In response to a recent question on Askville.com, I've outlined some kombucha basics for those who aren't familiar with it. Very cool!
I have made huge batches of home-made kombucha...the most I have made is 25 gallons at a time. I am THAT big of a fan of kombucha.
Anyway...kombucha is a beverage made from (typically) black tea, and white sugar.
Home-made is DEFINITLEY best (by the way); it is an entirely different product than the current kombucha beverages on the market. Although, some of them are pretty good...I believe the home-made variety, if done properly...is way better; an entirely different product, actually...more medicinal (if cultured long enough).
Ideally, you want to begin with a starter "mushroom" (and some kombucha tea)...the mushroom really isn’t a mushroom at all, it’s a symbiosis of various organisms, and they create a very strong, but smooth structured "film" that over time gets thicker and thicker. Apparently it is not necessary to start with a "mushroom", although I always have had one. If you don’t have a "starter", it apparently just takes longer for the "mushroom" to form on top of the tea-mixture.
It’s quite a detailed process, outlined in the following books...but very easy once you’ve done it a couple of times.
The general idea is to boil the water, then add tea bags...boil for 20 minutes (or so)...add the sugar (boil 5 more minutes), then allow the mixture to cool. (I am generally doing about 5 gallons at a time, so I fill the bath-tub with cold water, and immerse my big hot pot of sugar-tea-water in the bathtub to cool it down quicker...you can’t introduce the "mushroom" until the mixture is sufficently cool).
Pour the cooled mixture into a non-leaching container (one with a wide mouth, the culture needs to "breathe"); glass is wonderful, polycarbonate plastic is great too (this is what I use for ease of handling such large/heavy amounts of liquid).
Add appropriate amount of either kombucha tea from your previous batch, or if you don’t have any kombucha, using boiled-then-cooled apple cider vinegar works just as well (the vinegar can’t be raw, apparently...it affects the culture...one of the reasons for boiling it first).
Wash your starter mushroom gently (with clean-filtered, non-tap water), then place gently inside of tea-sugar-water-vinegar mixture. There is a "light" and a "dark" side of the mushroom, make sure the light side is facing upward. Assist the starter mushroom in "floating" to the top of the mixture; It likes to be close to the surface. It doesn't matter if your "mushroom" is smaller than the diameter of your container...a new one will grow the same size either way (it'll grow to the size of the containe).
Place your tea mixture somewhere in your house that is fairly warm, and to be undisturbed...maybe on top of the fridge. Cover the top with a "breatheable" cover such as cheesecloth (a clean towel works, too...this is what I use). Secure the cover so that it doesn’t dip down into the liquid or touch the kombucha mushroom (maybe a large rubber band).
Let your creation sit for about a couple of weeks, give or take. After the first couple of days a thin film will be forming on the top of the liquid (it’s called the "baby", it forms above the "mother" mushroom). Be careful not to disturb/move the container at this time...every time the mixture is disturbed it will start forming a new layer of musroom-film on top. You want to let the "baby" grow enough so that you will be able to use it in your next batch of kombucha. If the "baby" is too thin, it won’t be strong enough to be handled and clean to introduce into the new batch.
You will want to start "sampling" from your batch no earlier than 1 and 1/2 to 2 weeks; take a taste and see if the beverage suits you. If not, let it sit a few more days, then taste it again.
Keep in mind, the more you let it sit the more "medicinal" it becomes. Kombucha can taste like anything from a light and subtle flavored beverage, to a very stong vinegar. If you let the kombucha sit long enough it will culture completely to vinegar. I sometimes use the vinegar as an alternative to raw apple-cider vinegar in my recipes. Being a living foods chef, these are the only 2 vinegars that I (personally) use for my raw-food prep; Raw apple cider vinegar, and my homemade kombucha vinegar.
Although kombucha itself is not considered raw (we already discussed about how much of the process is cooking the tea/sugar, etc...), it is definitely a "living" food. Even foods that are "cooked" can be considered living, if they are cultured properly...because they now (from the "culturing") contain a large amount of enzymes.
Kombucha is teeming with enzymes and probiotics that help assist with healthy colon function. You will be amazed at how well your colon works after taking just a "shot" of kombucha vinegar! Not to mention, how invigorating and energizing it is to consume a well-cultured kombucha.
Also know, too...the longer the kombucha is culturing, the less tea and sugar it contains. The reason for the tea and sugar, is to "feed" the culture. Being health-minded...I’m not interested in consuming refined sugar...and I know that the longer my kombucha culture "sits" the less sugar is left in the liquid. I generally culture kombucha all the way until it is vinegar (even if I am making a "beverage" out of it), so that way i’m pretty sure there isn’t any sugar left in the mixture.
I’ve got many gallons of kombucha vinegar that have been culturing for about a year and a half now! The mushrooms I have are amazing, too (HUGE!).
There are apparently numerous health benefits to using kombucha, and testimonials from helping/curing all kinds of ailments, and serious health problems. The books I suggest talk more about this.
I love kombucha; I’m not dependent on it, but find it a very useful tool for helping to heal myself. And, as complicated as it might seem, it’s SO fun to make...my kids love to be involved in this kitchen experiment.
Here is a link to the kombucha question on Amazon's "Askville" web site (great web site, by the way...I'll have to blog about it at a later date):
http://askville.amazon.com/familiar-kombucha/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=4548950
The 2 most important books I have found on kombucha (and I am sure there are many others that are great, too):
- The Essential Kombucha (the manchurian mushroom) - by Andra Anastazia Malczewski
- Kombucha The Miracle Fungus - Harald W. Tietze
