{"id":5003,"date":"2022-06-28T11:00:22","date_gmt":"2022-06-28T11:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/?p=5003"},"modified":"2022-06-28T11:21:55","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T11:21:55","slug":"how-to-make-and-flavor-kombucha-at-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/everything-else\/how-to-make-and-flavor-kombucha-at-home\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make and Flavor Kombucha at Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sharing tips on how to make and flavor your own kombucha at home!<\/em><\/p>\n

Hi friends! Hope you’re having a lovely morning! This week is a bit bonkers and we’re enjoying time with some friends who are here from Florida! I’ll be back on Friday with some faves, but in the meantime, here’s a post from the archives. If you’re curious about making your own kombucha at home, here’s the full how-to!<\/p>\n

So, it FINALLY HAPPENED.<\/p>\n

\"homemade<\/a><\/p>\n

After about a year (maybe a little longer?) of inconsistently making kombucha at home, I finally made some that tastes even better than store-bought stuff.<\/p>\n

Orange Cranberry Ginger Homemade Kombucha<\/h2>\n

\"Orange<\/a><\/p>\n

It was getting really close, and I was happy with the flavor combos I\u2019d tried, but it was always a little too tangy, too sweet, not fizzy enough, etc.<\/strong><\/p>\n

After quite a bit of experimentation, I got the result I\u2019d been searching for; it was a glorious moment indeed. A warm embrace was shared with the kombucha jar before holding the scoby in the air like a baby Simba while singing a celebratory chant.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

(Ok, just in my mind.)<\/p>\n

Tips on How to Make Kombucha at Home<\/h2>\n

-I followed the steps in this post<\/a>, but will outline them again, updated with the current techniques.<\/p>\n

1) The quality of the scoby (the starter bacteria that looks like a flat, opaque gummy disk) makes all the difference in the world.<\/strong> I got an awesome scoby from Amazon, but I\u2019ve also ordered a dud that ended up molding. (A little tidbit about mold: a lot of people are rightfully fearful about making moldy or bad kombucha. If the batch is bad, it\u2019s an obvious thing. <\/strong>You will know it\u2019s bad just by looking at it. The scoby will have blue or greenish patches on it, and well, it will look like mold. Don\u2019t drink it; throw it away to start over.) The scoby I picked up from the farmer\u2019s market in Ocean Beach is a BEAST.<\/p>\n

(I got a bottle from the farmer\u2019s market, filled with scoby strands and starter tea. To say I was skeptical would be an understatement. Shame on me.)<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve made multiple batches with said amazing scoby and also gave one to Whitney; she now has a full-up scoby hotel.<\/p>\n

I like \u2018em thick.<\/p>\n

\"make<\/a><\/p>\n

Scoby handling guidelines<\/span>: always make sure your hands, tools, container, anything that comes in contact with the scoby, are fully sanitized. Do not touch the scoby (or stir your kombucha) with anything metal; it can destroy it. Use wood or plastic tools instead.<\/p>\n

2) After you have your scoby, make your starter tea (black and green tea with NO added essential oils work well). <\/strong>I like the Newman\u2019s Own organic black tea. 8-10 cups of water to 8-10 bags of tea (equal water:tea ratio). After the water comes up to a boil, I add the tea bags, remove from the heat and stir in one cup of organic sugar. Let the tea cool completely to room temperature before straining it and pouring into your kombucha jar (this is a perfect one).<\/p>\n

3) Next, you\u2019ll add about 2 cups of starter liquid (or whatever came with your scoby), and gently place the scoby on top.<\/strong> If the scoby and tea are the exact same temperature, it will float beautifully to the top. If it sinks to the bottom, NBD. Just let it swim around and a new scoby will grow on top.<\/p>\n

4) Cover it with cheesecloth or a paper towel (covered to protect, but with something that will enable it to breathe) and secure with an elastic band before placing in a dark cabinet to ferment.<\/strong> Avoid looking at it while it\u2019s fermenting, and start checking the taste of the mixture in about a week. This is where you\u2019ll decide how tangy or sweet you like it.<\/p>\n

