Brewing Kombucha Update

So finally I gathered some time to start me some Kombucha.  Ok, first things needed is a good sterilization medium; I use straight A.  Straight A can be purchased from any brewing shop, so be sure to check your local brewing stores.  Straight A uses sodium bicarbonate and oxygen to clean.  Make sure to have clean hands and a clean surface to place your sterilized jar etc.

Next step is to start brewing / steeping our tea.  Also making sure our stock pot is sterilized as well.  So we want to bring 1/4 gallon to a boil. Here I have a blend of organic teas: white, black and green.  In some of the reading I have done, I have been told to not use any teas with any oils or flavorings -- obviously I am following a kit but for next time I will use standard black/green tea - non organic probably.  Basically some flavors kill the good bacteria in the brew and we don't want that.  Its not necessary to deviate since we will be flavoring our brew into different flavors of Kombucha much later!  So after our water as come to a boil, we want to kill the boil and drop in our tea bags.  Let them sit for about 20min.  add 1/2 gallon of cold water to the now done tea.  Now we will dump our cold tea into the gallon jar with our SCOBY.

 So, you are wondering as was I.  What in the world is a "SCOBY"?  A SCOBY stands for: symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast.  Just think of it as a big giant yeast patty, well maybe not.  Think of it as a necessary part of our Kombucha making experience.  Besides we are talking good bacteria here.  Many don't understand that the intestines need good bacteria to digest properly.  Also when we do take antibiotics for illnesses not only does that kill the bad bacteria but it kills the good also.  This is why I like the natural way, let your body fight the bad bacteria and give your body the good :).  So how does one find a "SCOBY" you might be asking yourself?  Well, if you have a kit it may come with a SCOBY that will ship to you.  However, if you don't have a kit you will have to go searching your health store around town - and asking around.  You can also make your own with an original bottle of G.T's Kombucha (Thanks for sharing that again Lissa).  The good thing is, once you have a SCOBY you will have one for life.  The mother SCOBY keeps on giving you baby SCOBIES I have read. 

So here we got our wonderful Kombucha percolating.  The brew has started, the sugar has been added and now the fermentation can take place.  Our SCOBY will be giving us the wonderful benefits.  This unit came with a temperature strip.  You want the brew to sit in a dark place at around 70 degrees.  Nothing above 90 degrees please.  Also please be sure to cover your brew with a breathable cloth. 14-21 days its should be finished.  

 You can tell how the SCOBY has started to form a daughter SCOBY below.  Another update coming your way in about a week and a half.