

I would taste the batch you've got now - if it tastes right then go again. I think 500ml is a small enough batch that I wouldn't worry about growing the scoby bigger before refreshing the tea - rather I would suggest that you keep a little more of the brewed kombucha in the jar with the new tea (to make it a little more acidic) for your next brew.


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## Aleque (Oct 11, 2016)

JayGee said:


> I would taste the batch you've got now - if it tastes right then go again. I think 500ml is a small enough batch that I wouldn't worry about growing the scoby bigger before refreshing the tea - rather I would suggest that you keep a little more of the brewed kombucha in the jar with the new tea (to make it a little more acidic) for your next brew.



That's the technique that I used to grow the SCOBY. I used sweet tea mix with like .5 cup of premade kombucha and let it sit.

When I get home I think I'll discard 90% of the fermented liquid, add new sweet tea and SCOBY and then wait a few days and try the kombucha at different points. 

When I'm tasting it before the second fermentation, what flavor should I be aiming for? I know the flavor I like based on store bought kombucha, but I'm imagining the taste being different before I bottle it for a few days.


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## copperJon (Oct 11, 2016)

You don't need a full Scoby to start a new batch, just a piece. Cut it in half and start the new batch with that, save the other half, plus fermented liquid in a canning jar sealed with a cloth and rubber band. Store that in a different room from the new batch. That way, if things go south, you have a contingency plan and don't have to start all over from scratch. Mold spores spread through the air and can easily contaminate from jar to jar.

As for secondary, if you like the taste, go to secondary. Keep in mind that the health benefits of booch are in the "vinegar", else you're drinking sweet tea. Balance it out as you see fit.

Also, keep your primary ferment free from additions like ginger and blueberries. Save that for secondary, and try to keep stray tea leaves out of the brew. They can cause the whole thing to go moldy.


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## Mucho Bocho (Oct 11, 2016)

Jon, good info. I'll add...

KOMBUCHA HEALTH BENEFITS
by Kristen Michaelis

Kombucha Health Benefits

Have you heard of Kombucha, the beverage the ancient Chinese called the Immortal Health Elixir? Its been around for more than 2,000 years and has a rich anecdotal history of health benefits like preventing and fighting cancer, arthritis, and other degenerative diseases.

Made from sweetened tea thats been fermented by a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast (a SCOBY, a.k.a. mother because of its ability to reproduce, or mushroom because of its appearance), Kombucha didnt gain prominence in the West until recently.


In the first half of the 20th century, extensive scientific research was done on Kombuchas health benefits in Russia and Germany, mostly because of a push to find a cure for rising cancer rates. Russian scientists discovered that entire regions of their vast country were seemingly immune to cancer and hypothesized that the kombucha, called tea kvass there, was the cause. So, they began a series of experiments which not only verified the hypothesis, but began to pinpoint exactly what it is within kombucha which was so beneficial.

German scientists picked up on this research and continued it in their own direction. Then, with the onset of the Cold War, research and development started being diverted into other fields. It was only in the 1990s, when Kombucha first came to the U.S., that the West has done any studies on the effects of Kombucha, and those are quite few in number. As is typically the case in the U.S., no major medical studies are being done on Kombucha because no one in the drug industry stands to profit from researching a beverage that the average consumer can make for as little as 50 cents a gallon.

Thanks to its rising commercial popularity in the last decade, the older Russian and German research has been made available in English to Westerners, and a few wide-spread anecdotal surveys have been sponsored by Kombucha manufacturers, but thats about it. While there are limited amounts of research done on the beverage, there has been lots of research done on many of the nutrients and acids it contains in large quantities (such as B-vitamins, antioxidants, and glucaric acids).

Regardless of the lack of scientific evidence, the fact remains that this beverage has 2,000 plus years of tradition behind it and an ardent and addicted following.

WHAT ARE THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF KOMBUCHA TEA?


KOMBUCHA HEALTH BENEFIT #1  DETOXIFICATION

Detoxification produces healthy livers and aides cancer prevention. One of kombuchas greatest health benefits is its ability to detox the body. It is rich in many of the enzymes and bacterial acids your body produces and/or uses to detox your system, thus reducing your pancreatic load and easing the burden on your liver. Kombucha is very high in Glucaric acid, and recent studies have shown that glucaric acid helps prevent cancer. I know 2 people in my immediate circle of friends who have had cancer (pancreatic and breast) and fought it into remission without any chemo or radiation therapy. Instead, they warded it off by detoxing their lives (going 100% organic, removing chemical cleaners and agents in their home, changing their diet to be at least 80% raw or fermented, etc.) Central to the detoxification process was drinking Kombucha regularly. Even Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the recently deceased Russian author and nobel-prize winner, in his autobiography, claimed that kombucha tea cured his stomach cancer during his internment in soviet labor camps. (And because of this testimony, President Reagan used Kombucha to halt the spread of his cancer in 1987. Youll note he didnt die until 2004, and that was from old age, NOT cancer.)

KOMBUCHA HEALTH BENEFIT #2  JOINT CARE

Kombucha contains glucosamines, a strong preventive and treatment all forms of arthritis. Glucosamines increase synovial hyaluronic acid production. Hyaluronic acid functions physiologically to aid preservation of cartilage structure and prevent arthritic pain, with relief comparable to NSAIDs and advantage over glucocorticoids. Hyaluronic acid enables connective tissue to bind moisture thousands of times its weight and maintains tissue structure, moisture, lubrication and flexibility and lessens free radical damage, while associated collagen retards and reduces wrinkles.

KOMBUCHA HEALTH BENEFIT #3  AIDS DIGESTION AND GUT HEALTH


Because its naturally fermented with a living colony of bacteria and yeast, Kombucha is a probiotic beverage. This has a myriad of benefits such as improved digestion, fighting candida (harmful yeast) overgrowth, mental clarity, and mood stability. As such, its noted for reducing or eliminating the symptoms of fibromyalgia, depression, anxiety, etc.


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## havox07 (Oct 11, 2016)

I'm pretty sure the exact opposite has been found. They have never found any scientific benefits of Kombucha but people have died from drinking it.


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## copperJon (Oct 11, 2016)

The scientific benefit of probiotics is well known and widely accepted. Links to kombucha death please.


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## copperJon (Oct 11, 2016)

Mucho...inbox! clear it!


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## Aleque (Oct 12, 2016)

copperJon said:


> The scientific benefit of probiotics is well known and widely accepted. Links to kombucha death please.



I have heard of people dying from it as well. I would assume it's some bacteria infection due to a bad SCOBY. 

By then again, there are a lot of people that die from various foods and drink. I have a few cups a week at most and the worst thing to happen to me so far is the urgent need for a bathroom.


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## copperJon (Oct 12, 2016)

Yeah what I can find doesn't say booch is to blame. Any consumable is subject to contamination...just ask Chipotle. I'll still eat there if I'm in a pinch...and I'll still drink my booch.


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