# Kombucha Tea Brewing & Benefits of live bacteria



## John Ziegler (Dec 5, 2015)

Digestion and Gut Health. Because it's naturally fermented with a living colony of bacteria and yeast, Kombucha is a probiotic beverage. This has a myriad of benefits such as improved digestion, fighting candida (harmful yeast) overgrowth, mental clarity, and mood stability.






Started drinking the synergy brand Kambucha tea that cost $3.50 a 16 oz bottle. Have now been brewing my own batches. A co worker hooked me up with a giant mother scoby & a smaller offspring.


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## BiologicalChemist (Dec 5, 2015)

That looks wonderful Zeig...I'm filling up my bathtub as we speak. It's probably cheaper than the ultimate flora 30billion I buy.


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## j2048b (Dec 5, 2015)

wow hippies everywhere!

na jk i know a local guy who got into this here in cali...hmmm hope ur not him....

ive wanted to try it, but dont have the time or knowledge to produce it...


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## John Ziegler (Dec 6, 2015)

Its easy to make and taste great too. Another cool thing is you can do a second fermentation with just about anything you want to flavor it with. I plan on using black cherries.


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## Uncle manny (Dec 6, 2015)

Interesting stuff ..


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## j2048b (Dec 6, 2015)

Post up a vid of how u do it! U can even wear a leather mask with zippers in it so we cant see ur face....


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## PillarofBalance (Dec 6, 2015)

Never thought I would say this... excellent ****ing post Zeigler... can you do one where you detail how to make this stuff? What can go wrong in the process and how to avoid that?

Kombucha tastes awesome if you haven't tried this fellas.


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## John Ziegler (Dec 6, 2015)

Kool POB I'm just now getting into it and will update the thread as I go.

A naturally carbonated fermented tea drink packed with enzymes, probiotics and beneficial acids. 
Make it at home for less than half the price of store bought.
Author: Wellness Mama

Equipment & Ingredients Needed

a gallon size glass jar (make sure its really clean!!)
1 gallon of brewed sweetened tea (ratio: 1 cup of sugar per gallon of tea) I use regular black tea, though I’ve heard of others using green or herbal teas
a SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria) and 1/2 cup of liquid from a previous batch of Kombucha or you can use 1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar or organic apple cider vinegar.
coffee filter or thin cloth and a rubber band.

Instructions

Prepare the sweet tea. I use 1 family size tea bag or 8-10 small bags per gallon of water. Add 1 cup of regular sugar (organic preferably). Do not use honey!
Let tea cool to room temperature and make sure it is really cool! This step is very important as too hot of tea can kill your SCOBY.
Once tea is completely cool, pour into glass jar, leaving just over an inch of room at the top. Pour in ½ cup liquid from a previous batch of Kombucha or if starting from a dehydrated SCOBY, pour in ½ cup from a store-bought bottle of Kombucha.
With very clean hands, gently place the SCOBY at the top of the jar of tea. It should float, though if it doesn't just let it fall and don't stick your hands in the tea!
Cover the jar with the coffee filter or cloth and rubber band tightly (flies love this stuff!)
Put the jar in a warm (around 70-75 degrees is best) corner of the kitchen where it is at least a few feet away from any other fermenting products.
Let sit to ferment for around 7 days, though the length of time may vary depending on your temperature. You can test the Kombucha by placing a straw in the jar carefully (slide under the SCOBY) and sipping. It should taste tart but still very slightly sweet also.
At this point, Kombucha is ready for a second ferment. If you aren't doing the second ferment, just pour the kombucha into another jar or jars with airtight lids and seal until ready to drink.

Notes
If making into soda, you'll also need:

-another gallon size jar or 5 quart sized jars
-about 1 quart of fruit juice- (we prefer grape or apple for this) or ½ cup frozen berries

For Second Ferment (How to Make Soda!)

Just as with water kefir, using fruit juice can make Kombucha carbonated and slightly sweeter, which is often more appealing to kids. It is an easy second step too!

