So about two weeks ago, I decided to try an experiment.
I boiled up about a liter of water, steeped some organic black tea leaves, dumped in some sugar, allowed the brew to cool down to room temperature, and poured it into a glass jar. I then added the contents of one bottle of store-bought raw kombucha. It’s been sitting on my kitchen counter ever since.
Some of you probably know where this is going. J
Yes! I decided to try to grow my very own SCOBY! For those of you unfamiliar with the phenomenon that is kombucha, “SCOBY” stands for Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast and is the primary component of kombucha-making. Kombucha is a fermented beverage made from tea and the byproducts of the SCOBY feasting on sugar, which yield tremendous amounts of beneficial organic acids and probiotics. If it sounds gross, it isn’t. If you want to know more, click here.
For those of you who ARE familiar with this delicious and nutritious probiotic nectar, you might know that for a while I’ve wanted to try my hand at home-brewing the stuff. If there is any chance I could avoid spending 4 bucks on a bottle every time I feel the kombucha urge, I’m going to take it.
Anyway, back to the story. Approximately a week ago, I was growing discouraged by the lack of progress in my jar, so I decided to expand on the experiment a little. A second jar was filled with only half of a store-bought bottle, with no tea or sugar added. I set Jar #2 next to Jar #1 and promptly forgot about them for a few days. Grad school and all.
But, flash forward to yesterday, when I finally remembered to check on my little experiments. SUCCESS! Not one, but two baby SCOBYs! They are still thin and fragile-looking, so I don’t know if I should transfer them to bigger jars yet and start actually brewing… I think I’m going to wait until they’re at least 1/4” thick, since most of the home-brewing websites I’ve found recommend that. I wasn't expecting such positive results, so I’m ridiculously proud of myself. Hopefully I’ll be enjoying my own delicious fermented tea beverage within the month!
If any of you have suggestions, advice, or just want to talk kombucha, feel free to post!
UPDATE #1.
ReplyDeleteSo I wasn't able to get jars as quickly as I wanted, and am a little worried that my kombucha cultures have suffered from the delay. They look all right (as normal as a SCOBY can look, I think) and my roommates have assured me they still smell kombucha-y, and I don't see mold anywhere. So I went ahead and brewed up a recipe I got from the Internets: 3 liters water, 1 cup sugar, 5 teabags. I used a Tazo brand mixed blend of black teas.
My SCOBYs are still small, but I'm going to take the risk and transfer them to big jars. Worst case scenario, the batch is contaminated before the little guys can grow up, and I start over from scratch (boo). Medium case scenario, this round is a test run to see if they grow thicker and to the circumference of the big jar. Best case scenario, I have kombucha in one week!
UPDATE #2.
ReplyDeleteComplete success! I have eight bottles of pineapple-flavored kombucha in my fridge! Just finished brewing up the tea concoction for Batch Number Two, and my two bigger SCOBYs are hangin' out and ready to go again! My SCOBYs are still a little on the thin side... I'm hoping they'll thicken up with every batch, even after producing a baby each time. And one of them has a hole in it (sad!) but seems to still be rockin' its SCOBY business.
P.S. I tasted it already, I couldn't help it... I've been waiting for over a MONTH for home-brewed kombucha! Pineapple-y goodness in a bottle! Since this batch was sitting for almost three full weeks, it's super strong on the vinegary side, but the pineapple juice balances that out a little bit. I might try a shorter fermenting time on this next round.