Looking for a healthy alternative to lemonade and other soft drinks? Then you should try this fermented tea drink. This is how you can make kombucha and that's why it's so healthy.
Time for a delicious refreshing drink! I show you how to make kombucha, even if you have no experience with fermenting, it succeeds with this tutorial.
So you can soon look forward to a healthy alternative to conventional drinks.
By the way, your digestion also benefits from it, because kombucha has a very positive influence on the intestinal flora.
Are you ready? Now comes concentrated knowledge that I have tested myself.
Table of contents
What is Kombucha anyway?
Kombucha is also called "tea fungus". However, when you get right down to it, it is not a fungus but a forked, light-colored and elastic disc made of cellulose. It is formed by a community of different yeast cultures and lactic and acetic acid bacteria. They supply each other with nutrients and bring the tea to fermentation.
The tea fungus is the basis of any kombucha drink. You put it in tea and feed it with sugar. Now the fermentation begins. Within 10 to 15 days, the conventional tea turns into a tangy, fresh and sweet drink packed with microorganisms.
During fermentation, the bacteria and yeasts produce lactic acid, glucoranic acid, acetic acid and B vitamins. Especially vitamin B12 is in the drink, which makes it very exciting for vegans and vegetarians.
By the way, this also applies to water kefir, which is also made with the help of a fungus. You can read about how this works in a separate article.
This is how healthy water kefir is and how you make it!
Why you should make a kombucha drink yourself
When you make fermented drinks like kombucha yourself, you decide what goes in. You control the quality and the taste. Just like with everything you make yourself.
But making kombucha has even more advantages. Did you know that only very fresh kombucha contains biologically active microorganisms? If you buy a bottle in the supermarket, it tastes delicious, but there are not many microorganisms in it.
There is a good reason for this: in order to be able to bottle the drink, the fermentation process must be stopped. It would otherwise turn into vinegar and the bottle would explode during the fermentation process.
If you like the pre-packaged kombucha from the supermarket, you'll love homemade kombucha. It tastes much more intense.
What you need to know if you want to make kombucha
So the fermented drink needs about two weeks until it is ready to drink. Depending on how intense you like the fermentation, drink it earlier or let it grow a little more.
During fermentation, a new tea fungus develops in a few days. It begins to cover the entire surface of the tea and becomes several centimeters thick. The sugar disappears because the fungus feeds on it and forms organic acids from it.
The finished kombucha drink feels like a mild mineral water when drunk. In terms of taste, it has little resemblance to cider or apple wine. The longer you let it ferment, the more sour it becomes. After intensive fermentation, it tastes like balsamic vinegar.
The tea fungus grows and multiplies constantly. With good care, you can continue to grow it indefinitely after a one-time purchase and produce kombucha. Just like with a sourdough starter.
The sugar disappears
If you are now a little shocked when you see the sugar content, let me tell you something: The fungus feeds on sugar. So you can't leave it out. But you can use it with Coconut blossom sugar* I have already tried this with water kefir. It worked really well.
There is hardly any sugar left in your finished drink. The kombucha fungus converts it into acid.
The tea variety
You can make the fermented drink with any type of tea. Green tea or black tea are the most commonly used. But it also works with a mixture to which you add fruit tea.
The tea is the basis and later decides the taste, so you should take high-quality organic tea. Tea leaves that are contaminated with pesticides could harm the kombucha fungus and prevent it from growing.
You must never put the kombucha mushroom into the hot tea!
The temperature of the tea must not be more than 2 degrees above room temperature, otherwise you will kill the bacteria and yeasts.
Buy a kombucha mushroom
You have to buy the first mushroom. You can then continue to cultivate it throughout your life. So the investment is worth it. I got the starter set from Fairment because it has so many good reviews.
You will find a mushroom, a fermentation jar, organic tea and raw cane sugar. So everything you need to get started right away.
Buy a kombucha
If you want to make your own kombucha for the first time, you'll need to buy a bottle of the finished drink from the supermarket. It sounds absurd at first, but it's like jump-starting your kombucha mushroom.
Next time, you'll save this step, because you can then just use some of your DIY drink to feed the mushroom.
The location
Very important: the mushroom likes it cozy and loves a constant temperature. Therefore, you should not place it near a window that you open regularly.
Kombucha feels particularly well at room temperatures between 21 and 23 degrees.
Below 19 degrees the fungus dies.
He does not like direct sun, but feels just as comfortable in a bright or dark place. And also very exciting: when the mushroom is still small, you should not smoke in its presence, because this will destroy it.
