kombucha recipes- basic elixir & flavors - 2 phoenix helix

Kombucha Recipes:

Basic Elixir & FlavorsPosted on Apri l 1 , 2013

“The science and art of fermentation is, in fact, the basis of human culture….Culture begins atthe farm, not in the opera house, and binds a people to a land and its artisans.” ~ Sandor Ellix

Katz

Kom bucha Series

If you haven’t read the first two posts in my Kombu cha Series, check ou t Myths vs. Tru ths to dispel some

common misconceptions and find ou t what kombu cha can do for you . Then read Tips & Trou bleshooting, to

ensu re you r home brewing is a su ccess. N ow, for the final step: the recipes!

T he Basic Kom bucha Elixir

Makes 1 gallon

Ingredi ents

1 kombu cha SCOBY

Black, Green, White Tea or a combination of these (2 Tbsp. loose leaf or 6 teabags total )

1 cu p brewed kombu cha from a prior batch (otherwise known as starter tea)

1 cu p of su gar (ei ther refined white su gar, or organic evaporated cane ju ice)

Suppl i es

Gal lon glass jar

A piece of tightly woven cloth

Ru bber band

Stainless steel pot

Long handled spoon

Di recti ons

Wash you r jar with hot water, dish soap and a l i ttle bi t of vinegar. Rinse wel l and set aside.1.

Boi l 1 qu art of fi l tered water in a stainless steel pan. Remove from heat. A dd you r tea and steep for 10

minu tes.

2.

Remove the teabags and add 1 cu p of su gar. Stir u nti l dissolved.3.

Pou r th is sweet tea into you r glass jar. Fi l l the rest of the way with cold fi l tered water, leaving a few

inches of room at the top. Stir to blend and then test the temperatu re. It needs to be 80 degrees or lowe r

before going onto the next step.

4.

A dd the starter tea, and then with clean hands, place the SCOBY on top.5.

Set you r kombu cha in a good location. Y ou want the temperatu re to be between 72-85 degrees, ou t of

direct su nl ight, with good air flow (not in a cu pboard).

6.

Cover the top of the jar with a piece of tightly woven cloth , secu red with a ru bber band.7.

Sing i t a l i ttle song, send i t some loving vibes, tel l i t i t’s beau ti fu l , and then leave i t be.8.

In 7 days, start tasting you r kombu cha. Y ou want i t to be sou r/tangy with a tou ch of sweet remaining.

A l ternatively , you can brew i t longer u nti l i t i s 100% sou r, and then combine i t with ju ice to drink.

Ju st don’t brew i t longer than 30 days. General ly , kombu cha is “ready” somewhere between 7 and 15

days.

9.

When you r kombu cha is done, wash you r hands and get a clean bowl . Pu t the SCOBY in the bowl , along

with 1 cu p of the kombu cha (also known as starter tea). Ideal ly gather i t from the top of the jar, becau se

this is where the beneficial bacteria l ive. Beneficial yeast exist throu ghou t the l iqu id, bu t are

especial ly th ick at the bottom of the jar. So, i f you pu l l from the top, you ’re getting both the good yeast

and good bacteria, bu t i f you pu l l from the bottom, you ’re getting a yeast-dominant kombu cha. Y ou

want you r starter tea to be balanced.

10.

Once you ’ve removed the SCOBY and starter tea, stir the remaining kombu cha and pou r i t into a large

pitcher and pu t i t in the fridge. Or separate i t into airtight containers for a second fermentation

(described below). Or u se some to make kombu cha berry popsicles! Straining the kombu cha is

optional .

11.

To start you r next batch of kombu cha, go back to step 2 and repeat.12.

Usu al ly , a new baby SCOBY forms with every batch of kombu cha, al thou gh when you first start

brewing, i t might take a few batches for th is to happen. Y ou can let you r SCOBY grow u p to 2 inches

th ick, bu t after that, you need to spl i t i t. Keep the heal th iest looking SCOBY for you r next brew.

13.

