Kombucha for Two

I finally realized that even though I spend a lot of time raving on about the wonders of kombucha I haven’t posted a basic description for how to make it. Every ten days I follow this routine which provides me and my man with tasty kombucha tea while the next batch ferments on the countertop. Halve the recipe if you are the only one drinking the kombucha tea.

  • 6 liters (quarts) water
  • 8 bags strong black tea
  • 2 c sugar
  • kombucha mushroom (SCOBY)
  • 3/4 – 1 c kombucha tea

Method
Bring the water to a boil, add the sugar and dissolve. I often like to use unrefined palm sugar or raw cane sugar instead of refined sugar, but this gives the kombucha a different sort of flavor, the refined sugar is meant to be the best to use for kombucha and gives it a light and crisp flavor. I just don’t like using Rogers sugar as I heard they were using GM sugar beets. Add the tea bags and cover the pot (I use a stainless steel stock pot). Let this steep well and cool to at least room temperature.

Remove the tea bags and pour the liquid into a two gallon glass jug. Pour in the tea and place the mushroom on top. (When touching the mushroom be sure to wash your hands properly first). I cover my jar with a small plate to keep out dust and flies, some people cover it with a dish-towel held in place with a rubber band. Put the jug in a warm(ish) place that is out of direct sunlight and leave it for 7 to 11 days. This time will depend on how sweet or sour you like your kombucha and what the temperature is. In the summertime I can often just leave it for 8 days, in the winter I might even leave it for 12.

I also recommend starting to drink only about 1/4 cup of the kombucha tea in the morning and night and slowly raising the amount to about 1/2 c. This is especially important if you do have a weak liver or a desperate need to detox. If you tummy feels a bit funny lower the amounts until your body has cleaned itself out a bit. You may also experience a Herxheimer reaction 3 to 10 days after starting to drink the kombucha. This is a good sign, but if it is a severe reaction stop drinking it for a couple days and reintroduce it in very small amounts.

Variations of all types can be made. You can substitute various types of sugars as I mentioned earlier, you can use various teas, green or red, although it is said that the best healing properties come from black tea and white sugar. It is advisable to use organic tea if you can afford it, but if you can’t regular is better than not making it at all. I also advise not using lapsang souchong as it makes the tea bitter and smoky. You can also add various herbs or spices. Ginger is a favorite.

Every time you make a batch of kombucha a new baby will form. I generally just leave this baby on the mother mushroom until it gets rather large or until someone needs a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast). I keep a gallon jar full of extra SCOBY’s with plenty of kombucha liquid to sit in in my fridge. These I keep on hand for anyone who would like one. Since I got my first baby for free, I always give these out for free and have posted my information to the site www.kombu.de. Over the last year I have met some very interesting and wonderful people through this kombucha connection, it is an excellent way to meet like minded people.

If you need a baby (SCOBY) and are in Vancouver, BC please let me know through the contact for above. There are also places that will send you a baby in the mail if you can’t get one locally.

I would also love to hear of your experiences with drinking or making variations of kombucha recipes, please feel free to post them in the comments section below.

13 Comments

  1. Karen says:

    I am looking to start my own brew as I have health issues.
    Does anyone have a kombucha baby to share with me?
    Thank you

  2. Chris says:

    Hello,

    My wife and I are on the GAPS diet, and would very much like to begin to drink kombuka. We live in Three Hills, AB. Is there any chance you would be willing to ship a SCOBY and some starter tea to us?

  3. salmooma says:

    About Rogers Sugar
    on the bag is a letter and number printed in blue
    the number is the date it was packaged
    the letter B is for sugar refined in Vancouver from cane
    the letter A means the sugar was refined in Taber,Alberta from GM Sugarbeets

  4. Mila says:

    Hello, I am in Vancouver and where could I get Kombucha tea baby? thank you

  5. What’s a GM sugar beet and why are they bad?

    • hellaD says:

      hey Liver Cleanser, thanks for your comments and questions! I should have said a genetically modified sugar beet! I have been particularly annoyed about this new addition to franken-foods because they planted them in Canada after I signed a petition asking them please not to….Actually after all of this happened then a judge in the USA declared them to be unsafe and I think they have been taken off the market in the USof A, not sure if it has happened here in Canada. One of the problems is that the GMO beets cross-contaminate other types of plants in the beet family, including swiss chard and whatnot…

  6. CL says:

    Komboocha rulez!

  7. Ron says:

    I love kombucha and having been drinking it for sometime. I have decided to begin brewing it myself (I cant afford the bottled stuff anymore). My friend told me about this site getkombucha.com and it seems really good. What do you think about the system which they offer?

    • hellaD says:

      I haven’t used that site so I can’t really say anything from personal experience! I do know that a good place to start is with http://www.kombu.de as you can probably get a free starter from a friendly local person, I was a bit surprised to see that they are selling these cultures for $30, does that include shipping? I personally think that is quite steep when you can get them for free and meet a like-minded kombucha buddy at the same time! I have met lots of great people by having folks come by and pick up a kombucha starter from me. Also when you go into someone’s home, you will be able to check and see how clean they are as well as what sort of energy they have. I know there are a lot of sites selling kombucha starters though so you may want to shop around a bit as well.

  8. Joey says:

    Komboocha rulez!

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