Community Cultures' kombucha recipe | Talk Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Anyone can make kombucha. Community Cultures is offering local workshops and here is the recipe from our guest on Talk Pittsburgh.
Trevor's Kombucha Recipe
Ingredients
- Kombucha SCOBY (Symbiotic Community of Bacteria & Yeast, aka "Mother")
- 2 Tbsp loose tea OR 4 tea bags (black preferred, but green, white, and oolong are okay)
- Water (filtered and non-chlorinated is best)
- 1 cup finished Kombucha (reserved from previous batch; if not available, use 2 Tbsp vinegar)
- ½ cup cane sugar
Recipe
1) Brew 2 Tbsp loose tea, or 4 bags, for 3-5 minutes in 1 quart of water
2) Strain tea into vessel & add sugar, stirring to dissolve
3) Add 1 quart of cool water, test with clean finger to see if liquid is at body temperature
4) After liquid is at body temperature, add finished kombucha tea (or vinegar)
5) Place kombucha mother in liquid, put cloth on top of vessel and wrap rubber band on top
6) Ferment in warm spot (over 70 F is best) and out of the sun
7) Taste kombucha after a week, wait longer if you want it less sweet and more acidic (it will ferment more quickly in warmer environments). It may take a couple weeks, or up to a month to reach desired flavor
8) Pour out most of finished kombucha, and reserve mother and 1 cup of liquid for next batch
9) Bottle kombucha to carbonate (using direction in carbonation handout), or use for secondary fermentation. Pull off baby SCOBYs to start multiple batches and/or share with friends!
10) Secondary Ferment: use juice, fruit, herbs, herbal tea and/or other flavors (this process is less exact than the primary fermentation process).
11) Option 1: Mix 6 cups of kombucha with 2 cups of fruit or vegetable juice, or other sweetened tea/concoction (sweetened with 2 Tbsp sugar). Pour in bottles for carbonation 12) Option 2: Add small pieces of fruit/vegetables/herbs into bottles with plain kombucha 13) Option 3: Combine option 1 and 2...get creative...go crazy! There's no wrong flavoring.
NATURAL SODA
Ingredients
- 1 lb (1 pint) of fruit (local/seasonal/chemical-free preferred)
- 3- 4 Tbsp Sweetener (cane sugar, raw honey, maple syrup, etc.)
- Herbs, Spices, Flavorings, etc. (optional)
- Water (non-chlorinated)
Recipe
1) Clean fruit and chop, mash or prepare it however you would like to release flavor
2) Add fruit to vessel with sweetener (start with less) and other desired ingredients
3) Pour 3 cups of water over ingredients to fill 1 quart
4) Stir until sugar is dissolved, then taste to see if you would like to add more sweetener, keeping in mind some will be eaten by yeast and the final product will be less sweet!
5) Cover with a towel or cloth, place in a warm spot (out of sun) and stir stir stir! (as often as you think of it and at least twice a day)
6) After 1 to 7 days (less time if it's hot, more if it's cold) of stirring, the liquid should be bubbly (you will see and hear it!)
7) Strain out fruit and other ingredients when it's bubbly & pour liquid into sealable bottles 8) Drink as is or see carbonation handout to make it bubbly!
