Kombucha SCOBY – tested and guaranteed safe

Description

What is Kombucha?

Kombucha is a soft drink based on sweet tea fermented by lactic acid – and acetic acid bacteria and yeasts. The drink gets its wonderfully fresh taste and light fizz through a symbiotic collaboration of various micro-organisms. Kombucha is tasty, hip, and – possibly – healthy. You can vary endlessly and create your own flavors. With our organic,  tested and guaranteed safe Kombucha SCOBY you are ready to brew your own Kombucha for the rest of your life!

Where does Kombucha originate from?

Kombucha is a fermented live-cultured drink. The exact origins of the ancient drink have been lost over time, but are believed to have originated in the Far East. The first recorded use of kombucha comes from China in 221 BC during the Tsin Dynasty. Kombucha has also been used for centuries in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Japan. It is believed that the name kombucha came from Japan in 415 AD, where a Korean physician “kombu” treated the Japanese emperor Inyko with the fermented tea and from then on took his name “kombu” and “cha”, which means tea.

How does kombucha taste?

The aroma of kombucha is slightly yeasty and the taste is fresh and mildly acidic and tart and becomes sharper with a longer fermentation time. Depending on the preparation method, there is also a pleasant fizz and in the distance, you often taste some leftover sweetness and some of the tartness of tea. The longer you let kombucha ferment, the more sugars are converted and the more acidic the result.

Kombucha has become one of our favorite fermented drinks, although we have had to get used to it. The variations are truly endless, both as a soft drink and as an ingredient in innovative culinary preparations. Below is the basic recipe, but please also read the tips and variations.

Buy a safe SCOBY

Kombucha is very tasty and fun to make, but not completely free of risk. In the 1990s, there were some cases of acute poisoning from drinking kombucha, and the presence of toxic bacteria such as Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) have also been reported. Therefore, you may prefer not to buy a SCOBY anywhere but from a reliable source. Our SCOBYs are organic,  tested and guaranteed pathogen-free!

Micro organisms

No two kombucha SCOBYs are alike, but the following microbes are commonly found. Yeasts: Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Torulaspora delbrueckii and Zygosaccharomyces bailii. You will also find various candida and aspergillus yeasts. Bacteria commonly found in kombucha are Bacterium xylinum, Bacterium gluconium and Acetobacter hetogenum.

What’s in the bag

• an tested SCOBY kombucha
• 100 ml kombucha starter liquid

How do you make your own kombucha

Ingredients

• Kombucha SCOBY with the liquid
• 1 l of water
• 5-7 g of tea (black, green or a mix)
• 50-100 grams of sugar. Cane sugar works better than refined sugar.

Preparation

1. Sterilize your jar with hot water.
2. Boil the water, dissolve the sugar in it and let the tea steep.
3. Let cool to room temperature.
4. Add the SCOBY and the liquid to the tea.
5. Put the kombucha in the jar.
6. Close with a cheesecloth and a rubber band.
7. Leave to ferment out of direct sunlight for at least a week at 25-30 ° C.
8. Taste every day with a clean spoon to determine if you like it.
9. Optional: test the pH. It should not be higher than 4.6, but a pH of 2.5 – 3.5 is ideal for kombucha.
10. Save SCOBY together with at least 100 ml of kombucha for the next batch.
11. Strain the kombucha.
12. Pour the kombucha into a pressure-resistant bottle, add 1-2 teaspoons of sugar and cap.
13. Ferment an additional 2-3 in a sealed bottle.
14. Cool back.
15. Enjoy!

Online Kombucha making course

In 29 bite sized English spoken video lessons you will learn all about making kombucha at home, without the need for special tools, in this online course by the founder of startercultures.eu. You will learn to ferment Kombucha, promote your probiotics and save money, by never having to buy Kombucha again!