Optional Second Step: Flavor Ferm entation

The photo at the top of this post was take n by Robyn Latime r, who share d he r story of putting he r lupus into

re mission with the pale o die t. S he drinks kombucha e ve ry day and like s to do a se cond fe rme ntation, with a

little bit of fruit. I t’ s an e asy ste p that make s it into a he althy soda-pop, with a little e xtra carbonation and

swe e tne ss. S he was kind e nough to le t me use this photo which she poste d on Face book. Che ck out he r cute

soda bottle s! You can buy the se cutie s through Kombucha Kamp, but any airtight glass containe r will work,

including mason jars and old (cle an) jam jars. He re ’s what you do:

The Steps

Clean some airtight containers with dish soap, water and vinegar and rinse wel l .

A dd you r flavors (see below)

Pou r fermented kombu cha on top of the flavors and fi l l almost to the top, bu t leave an inch free for the

carbonation that wi l l develop.

Pu t the caps on tightly and let them ferment at room temperatu re for 48-72 hou rs.

Strain and refrigerate.

Fl av or Ideas

A dd a cou ple of pieces of fresh or frozen fru it. Y ou can see in the photo that Robyn added strawberries.

A dd any fru it you l ike: blu eberries, blackberries, mangoes, pineapple, peaches, pears, apples, etc. Y ou

can add dried fru it as wel l , bu t fresh fru it gives a stronger flavor.

A dd a chu nk of fresh ginger, for a ginger-ale flavor.

A dd 1-2 Tbsp. of fresh squ eezed ju ice: orange, lemon, l ime, grapefru it, cranberry, pomegranate….

Try a few drops of extract: vani l la, almond, orange, lemon….

A dd 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. of spice: cinnamon, pu mpkin pie spice, even cocoa powder!

A dd 1/2 to 1 tsp. of dried herbs: lavender, chamomile, lemon balm, rosemary….

Feel free to combine these flavor ideas: pineapple ginger, almond peach, apple cinnamon, lemon

lavender….

Use you r imagination and have fu n. The amou nt of flavoring u sed depends on the size of you r

container and you r personal taste. Y ou can adju st these amou nts u p or down, as needed.

A few thi ngs that can happen

Y ou know the sediment and brown strings that form in you r gal lon jar of kombu cha (a completely

normal sign of the presence of beneficial yeast)? Wel l , they are l ikely to form in you r flavored

concoction as wel l . A nd sometimes tiny SCOBY s form in the l iqu id l ike jel lyfish , or at the top of you r

container. Y ou strain the second fermentation before refrigeration, to remove the fru it or ju ice pu lp,

and these wi l l be strained ou t at the same time.

If you forget abou t you r airtight flavor fermentations and leave them on the cou nter too long, they can

explode. So, don’t do that! I cou ldn’t find any information on when th is might happen. A t the week

mark? Earl ier? Later? It probably depends on how hot you r hou se is, and how carbonated you r

kombu cha was when you started th is step. Y ou can pu t you r flavor fermentations in a box, ju st to be on

the safe side. Y ou can also open them dai ly to release some of the pressu re.

Other Articles in the Kom bucha Series

Kombu cha Myths vs. Tru ths

Kombu cha Tips & Trou bleshooting

Kombu cha Berry Popsicles

Kom bucha Supplies

Update: A fter writing th is series of articles on kombu cha, a nu mber of people asked where they cou ld bu y

qu al i ty su ppl ies. N ot everyone has a friend to lend them a SCOBY and tu tor them throu gh the process. So, I

decided to become an affi l iate of Kombu cha Kamp. Hannah Cru m has been brewing kombu cha for over a

decade and sel l s everyth ing from qu al i ty SCOBY s to continu ou s brew systems. Whatever you need, she’s got