\"fermenting<\/a><\/p>\n

Dip a clean plastic spoon into the \u2018buch and give it a taste. If it\u2019s to your liking, you\u2019re ready for a second ferment! If it\u2019s too sweet, give it a couple more days to become more tangy\/acidic. If it\u2019s too tangy, move onto the next step (flavoring and second fermentation) and add some extra fruit juice.<\/p>\n

The duration for your kombucha fermentation will vary based on your climate and taste preferences. In hot Tucson, it was ready in about a week. In cooler weather, it could take up to two weeks. Be patient, young grasshopper.<\/p>\n

5) When you\u2019re ready for your second fermentation, this is the fun part: flavoring it!<\/strong> Get another jar or two (that has a flip lid, like these ones<\/a>), or some Mason jars for the second round fermentation + flavoring the mixture.<\/p>\n

Some things that work well to flavor:<\/p>\n

-Fruit juice (apple, berry, orange)<\/p>\n

-Berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries)<\/p>\n

-Herbs (lavender, dried ginger, mint)<\/p>\n

Have fun experimenting!<\/p>\n

\"kombucha<\/a><\/p>\n

To each jar or bottle, add some juice, herbs (if you\u2019d like) and (this is KEY) some dried fruit<\/strong>\u00a0(like dried cranberries or raisins).<\/strong> The sugar in the dried fruit will continue to feed the bacteria, and will also make the kombucha fizzy. Another thing that helps will fizz factor: dried ginger.<\/a><\/strong> This stuff is particularly awesome; a little (like a hefty pinch for each Mason jar) goes a long way. Pour the kombucha into each jar or bottle, but be sure to leave at least 2 cups of kombucha in the original jar to use as your \u201cstarter tea\u201d for the next batch.<\/p>\n

6) Seal the flavored kombucha and place back in the pantry (in a dark, temperate spot) for 2-3 days.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

7) Next, you\u2019ll transfer the jars\/bottles from the pantry to the fridge to chill and enjoy! <\/strong>(if you used any \u201cwhole\u201d fruits, herbs or berries, strain the mixture before sealing again to place in the fridge.<\/p>\n

So what do you do with the old kombucha bottle (which now has the old \u201cMother\u201d scoby in it + the new layer \u201cbaby\u201d scoby growing on top)?<\/strong> You separate the baby from the mother (yes, this involves touching it with your hands and cringing as you peel the slimy layers apart). The baby scoby can now venture on its own into the world to make its own kombucha (so you can have two batches growing at once). Or even better: put it in a baggie with some starter tea and gift to a friend! The gift that keeps on giving haha.<\/p>\n

A little tip: I only use one scoby for a max of two batches of kombucha, and then will switch over to the baby scoby.<\/strong> They become weaker with each batch, so it\u2019s good to switch to a new scoby after a couple of rounds.<\/p>\n

Hope this helped those of you who were considering making your own kombucha!<\/p>\n

Kombucha: yay or nay? Have you ever made kombucha at home? Anything unique that you like to make or ferment? <\/strong>I would love to experiment with homemade ghee or goat cheese!<\/p>\n

Hope you have a lovely night <3<\/p>\n

xoxo<\/p>\n

Gina<\/p>\n

Try these kombucha cocktails!<\/a><\/p>\n

More adventures in fermentation:<\/span><\/p>\n

Homemade sauerkimchi<\/a><\/p>\n

The post How to Make and Flavor Kombucha at Home<\/a> appeared first on The Fitnessista<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sharing tips on how to make and flavor your own kombucha at home! Hi friends! Hope you\u2019re having a lovely morning! This week is a bit bonkers and we\u2019re enjoying time with some friends who are here from Florida! I\u2019ll be back on Friday with some faves, but in the meantime, here\u2019s a post from\u2026
\nThe post How to Make and Flavor Kombucha at Home appeared first on The Fitnessista.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":""},"categories":[20,1,21,22,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5003"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5003"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5003\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5012,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5003\/revisions\/5012"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}