Delicious Ginger Kombucha
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Ingredients
- Scoby with 200ml of starter tea
- 6 bags organic black tea or 3 organic black and 3 organic green tea bags
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1.8 L filtered water
- fresh ginger
Instructions
Plain Kombucha
- Gather your supplies which include tea bags, sugar, pan to heat water, large glass jar, coffee filter, and cheesecloth.
- Wash your glass jar and cure with white vinegar (rinse). Rinse hands with vinegar as well as the Scoby must be handled with clean hands.
- You will need to boil 1.8 litres of water in a kettle or on the stove. Once boiled, place this water into heatproof jar.
- Place 6 tea bags in the hot water and allow to steep for about 15 minutes.
- Remove the tea bags and add the sugar. Stir, with a wooden spoon, to dissolve the sugar in the tea. Allow tea to cool to room temperature before going onto the next step.
- Pour tea into your kombucha jar. Place scoby, scoby starter tea, into jar as well. Cover jar with cone shaped coffee filter and wrap in cheesecloth. Wrap a large rubber band around filter if desired.
- Place bottle in a dark, still place where the temperature stays around 70-75˚F or 21-24˚C. Start tasting the tea on day 6 to decide if the kombucha is tangy enough. It should be mildly sweet and slightly vinegary. Remember, don't use a metal spoon, use a plastic or wood spoon to sample.
- When the kombucha is to your desired taste, prep your bottles for the 2nd fermentation by rinsing each 16 oz bottle with white vinegar. You could also stop here, bottle the kombucha and drink it plain.
Ginger Flavouring
- Peel and chop ginger. Divide ginger among the bottles you have prepared for the 2nd fermentation.
- Remove the scoby with clean, vinegar rinsed hands and place in a bowl with 200 ml of kombucha tea. This scoby and reserved tea can be used to start your next batch of kombucha.
- Pour kombucha tea into each jar using a plastic funnel. Do not fill over. During the 2nd ferment, you'll burp the bottles daily. Slowly uncap and allow air to escape the bottles. Place bottles in the refridgerator after 3-5 days.
- A small scoby may develop in each bottle and this is completely normal. If desired, strain kombucha into a glass before drinking. Use a plastic strainer.
- Enjoy!
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Notes
Notes:
- If you live in a cooler climate, you can stick a thermometer strip to the jar. During cold weather months, wrap heat mat around jar - 80˚F or 27˚C. If it gets too warm, loosen the mat.
- The warmer the air temperature, the faster the kombucha will ferment. The longer the tea ferments, the more sugar molecules will be eaten up, the less sweet it will be.
- Scoby will grow with each fermentation process and can be divided to share or ferment more at a time.
- No metal should come in contact with Kombucha or scoby. Use a plastic or wood spoon to sample.
- Use glass and plastic jars, measuring cups, and utensils. Wooden spoons are ok.
- Kombucha needs 10-16 days for first ferment depending on weather/temperature. A dark area is perfect for kombucha brewing and should have an outlet nearby for the heat mat (if needed). Kombucha will change from a sweet odour and taste to a more vinegar/tangy based as it ferments.
- The second ferment is where the flavours are added and individual bottles are filled. These will sit on the counter for 3-5 days before putting in the refrigerator.
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided as a courtesy. The values may vary according to the ingredients and tools that are used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed information.