I have been making Kombucha for over 2 years. I believe it’s my husband’s favorite drink. If you like caffeine and carbonated drinks you should love Kombucha. Kombucha contains Saccharomyces Boulardii which is supposed to be a great probiotic strain that helps fight against Candida Overgrowth. When I did drink it…it seemed to help with the brain fog that is a result of Candida Overgrowth but unfortunately, I had to stop because I could not handle the caffeine. So instead, I take the capsule form of Saccharomyces Boulardii on occasion.
Kombucha is easy to make. I even grew my own “scoby” starter mushroom from a single bottle of store-bought Kombucha. The “scoby” is what you see floating at the top of the fermentation bottle. I use 1/2 gallon mason jars which will yield about 6 servings at 8 ounces each.
Ingredients:
- Scoby Mushroom 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick
- 2 cups of Kombucha (from the previous batch or purchase a bottle of original, plain Kombucha from the store
- Tea bags to make 6 cups of black tea (black tea is best)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- Mason Jar: 1/2 gallon size
- coffee filter (preferably non-bleached) or a clean kitchen towel (lint-free!)
- 1 rubber band or the ring of a mason jar
Directions:
- Make 6 cups of tea
- Add 1/2 cup of sugar and stir well
- Allow the tea to cool to room temperature (usually I allow to cool overnight)
- Add the sweetened tea to 1/2 gallon mason jar
- Add 2 cups of Kombucha (this is your starter and is necessary to begin the fermentation process and prevent the batch from spoiling)
- Add the scoby, use very clean hands or a plastic spoon. Don’t touch with metal utensils.
- Top the jar with the coffee filter (kitchen towel) and secure using a rubber band or jar ring.
- Place in a cabinet away from sunlight and allow to ferment for about a week. Longer if temperatures in your home are cold and shorter if your home is warm. (I suggest tasting after 5 days.)
NOTES: Once you begin making Kombucha, you will always have a scoby and Kombucha starter to begin your next batch and possibly one to share because they just keep growing and growing. If this is your first time making Kombucha, you can purchase a scoby online, get one from a friend, or grow your own. (The “grow your own” link goes to a page that says it might be impossible to grow your own using a bottle of commercial Kombucha, but the brand “Organic Raw Kombucha” usually still has enough of the mother culture to kick off a new scoby. It has worked for me every time.)
