KOMBUCHA

Kombucha is a great way to brew your own probiotics, all it costs is the price of the brewing kit and a scoby which can easily be bought off places like Trade Me. Once you have this kit you can brew your own probiotics for cents, much cheaper than buying the expensive products in health shops. It is really easy to do and takes relatively little time. At the end of the brew you will end up with a second scoby which you can then pass onto a friend or sell. Research also shows that many homebrews if done correctly can have a wider and higher amount of beneficial bacteria such as probiotics. You can also lean to make wide a varied flavour. Make it part of your daily life.

Ingredients:
• 1 kombucha culture – scoby (Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast)
• 4 litres of water (boiled and cooled or filtered)
• 6 teaspoons of tea of 6 teabags (black, green or white)
• 320g of sugar (use honey with limitation as it can kill of the probiotics with long term use being a natural antibiotic)
• 400ml of brewed kombucha tea or 60ml distilled vinegar (plain clear white – must be distilled not fermented)

Equipment:
• Brewing container (non metallic) approximately 5 litres
• Muslin / cheese cloth
• Large elastic band
• Glass bottles
• Measuring jug
• Sieve

It is important that everything is clean to enable to kombucha the best potential. Please ensure there is no soap reside on hands or equipment.

1. Boil 1 litre of water in a stainless steel or heat resistant glass pot. Add the tea and sugar to it, mixing in to ensure it dissolves. Leave to infuse for a least 15minutes. It is this sweet solution that will feed the culture.
2. Add the other 3 litres to the brewing container. Once the other mixture is infused it can be added too, first straining the solution to remove the tea.
3. Once the solution has cooled to room temperature the culture can be added, a thermometer may be helpful here. The temperature needs to be between 20-28oC. If it is too warm the culture may die.
4. Add the finished kombucha tea or the distilled vinegar.
5. Cover the top of the brewing container with material, securing in place with an elastic band. The brew needs air, it also needs to be free of mould and insects. Ideally it needs to be kept at 20-30oC away from tobacco smoke, direct sunlight, strong smells and greasy foods. A pantry or airing cupboard can be suitable.
6. Temperature has a big impact on how long it takes to brew, being quicker in summer than winter. It can take between 1 and 2 weeks. When it has brewed sufficiently there will be an additional daughter culture growing on top of the tea.
7. Check the taste by pressing on the top of the culture to obtain the tea. It should have a slightly sharp taste and not too sweet, if too sweet leave for another day. It’s taste can be like a sparkling apple cider and champagne.
8. When ready remove the cultures with clean hands, place them on a plate or into a storage jar and cover with approximately 400ml of kombucha tea.
9. Collect the remaining tea, sieve if so desired. Fill the bottles to near the top, with little to no air gap. Leave the bottles for at least 5 days to build up CO2 and mellow in flavour. Store them in the fridge or another cool location.
10. The best way to look after the culture is make a new batch. If this is not possible, store in a glass jar with the kombucha tea and some sugar within the fridge.

Actions:
The kombucha culture produces a range of acids as it digests the sugar (acetic, butyric, glucaric, gluconic, lactic, malic and usnic), it also produces, amino acids, enzymes, vitamin B complex and vitamin C complex and probiotics. Please note that kombucha is slightly alcoholic approximately 0.5%, however this can be significantly higher, dependent on the brewing time.

Kombucha is also known as the tea of immortality. It has been shown to contain antibiotic, anti fungal and antiviral properties. It also improves liver functioning. The acids produced help the liver in its natural detoxification process, assisting in the elimination of wastes. It is particularly helpful in supporting toxins caused by herbicides, industry products, pesticides, petroleum, plastics, pollution and resins. It has been shown to support health issues including allergies, arthritis, cancer, candidiasis, chronic fatigue, digestive disorders, fatigue, HIV, hypertension and metabolic disorders.

Excellent resource with loads of information and video clips showing the process.
Kombucha tutorial