you covered, and she even offers a money-back gu arantee.

~~~

This post is linked to the following blog carnivals:

Paleo AIP Recipe Roundtable, Fresh Bites Friday, Fight Back Friday, Whole Foods Friday, What Am I Eating?, Sunday School, Make Your Own

Monday, Natural Living Monday, Fat Tuesday, Family Table Tuesday, Healthy Tuesday, Scratch Cookin’ Tuesday, Tuned In Tuesday, Traditional

Tuesday, Well Fed Wednesday, Waste Not Want Not Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Wildcrafting Wednesday, Party Wave Wednesday, Whole

Foods Wednesday, Allergy Free Wednesday, Thank Your Body Thursday, Tasty Traditions, Simple Lives Thursday, Wheat-Free Wednesday,

Pennywise Platter Thursday,

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29 THOUGHTS ON “KOMBUCHA RECIPES:

BASIC ELIXIR & FLAVORS”

This entry was posted in Uncategori zed and tagged Kombucha Seri es, Reci pes by Ei l een . Bookmarkthe permal i nk [http://www.phoeni xhel i x.com/2013/04/01/kombucha-reci pes-basi c-el i xi r-fl av ors/] .

Beth

on April 1, 2013 at 10:41 am sai d:

Great post! I love al l the flavor ideas–I real ly l ike mine plain, bu t

th ink I want to try a bit of vani l la extract. A s for the explosions-I

don’t th ink time is as big of factor as su gar content and possibly

temperatu re. That is ju st based on my experience and not science.

I’ve had mine bottled at room temp & been fine for over a week-sti l l

fizzy , bu t one I brou ght to work spewed al l over when I opened i t

(bottle didn’t explode bu t prob close) and remembered I had u sed

more su gar and initial ferment only a week. I th ink the more

su gar, the more CO2 i t can produ ct. Y ou can always “bu rp” them

occasional ly to check the pressu re bu i ldu p.

Ei l een


I l ike i t plain too and ju st started experimenting with fla-

vor. I mu st admit, I LOV E lemon ginger. Thanks for you r in-

sight on the “explosions”. May we al l avoid that!

Heather

on April 1, 2013 at 2:28 pm sai d:

I love kombu cha, bu t have never made i t. Honestly , the scoby

scares me! Bu t, i t doesn’t seem too di fficu l t. I love the bottles that

you have!

Ei l een


It is freaky looking, isn ’t i t? Bu t you ’re absolu tely right that

i t’s easy to make, and i t’s sooooooo mu ch cheaper A N D more

beneficial than storebou ght brands, most of which are pas-

teu rized. I hope you give i t a try . It’s actu al ly kinda fu n.

Kayleigh Jean


I love these ideas they look amazing! I ju st spent a very cold winter

in a l i ttle hou se with an ou tdoor kitchen and sadly al l my SCOBY ’s

died in the cold. I wou ld l ike to get i t started again as i ts almost

becoming warm enou gh for them to su rvive! Do you ever make

water kefir? I was making i t for a few months before winter bu t the

cold ki l led those off too. A nd do you have any recommendations for

the best place that I can order a kombu cha SCOBY ? Thanks for the

great info I am going to su bscribe!

Ei l een


Hi Kayleigh . Check ou t my Tips & Trou bleshooting Post. The

first section gives you some good sou rces for a SCOBY . I

haven’t made water kefir, bu t I did make raw goats milk ke-

fir last su mmer. The milk goes ou t of season in the winter,

which is what made me switch to kombu cha. The beau ty of

kefir is i ts speed. Kombu cha requ ires patience. I love them

al l , thou gh! I ju st started my first batch of homemade

sau erkrau t. If i t goes wel l , I’l l write a how-to post on that as

wel l .

Brenda Scott


A wesome kombu cha post! Clear instru ctions & I love the idea of

flavoring i t! Y u m! Thanks for sharing at Wel l Fed Wednesday!

Anne-Marie Bilella


I am definitely going to try new flavors in my kombu cha, I always

do the plain regu lar. Thanks again for sharing on Wildcrafting

Wednesday!

Kat

on June 15, 2013 at 1:30 am sai d:

Hi, I have a real ly th ick heal thy looking scoby that has formed on

my second ferment ginger and lemon Kombu cha. It seems a shame

to throw i t away. Can I pu t i t with my other scobies in my scoby

hotel and i f i can, do I need to rinse i t fi rst?

Thanks

Kat

Ei l een

on June 22, 2013 at 3:43 pm sai d:

Sorry for the delayed reply , Kat. I was on vacation and had

no internet access. It’s a good qu estion, bu t I actu al ly don’t

know the answer! I wou ld be relu ctant to add i t to the SCOBY

hotel , in case the flavoring affects the other SCOBY s, bu t i t

might be fu n to go ahead and u se i t on you r next fresh batch

of kombu cha as a test, to see how i t does.

Karen

on October 2, 2013 at 12:32 am sai d:

when making my second batch ,there is a baby forming on top .Do I

transfer the baby or wait u nti l l the baby is bigger before starting

the second batch?

Ei l een

on October 2, 2013 at 11:36 am sai d:

If you ’re talking abou t the big batch of kombu cha (gal lon

size), I let the babies pi le u p and don’t separate them u nti l

they get over an inch th ick. I th ink that makes a stronger

brew. The only reason to separate sooner is i f you have a

friend who wants a SCOBY . If you ’re talking abou t the sec-

ond fermentation with flavors, i t’s normal for a tiny baby to

grow in those smal ler jars, too. I ju st throw i t away at the

same time I strain the flavors ou t.

Car nette

on October 4, 2013 at 5:31 pm sai d:

Hi, does anyone know i f i t is al right to do a second fermentation of

kombu cha in a gal lon jar? I make a lot of kombu cha at a time and i t

wou ld be so mu ch easier i f I cou ld ju st second ferment a whole

gal lon and then bottle i t.

Ei l een


A bsolu tely you can. Ju st u p the flavor ingredients accord-

ingly , and be su re and clean the jar thorou ghly afterward,

before brewing you r next batch .

Car nette


Wow, thank you so mu ch Ei leen for you r qu ick re-

sponse to my qu estion. I am in the process of doing a

second ferment now, so I am very excited to know

this. N ow I can save so mu ch time! Thank you so

mu ch!

Ei l een


Y ou ’re welcome. Don’t forget to remove the

SCOBY before you add you r flavors, along with

some brewed kombu cha to start you r next

batch . The reason people do the second fer-

ment in smal ler jars is to protect the SCOBY .

Car nette

on October 7, 2013 at 12:48 pm

sai d:

Thanks, I have six 2.5 gal lon crocks of

continu ou s brew kombu cha, so when I

am ready to do the second ferment, I

ju st draw the kombu cha from the spig-

i ted crock into gal lon sized jars that

have the flavorings in them and then

let those gal lon jars ferment for a day

or two. This way the scoby is not dis-

tu rbed. Does th is sou nd ok?

What can be done with the fru it that is

left over from the second ferment after

i t has been strained ou t? Thank you so

mu ch!

Ei l een

on October 7, 2013 at 1:02 pm

sai d:

That sou nds perfect. A s for the fru it, I

u su al ly ju st compost mine, bu t you

cou ld eat i t. If the flavor’s too strong,

try adding i t to a smoothie.

Car nette


Thank you so mu ch Ei leen! Y ou are a gem! I am in Colorado

Springs. If you ever need any help in th is neck of the woods, or want

to expand and need some leg work done. Ju st let me know. Thanks

for you r graciou sness and u nsel fishness!

Cr ai g


A m I crazy? I’ve been u sing 6 tsp of tea (3 tablespoons) in my 1

gal lon sweet tea recipe (1 cu p of su gar). A ny ideas on what that

strong a tea wou ld do pro/con? Tempted to try less tea and see. My

brews are great and strong bu t also strong flavored.

Ei l een


Hi Craig. I don’t th ink the stronger tea is hu rting anything;

i t’s ju st not necessary. I’m su re i t’s contribu ting to the

strong flavor, so you might l ike the taste better with the tra-

