Tea is a herbal drink made from different kinds of leaves and herbs. It originated in China, which was widely spread around the globe because of its health benefits. Formerly teas were made from boiling fresh leaves. However, the taste of boiled leaves is intolerable. That is why some people made some innovations in making the tea in a delightful taste.
What is Kombucha Tea?
Kombucha tea is one of the altered teas for taste. Kombucha tea is a cold flavored tea made from tea herbs, sugar, bacteria, and even yeast. It may sound odd to include bacteria and yeast in its ingredients, but believe me or not, this Kombucha tea is very nutritious and delicious.
It has a lot of good bacteria that can help regulate normal bowel movement. It prevents stomach discomforts related to bloating and diarrhea. Kombucha tea is a rising star for countries in the United States. They commonly used it for weight loss and to prevent obesity. And the good thing to celebrate is we can make easily Kombucha tea at our home’s convenience.
1. The first thing to consider is the ingredients. Most of our plain Kombucha were made from sugar, tea, herbs, and yeast. But did you know that there are at least 19 flavors of Kombucha to choose from? Some of these liked flavors are cinnamon, pumpkin, apple, lemon-lime, strawberry, blueberry, peach, and turmeric.
In choosing the flavor for our Kombucha, we should first check the availability of the ingredients. The only difference between flavored Kombucha teas is their added ingredients.
To make a simple Kombucha tea, we need:
– 7 cups of water or 1.6L
– ½ cup of sugar, preferably white
– 4 bags of black tea or one tablespoon of loose tea
– 1 cup of store-bought Kombucha
We also need to prepare ingredients for our first and second fermentation processes. As you know, Kombucha tea is a product of the fermentation process that may take days before its end product is available.
For the first fermentation, what we need are:
– 14 cups of water or 3.3L
– 1 cup of sugar, white
– 8 bags of black tea or two tablespoons of loose tea
– 2 cups of unflavored Kombucha
– 1 or 2 SCOBYs
For our second fermentation process:
– Homemade Kombucha, which is the product of first fermentation and,
– Sweetener
2. After knowing the ingredients for each process, let us make a SCOBY.
What is a SCOBY?
SCOBY stands for the acronym “symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast.” It may appear in a mushroom outlook. However, it still offers great taste. The SCOBY is made from yeast, so the fermentation process is done.
To make a SCOBY, we need to
(a) make tea from boiling water in a clean container. When boiling the water, dissolve the sugar with it. Add the tea bag and let it cool a room temperature. Never put the mixture in the fridge to make it cold.
(b) Next is adding the sweetened tea to a jar. Sweeteners can be honey, fruit, or just a lump of simple sugar. Together, put the unflavored Kombucha where we bought from a store.
3. The third step is to let the first fermentation happen. Tightly secure the jar. Jars should be airtight to prevent carbonation. Keep it in a dry and dark place with a temperature that ranges from 70 to 75 degrees. We should keep it for about 6-10 days without opening the jar. You may try to taste the SCOBY on its 6th day, but it is better to wait for the 10th day. Take in mind that patience is always a virtue, and the fruit is sweetest when hard-earned.
4. You may repeat the cycle or process if you want an additional SCOBY. We can use the additional SCOBY for our second fermentation process.
5. The second fermentation process is flavoring on the 10th day of the fermentation process. You may try to open the jar gently. You may choose your added flavoring according to your ingredients. You may try to select your Kombucha taste from the flavors mentioned above.
6. And lastly is to serve the Kombucha tea. If possible, refrigerate the Kombucha tea before serving. The cold temperature in the fridge allows a slow carbonation process.
Now that we know how to make Kombucha tea in our home, we should always be careful with some precautions:
- There should be no decaf ingredients. The SCOBY does not like Decaf tea. All yeasts dislike Decaf ingredients. Decaf prevents them from growing.
- Black tea is the choice. Not only decaf ingredients are not recommended for SCOBY but also green and fruity teas. So, when buying unflavored tea bags, always choose black tea.
- Honey is also forbidden. Honey contains botulism bacteria that do not coordinate with yeast during fermentation.
- Keep the proportion. You may make more SCOBY from the listed ingredients, but always be careful with proportions.
- Lastly, with your excess Kombucha homemade tea, could you give it to your acquaintances? Indeed, they will enjoy your Kombucha tea and may even allow for new ventures of business.
Exemptions to the rules:
Though there are some forbidden ingredients in making Kombucha tea, the Jun Kombucha defies all precautions. Jun Kombucha is a product of green tea. Another rebel part in the process of fermentation is it uses honey ingredient instead of black tea. Jun Kombucha defies forbidden elements, but it needs experts’ hands to attain such a product. It uses green tea and honey that is why you should prepare it properly.
