Kombucha is a living culture and will last you a lifetime. If you feed it regularly and take care of your culture which is easy and does not take up your time at all. All cultures come with recipe and instructions it also have a full free Pdf. Book on the website that you may download at any time. The full book has amazing recipes to make the most amazing drinks and baking and to never have a dull moment with your new kefir family member in the house. Enjoy the natural strongest probiotic on the planet.
What do your recipe when buying a culture?
One other awesome thing: We have Full recipe books on the website on the Download Page
FREE to download as many times as you like – JUST Click on Download Page on the Website and look for your Culture Book:
We have Books on Water Kefir – Milk Kefir – Yogurt - Kombucha
What is Kombucha?
Kombucha has been consumed for thousands of years and is a Fermented probiotic drink that originated from China but oftentimes is credited to be originated from Russia.
It is made from tea, sugar, a scoby and a starter from a previous batch (you will need a starter kit " Scoby or Mushroom + Starter Tea" to start brewing kombucha).
The sugar and caffeine is used all up in the fermentation process so don’t worry, it has very little (if any) caffeine or sugar in the final product.
A SCOBY is an acronym for symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. In short, it’s beneficial bacteria and yeasts that work synergistically together to produce a certain type of ferment.
Kombucha is brewed (or fermented) over a course of 7-31 days. The final product is naturally carbonated making this a fizzy and tasty drink.
Kombucha has been known to have some amazing health benefits, let’s dive into this topic!
Health Benefits of Kombucha & Why is Kombucha so Good for You?
Kombucha around the world is considered a healing drink and it has some amazing health benefits.
It should be noted the kombucha can not heal, it just brings your body into balance to allow your body to heal naturally!
Here is a list of healing properties from drinking kombucha.
Making kombucha tea at home is easy, and it only requires a few pieces of equipment to get started. You can also learn more about choosing the best equipment for making kombucha in this article, but in short you will need:
Below is a list of ingredients needed for making a kombucha. To explore more options for each, check out our tutorial: Choosing Ingredients for Making Kombucha.
Okay now that we have all the basics covered let’s move on and learn how to brew kombucha in this easy step by step tutorial!
Place Pot on the Stove, and bring 3L to 5L of water to a boil.
Stir in 1 cup of white sugar and stir with a wooden spoon until well dissolved.
Pull off burner and add 4 tea bags of organic black tea. You need to use black teabecause the tannins help with the fermentation. You can also add 2 bags of green tea or flavored green tea to your tea. I added in addition to the 5 tea bags two bags of black cherry green tea.
Feel free to experiment with different teas to find a blend that you like. I have also seen many use 2 tea bags of black tea and 3 tea bags of green tea of choice.
***NOTE ~ if you are worried about the sugar and caffeine, don’t. Both of these will be used up in the fermentation process leaving you with very little (if any) caffeine or sugar in your final product.
Once you add your tea to the sugar water, allow your tea to steep until the water completely cools. I allowed mine to steep for a little over two hours. Remove tea bags when tea has cooled.
Do NOT leave overnight. This can cause the scoby to become moldy in the fermentation process, so it is best to cool to room temperature for 2-3 hours. Just be sure that the tea is completely cool or at the very least at body temperature
Add your tea to your glass mason jar or glass bowl. I used a funnel for mine and it worked out great! Just make sure that your bowl or jar is completely clean.
Note: Do not use soap! The soaps can kill your bacteria in your kombucha culture. Sterilize with hot water and/or white vinegar.
If you purchased a starter kit, your starter will look something like this. Note that there is a scoby and 1 cup starter liquid (which is 1 cup of the last full brew).
It is best to store all your future scobies in glass jars or bowls with starter liquid in them. Avoid using plastic. The scoby above was just shipped to me, and this was just fine for shipping.
You will store future scobies at room temperature covered with a coffee filter or towel.
Here is what a scoby looks like. It kind of reminds me of a jellyfish.
It is very important that your hands are clean when handling the scoby!
Again, do NOT use soap to wash your hands! You can use hot water and white vinegar to clean your hands. This is a living item and it needs to be handled with care!
Now add your scoby and starter to the tea and stir with a wooden spoon. The scoby might sink or float, either way it is fine…it is completely normal.
After you add the starter and the scoby to the tea, you need to cover it with a 100% cotton white towel or with a brown coffee filter.
I used a brown coffee filter as shown below.
Take a rubber band and place it around the circumference of the jar to hold the filter in place.
Leave your kombucha in a warm dry place that is out of direct sunlight. You do not want it in a closet. Remember, it is a living thing and needs air and beneficial bacteria to ferment properly.
Do not leave it in your kitchen! There are a lot of food particles, fruit flies (if you have a bowl of fruit on the counter like I always do) and a lot of other particles flying in the air.
I put mine in the formal dining room which is perfect because it is a room we do not use often.
Allow to sit for 7-31 days. I would check it after 10 days to see if it is to your liking. The longer the brew the less sugar that will be left however keep in mind that the longer the brew, the more it will resemble a vinegar taste.
Also, keep in mind that the warmer the climate the faster the brew and the cooler the climate the slower the brew! You need an area that is at least 21.C
Taste your brew after 7-10 days to see if it is to your liking.
Do not place your straw in the kombucha and drink right from container, you will contaminate your culture.
If your kombucha is too sweet, allow it to brew another day or two. If it tastes like vinegar, you might need to brew it less the next time.
Stay tuned for the next installment of my kombucha series. Here I will show you what your kombucha will look like after the brew and what steps to take to continue brewing.
Fantastic Kombucha Recipe Book ~ FREE Download
What can Probiotic Yummy's can i Make with Kombucha ?
Kombucha Sorbet
Kombucha ICE Cream
Kombucha Smoothies
Kombucha cake
Kombucha soap
kombucha shampoo
ProBiotic - Information on the STRAINS in Kombucha
Wiki Links : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kefir
Our Other ProBiotic Products
* Kombucha Scoby ~ Fermented Tea ( so delicious )
* JUN Scoby ~ Fermented Honey & Green Tea ( so delicious )
* Milk Kefir Grains ~ Fermented Yoghurt
* Water Kefir Grains ~ Fermented Drink
Products Availible in South-Africa & International
Wheat Grass, Pretoria,Kaapstad, Bloemfontein, Johannesburg
Water Kefir, Pretoria, Kaapstad, Bloemfontein, Johannesburg
Milk Kefir, Pretoria, Kaapstad, Bloemfontein, Johannesburg
Lotus seed, Pretoria Kaapstad Bloemfontein, Johannesburg
Kombucha, Mushroom Pretoria, Kaapstad, Bloemfontein, Johannesburg
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ragon Fruit South-Africa affiliated with The ProHealth Shop. One of the Best Natural and Organic Health Stores in SA. The ProHealth Shop. www.theprohealthshop.com Milk Kefir Water Kefir Kombucha Muchroom Wheatgrass Seed Kefir Yoghurt Yoghurt Culture Starter Culture http://dragonfruitsa.webs.com/