Veganforlife
11-17-2009, 11:24 AM
LOVE this stuff!
Here's How:
1. Wash all utensils with hot sudsy water and rinse well.
2. Boil three quarts of purified water.
3. Add 1 cup Raw sugar to water when a rolling boil is reached. Boil water and sugar for five minutes.
4. Turn off heat and add 4-5 tea bags of black or green tea.
5. Steep 10-15 minutes and remove tea leaves or bags and let tea cool (it doesn't hurt to steep the tea longer).
6. Pour cooled tea into gallon size glass container.
7. Add your Kombucha culture placing it so that the smooth shiny surface lies up. Add 1 cup of fermented Kombucha Tea from a previous batch (or substitute 1/4 c. distilled vinegar).
8. Place cheesecloth over the opening of the jar and secure with a rubber band. This keeps dust, mold, spores and vinegar flies out of the fermenting tea.
9. Allow to sit undisturbed in a well ventilated and darkened place away from direct sunlight (temp. 65-90 degrees F.) for 6 - 15 days.
10. To make sure the tea is ready to harvest, pour off a couple of ounces for a taste test.
11. Taste Test: A taste test on a batch of Kombucha Tea may taste like this: 4-6 Days - Too sweet, not all sugar converted. 7-9 Days - Tastes like sparkling apple cider. 10+ Days - Vinegar taste becoming prominent.
12. When the tea is brewed to your taste, remove the two cultures.
13. Gently separate and place the cultures in a glass bowl covered with plastic wrap or a plastic container and refrigerate. They will keep refrigerated for approximately six months, possibly longer.
14. Pour the fermented tea through a coffee filter and bottle it into glass or food-grade plastic quart bottles.
15. Date and label the bottled tea and put it in the refrigerator.
Tips:
1. 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar can be substituted for the fermented tea starter.
2. One of the four tea bags can be substituted with an herbal blend for variety.
3. Sometimes the culture floats on the surface, sometimes it sinks to the bottom of the liquid. Either way is okay. When the culture sinks to the bottom a new culture (baby) will begin to grow on the surface of the tea.
_________________________________________________
Ingredients and supplies:
Brewing container, about 1 gallon
Kitchen towel or other clean material to cover the top of the brewing container (I use coffee filters)
Large elastic band
Thermometer
Approx. 1 gallon filtered or boiled water
Kombucha tea (6 teaspoons loose, or 6 tea bags)
Kombucha culture
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons distilled vinegar (white, cider, white wine, or apple vinegar)
Bottles to store finished Kombucha (about 1 gallon worth)
Measuring cup
Large pot
Tea strainer (if using loose tea)
1. Clean everything. Starting with clean equipment is very important for this recipe.
2. Combine the water, sugar, and tea. Boil three quarts of water in a large pot. Once it is boiling, stir in the sugar and the tea, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Once the sugar has dissolved, remove the pot from the heat, and let the mixture sit for about 15 minutes. Then, strain out the loose tea or remove the teabags.
3. Fill the brewing container. Pour the sweet tea mixture into your brewing container. Check that the temperature is between 68 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit, or about room temperature, or you will kill the Kombucha culture. Check the temperature before proceeding, and add a little more hot water or let the mixture cool if you need to adjust the temperature.
4. Add the culture to the brewing container. Kombucha culture is a necessary ingredient to make this tea. Add the culture to the liquid in the brewing container, and then pour in 4 tablespoons of vinegar.
5. Let it brew. Cover the top of the container tightly with a kitchen towel or other piece of clean cloth to keep out insects and mold spores but allow the tea to breathe. Leave the container in a place that won't be disturbed for about a week. It should be kept away from strong smells, and remain at a fairly constant room temperature.
6. Taste the brew. After five days, you should notice a new culture forming on the top of the brew, and the tea should nearly be ready. The brew will smell like pure vinegar. Slide a straw carefully down the side of the new culture, and taste a little. It should have a slightly acidic, not sweet taste. If it's not quite done, cover it and leave it for another day, and then taste again. The length of brewing time varies between 5 days and 2 weeks.
7. Bottle the tea. Once it is done, pour the Kombucha tea into clean bottles. Do not include the Kombucha culture in the tea. Leave at room temperature for 5 days, and then move them to a cold location or your refrigerator.
8. Store the culture. If you plan to make Kombucha tea again, place the culture in a covered glass bowl or a plastic container, and refrigerate it. It will keep for about six months.