Get another very clean gallon sized jar or 5 quart sized glass jars (I prefer this!)
Pour 1 quart of juice of your choice (not citrus or pineapple though!) into the big jar or divide between smaller jars, filling each jar about 1/5 full
Pour the finished Kombucha into the smaller jars until about 1 inch from the top. Make sure to leave about 1/2 cup brewed Kombucha in the jar with the SCOBY
Once the Kombucha is poured off, pour the SCOBY and remaining juice into a clean bowl.
Repeat the steps above for the first fermentation to start another batch of Kombucha
Tightly cap the smaller jars with the fruit juice added and leave at room temperature for another 2-7 days until carbonated to your taste.
Refrigerate before drinking or pour over ice.
Enjoy!!

I sifted through a lot of recipes and found this one from Wellness Mama to be the closest to standard issue. I have mine brewing in an indoor electric water heater closet because it is always dark warm and dry in there. I am on day 5 now and had a little shot glass snort taster and its tasting good but not done yet. The larger the scoby the faster the brew and I have a giant one that is why I'm having a taste this early in the game. 

Here is what a kombucha scoby looks like as a new one grows on top of the tea.






Here is one you can buy online in a package for starters.


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## Milo (Dec 6, 2015)

I'll get down on some kombucha. Shit is so delicious but like you said, the store bottled shit is so expensive.
My old roommate used to make it by the gallon. Just be careful when you bottle that shit. If you don't vent it it will turn into a ****ing bomb. We had one glass bottle EXPLODE in our fridge one time because he forgot to crap open the lid.


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## John Ziegler (Dec 13, 2015)

After 2 weeks the one gallon batch I started on the 1st is not quite ready. It is still too sweet and the new scoby is not yet fully developed.









The half gallon I started on the 3rd is ready. The scoby feeds off the sugar in the tea and has made this batch less sweet already.









After determining the half gallon is ready I added one quarter parts organic mango juice to the kambucha in a seperate container leaving the two scoby's sitting in just enough kambucha to cover them. Then put the liquid into individual jars for what is called a second fermentation. In this stage on the brewing process the kambucha will sit at least two more days in sealed glass containers. This will now turn into a fizzy carbonated type of kambucha.


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## Angrybird (Dec 13, 2015)

Awesome info Zeigler seriously man much appreciated


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## HydroEJP88 (Jun 25, 2018)

Bumping this just because I want to apologize to Big Z. 

When I first seen this post back when it showed up, I thought you were legit crazy. Who the hell wants to drink mushroom tea?

Well guess who has 2 thumbs and has been brewing his own kombucha for the past 3 months? This guy right here.

I love it and I drink it daily.

Way to be ahead of the game Z


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## PillarofBalance (Jun 25, 2018)

HydroEJP88 said:


> Bumping this just because I want to apologize to Big Z.
> 
> When I first seen this post back when it showed up, I thought you were legit crazy. Who the hell wants to drink mushroom tea?
> 
> ...



X2 I gave it a go at making this too. Love it. My scoby is my little buddy. It's like a pet.


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## HydroEJP88 (Jun 25, 2018)

PillarofBalance said:


> X2 I gave it a go at making this too. Love it. My scoby is my little buddy. It's like a pet.



Oh absolutely. I've actually grown 2 extra scobys for my buddies at work


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## John Ziegler (Jun 25, 2018)

Havent been brewing any for awhile now but towards the end I really had it down pat 

Its hard getting the fizzy part right you know what i mean ?


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## HydroEJP88 (Jun 26, 2018)

Zeigler said:


> Havent been brewing any for awhile now but towards the end I really had it down pat
> 
> Its hard getting the fizzy part right you know what i mean ?


Oh I agree. I don't like it too fizzy though


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## Jin (Jun 26, 2018)

HydroEJP88 said:


> When I first seen this post back when it showed up, I thought you were legit crazy.  the hell wants to drink mushroom tea?
> 
> Z



Z is legit crazy. Legit kombucha brewing, homeless looking, nice to meet you singing, AAS shooting, crazy Magical Wizard. 

I want to drink mushroom tea, thanks.


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