How to recognize a healthy kombucha mushroom
If you pay attention to the right location and temperature, nothing can really go wrong.
Within a very short time, a small membrane forms on the surface. This is the new mushroom. What a healthy kombucha mushroom looks like depends on which tea you use. The color is either whitish or somewhere between pink and beige.
If you suspect mold: mold is usually greenish, bluish and forms a fur. The kombucha fungus does not do that.
These probiotic foods your gut loves!
In which fermentation vessel you can make kombucha
The most suitable are glasses or jars, which provide a large surface. Here the fungus can spread really well. So rather a wide glass than a very narrow one.
Especially well suited are bulbous jars, which you then do not fill to the top, but only half. This leaves plenty of room for the mushroom to spread out.
Once you have placed the glass, do not move it for the next few days. Otherwise you will prevent the formation of a new fungal skin. And without a new fungus, there is no kombucha.
Attention alcohol
During fermentation, a little alcohol is produced. The finished kombucha recipe therefore contains 0.5 to 2 percent alcohol. The longer you let it stand, the more alcohol is formed.
I'm going to show you the basic recipe and tell you what to look for. Read it through at your leisure before you start.
Making Kombucha - The basic recipe
Ingredients
- 1 L Tap water
- 8 g Tea per liter of water
- 100 g Sugar per liter of water
- 1 Combucha mushroom culture
- 150 ml Kombucha ready kombucha from the supermarket
Equipment
- 1 large glass (alternative: jug)
Anleitung
- Bring the water to a boil. Add the tea to the water - I use green tea.
- Turn off the heat, put the lid on and let it steep for 15 minutes. Pour off the tea leaves and stir in the sugar until dissolved.
- Let the mixture cool to room temperature and then pour it into a fermentation jar. I use a large glass jar with a screw cap.
- When the mix is cool, add the kombucha mushroom to the tea. Pour the finished kombucha into it.
- Cover the fermentation vessel with a kitchen towel. Fasten the cloth with a rubber ring. Now the mushroom can breathe and is protected from dust, dirt and fruit flies.
- Place the jar in a warm place and do not move it for the next few days.
- After 8 days you can taste it for the first time and see if it is sour enough for you. If yes: Pour the drink through a sieve, fill it into bottles and put it in the refrigerator.
The mixture of kombucha is left for 10 to 16 days. Then the drink is ready.
The higher the temperature in your home, the faster the fermentation. That's why it sometimes takes 14 days in winter and only 7 in summer.
If you're unsure whether it's ready or not, you can carefully pour off a small portion and taste it. A good kombucha is balanced sweet and sour.
If you prefer to watch a video, here's a really great tutorial:
What you need to pay attention to after pouring
When you have removed the fungus, you have a drink full of microorganisms in front of you. And they continue to work even when the fungus is no longer around.
Do not fill the bottle to the top and leave the lid off, otherwise your bottle may burst!
If you like it sparkling, you should let the kombucha steep overnight in the refrigerator. After draining, it still forms a lot of carbonic acid.
You can also make kombucha in larger quantities. It stays fresh for 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator. It will foam a little and get a little more carbonic acid, but otherwise everything remains the same.
Once again as a reminder: Do not close the bottles! Otherwise there will be a huge mess.
You can add fresh fruit and mint to the finished kombucha to make it even tastier. What I find especially good are orange slices.
Do you know all these fermented foods?
Make a new kombucha
You've really got a taste for it now and don't want to stop making kombucha? You don't have to. You can grow it again and again.
To do this, you only need to reuse 10 percent of your finished drink and the mushroom. Here's how:
- Take the tea mushroom out of the jar, wash it with cold water. If it is very discolored at the bottom, then carefully remove these layers of tea with your fingers.
- Wash out the fermentation vessel hot.
- Add the mushroom to the jar with 10 percent of your homemade old kombucha.
- Now you start again from the beginning. Your preparation liquid now simply replaces the purchased kombucha.
- Prepare tea as described above, add sugar and then it's time for the tea fungus to grow again.
If you treat the tea fungus well, it will be with you all your life. It keeps growing and gets bigger and thicker. When the time comes, simply remove the bottom dark layer and throw it in the organic waste.
Our conclusion
Making kombucha sounds a bit complicated at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's a very quick and easy process. The taste is unbeatable and not comparable to store-bought drinks.
I wish you and a mushroom a lot of joy 🙂
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