How to brew your own Kombucha v1.6 Kombucha tea is sparkling, slightly sour and refreshing. It’s used by traditional cultures to improve digestion, boost immunity, eliminate kidney stones, reduce high blood pressure & sustain energetic life! Congratulations, the living culture you hold in your hand has travelled to every great Australian festival (FRL, SLF, FestLaFrog, Confest, Rainbow Serpent, Eclipse, WideOpenSpaces...) and thrives in this love to produce the best tasting Kombucha ever! Materials & Equipment Kombucha culture (bought from www.goodbrew.com.au) 1 litre Water, boiled (you can brew heaps more on your second run) (#1) 5 grams (2 tsp) Green or Oolong tea (we have always given our SCOBY green tea. You can transition to black tea after a few brews if you want) (#2) 50 grams (1/2 cup) Raw sugar per litre of water Pot or saucepan (1+L capacity) Sieve/fine strainer Glass or porcelain jar (1+L capacity) & rubber band that fit its neck (#3) Breathable (linen / cotton / gauze) fabric Bottles & caps (we sell 24 bottles w. caps for $5 online) (pickup preferred) #1 From THIS starter culture the first brew must be no more than one litre. When the Kombucha culture has grown, larger quantities can be produced. #2 The Good Brew Company recommends using green tea for Kombucha. Experimenting with other herbal teas is also an option. Avoid teas with large amounts of natural oils like eucalyptus. Tea bags may be used. #3 Glass is ideal for brewing Kombucha. Porcelain, china, stainless steel or glazed earthenware containers may also be used. The acids formed in the brewing process can react with metal containers which make them unsuitable for brewing Kombucha. You could also use a high-grade synthetic material of the polylefine group, eg. polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene. (Carboys for home brewing for example) Wine or cider is also kept in containers made of this food-grade material. Avoid containers made of polyvinylchloride (PVC) or polystyrene. Preparation 1. Boil water. 2. Infuse tea for 15 minutes. 3. Strain the tea leaves or remove the tea bags. 4. Add sugar to hot tea and stir to dissolve. 5. Cool tea to lukewarm (no higher than 35°C) 6. Test the tea. Your culture will die if the tea is too hot. 7. Open the Kombucha vacuum pack and add its contents to the fermentation jar. 8. Pour COOL tea into the fermentation jar. 9. Cover the jar with a fermentation cloth and the rubber band. Keep out fruit flies, dust, plant spores and other pollutants. The cloth must be porous enough for air to circulate. Fermentation The Kombucha culture needs a warm and quiet place to ferment, do not agitate it once it's been fed... The ideal temperature for the tea is between 23-29°C and should not fall below 15°C. The culture may be damaged by exposure to bright sunlight. Half shade is ideal. Fermentation should proceed for 8 - 12 days, depending on the ambient temperature. Higher temperatures equal faster fermentation. Always reserve enough Kombucha liquid to use as a ‘10%+ starter liquid’ for your new batch. This means, if you keep brewing, you can keep an infinite supply of Kombucha. The yeast breaks down the sugar and converts into carbon dioxide (CO2), various organic acids and other compounds during fermentation. The combination of these processes gives the Kombucha its characteristic flavour. The infusion is sweet at first. This sweetness disappears as the sugar breaks down. An acid flavour develops as a result of the activities of the bacterium, so there’s a transition from sweetness to sourness. Stop the fermentation process early for a sweeter Kombucha. Continue longer for a dry or slightly acid flavour. 10. When the tea has attained the right acidity to taste (pH 2.7 – 3.2), carefully decant the liquid into bottles. Fill to the brim and stopper securely. 11. Prepare a new batch of tea (Steps 1-4). 12. Every few batches remove the culture from the jar with clean hands and rinse under cool or lukewarm running water. The baby scoby will always form on the top. To keep the process 'young & powerful' compost the parents (big, bottom scoby) and keep use the child. :) 13. Add the culture and the fresh tea. Remember to maintain the cool temperature of the tea. 14. Ideally, the drink should be allowed to mature for at least 5 days, after bottling. Kombucha Tea Sediment is normal. It’s created by the growth of the yeasts that produce the gas. It has some desirable positive effects when ingested. Bottling excludes the air and the activity of the bacterium is stopped. The yeast continues to work and an effervescent drink is produced. Kombucha tea will keep in bottles for months when stored in a cool dark place. Enjoy! Have fun with this... if you’ve got any questions, need bottles for storage or some great teas to feed your ‘booch’ please contact the team. Big love. Good Brew Crew t. 0406 154 886 e. [email protected] f. facebook.com/goodbrewco t. twitter.com/goodbrew .