This looks interesting: http://www.getkombucha.com/
Here's How:
1. Wash all utensils with hot sudsy water and rinse well.
2. Boil three quarts of purified water.
3. Add 1 cup Raw sugar to water when a rolling boil is reached. Boil water and sugar for five minutes.
4. Turn off heat and add 4-5 tea bags of black or green tea.
5. Steep 10-15 minutes and remove tea leaves or bags and let tea cool (it doesn't hurt to steep the tea longer).
6. Pour cooled tea into gallon size glass container.
7. Add your Kombucha culture placing it so that the smooth shiny surface lies up. Add 1 cup of fermented Kombucha Tea from a previous batch (or substitute 1/4 c. distilled vinegar).
8. Place cheesecloth over the opening of the jar and secure with a rubber band. This keeps dust, mold, spores and vinegar flies out of the fermenting tea.
9. Allow to sit undisturbed in a well ventilated and darkened place away from direct sunlight (temp. 65-90 degrees F.) for 6 - 15 days.
10. To make sure the tea is ready to harvest, pour off a couple of ounces for a taste test.
11. Taste Test: A taste test on a batch of Kombucha Tea may taste like this: 4-6 Days - Too sweet, not all sugar converted. 7-9 Days - Tastes like sparkling apple cider. 10+ Days - Vinegar taste becoming prominent.
12. When the tea is brewed to your taste, remove the two cultures.
13. Gently separate and place the cultures in a glass bowl covered with plastic wrap or a plastic container and refrigerate. They will keep refrigerated for approximately six months, possibly longer.
14. Pour the fermented tea through a coffee filter and bottle it into glass or food-grade plastic quart bottles.
15. Date and label the bottled tea and put it in the refrigerator.
Tips:
1. 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar can be substituted for the fermented tea starter.
2. One of the four tea bags can be substituted with an herbal blend for variety.
3. Sometimes the culture floats on the surface, sometimes it sinks to the bottom of the liquid. Either way is okay. When the culture sinks to the bottom a new culture (baby) will begin to grow on the surface of the tea.
_________________________________________________
Ingredients and supplies:
Brewing container, about 1 gallon
Kitchen towel or other clean material to cover the top of the brewing container (I use coffee filters)
Large elastic band
Thermometer
Approx. 1 gallon filtered or boiled water
Kombucha tea (6 teaspoons loose, or 6 tea bags)
Kombucha culture
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons distilled vinegar (white, cider, white wine, or apple vinegar)
Bottles to store finished Kombucha (about 1 gallon worth)
Measuring cup
Large pot
Tea strainer (if using loose tea)
1. Clean everything. Starting with clean equipment is very important for this recipe.
2. Combine the water, sugar, and tea. Boil three quarts of water in a large pot. Once it is boiling, stir in the sugar and the tea, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Once the sugar has dissolved, remove the pot from the heat, and let the mixture sit for about 15 minutes. Then, strain out the loose tea or remove the teabags.
3. Fill the brewing container. Pour the sweet tea mixture into your brewing container. Check that the temperature is between 68 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit, or about room temperature, or you will kill the Kombucha culture. Check the temperature before proceeding, and add a little more hot water or let the mixture cool if you need to adjust the temperature.
4. Add the culture to the brewing container. Kombucha culture is a necessary ingredient to make this tea. Add the culture to the liquid in the brewing container, and then pour in 4 tablespoons of vinegar.
5. Let it brew. Cover the top of the container tightly with a kitchen towel or other piece of clean cloth to keep out insects and mold spores but allow the tea to breathe. Leave the container in a place that won't be disturbed for about a week. It should be kept away from strong smells, and remain at a fairly constant room temperature.
6. Taste the brew. After five days, you should notice a new culture forming on the top of the brew, and the tea should nearly be ready. The brew will smell like pure vinegar. Slide a straw carefully down the side of the new culture, and taste a little. It should have a slightly acidic, not sweet taste. If it's not quite done, cover it and leave it for another day, and then taste again. The length of brewing time varies between 5 days and 2 weeks.
7. Bottle the tea. Once it is done, pour the Kombucha tea into clean bottles. Do not include the Kombucha culture in the tea. Leave at room temperature for 5 days, and then move them to a cold location or your refrigerator.
8. Store the culture. If you plan to make Kombucha tea again, place the culture in a covered glass bowl or a plastic container, and refrigerate it. It will keep for about six months.
This looks interesting: http://www.getkombucha.com/