ditional 2 Tbsp.

KAREN


Hi Ei leen I was wondering i f you have ever done Coffee kombu cha

and i f yes cou ld you give me some tips.I have tried i t bu t the

information I had did not mention abou t having a spare since the

scoby u sed for the coffee kombu cha shou ld not be u sed a gain.So

now have to pu rchase a new scoby ,chock one u p for making a

mistake and learning i t the first time.Thanks Karen

Ei l een

on November 1, 2013 at 10:45 am sai d:

I don’t recommend brewing kombu cha with coffee, becau se

the SCOBY needs tea to thrive. If you want to give i t a l i ttle

coffee flavor in the second fermentation, fol low the recipe

for flavoring kombu cha above and u se a few coffee beans.

Car nette

on November 1, 2013 at 6:30 pm sai d:

Hey Ei leen,

I have a qu estion for you . I brou ght my six crocks of kombu cha

u pstairs into my kitchen. They are exposed to noises su ch as the

vita mix and the almost constant whirring sou nd of the

dehydrater, not to mention the sou nd of kids, tv , mu sic, etc. I also

move the crocks arou nd qu ite often. Is th is good for the

scobies/kombu cha? I mean wil l i t make a di fference in taste,

qu al i ty , longevity…? Thank you so mu ch!

Carnette

Ei l een


SCOBY ’s are pretty tou gh; I don’t th ink they ’l l be harmed by

noise. Moving them arou nd can slow down the fermentation

process and prevent new SCOBY ’s from forming, so i t’s best

i f you can find a spot for them where you don’t move them

too often. Have you ever tried continu ou s brewing? It’s a way

to brew a lot of kombu cha at once, with less work and less

cou nter space. They’re u su al ly 2-1/2 gal lon brewing con-

tainers that people can set on top of the fridge (ou t of the way

and then they get the bonu s of a warm space to brew). I

haven’t tried i t yet mysel f, bu t I hear good th ings abou t i t.

Ei l een

on November 2, 2013 at 11:30 am sai d:

Update! I ju st remembered you told me before that

you r crocks A RE continu ou s brew. So, that answers

my qu estion. Y ou ’ve got a mini kombu cha factory go-

ing on. Impressive!

Car nette


Thank you so mu ch Ei leen! I wi l l try to store

my crocks on top of the fridge. Y ou are awe-

some!!

Dan

on February 2, 2014 at 2:22 am sai d:

I am a total newbie to Kombu cha. Made my first batch which is in

secondary fermentation. One bottle has fru it ju ice added which

wil l provide the su gars needed. The others I bottled as plain tea, the

tea tasted ‘flat’ ie fermented ou t before bottl ing, so I added 1/3

teaspoon of su gar to each bottle, hoping th is wi l l provide the ‘fizz’. I

haven’t seen anyone comment on adding su gar to plain Kombu cha,

so I wou ld valu e you r views.

Ei l een

on February 2, 2014 at 11:20 am sai d:

I’m biased toward natu ral su gars, so I’ve always added fru it

or ju ice for the second fermentation, and they work wel l . The

second part of that equ ation is time. If you want a fizzier

drink, let i t ferment on the cou nter longer than 2 days. To be

safe, bu t you r bottles in a box, ju st in case they explode. That

sou nds scary, I know. It rarely happens, bu t i t is always a

possibi l i ty with longer fermentations. Some other th ings to

know: (1) It often takes a few batches of kombu cha before the

fizz starts to bu i ld; i t’s a resu l t of a more matu re SCOBY . (2)

Green tea produ ces more carbonation than black, I’m told.

(3) Y ou ’l l never have the carbonation level of storebou ght

kombu cha. They actu al ly carbonate the drink l ike soda,

giving a false level of fizz. N atu ral fermentation fizz is

more su btle. Congratu lations on you r first batch , thou gh. I

hope you enjoy i t!

kombucha recipes- basic elixir & flavors - 2 phoenix helix

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