Probiotic Kombucha

If you are into any kind of a health journey, you are bound to have heard the word “probiotic”. You may or may not have heard that 80% of our overall health resides in our gut.

Per Dr. Mark Hyman, the impact the gut has on the entire body should not be underestimated, but unfortunately in conventional medicine it often is.

We are shuttling pounds and pounds of food into this tube we have called the digestive system several times a day and we don’t give it a second thought—it’s pretty crazy when you think about it. The gut is responsible for our ability to turn food into fuel; to absorb and even create certain nutrients; to rid the body of harmful toxins on a daily basis. We rely on it to do so much for us. So, why don’t we give it the TLC it deserves?

Make-at-Home Kombucha

Enter kombucha. Made from black (sometimes green) tea, this fizzy drink elicits either a love or a hate reaction. There are no grey areas with this potion! I’ve had guests that either wrinkle their faces in disgust or those that ask for a second helping.

For a few years, we purchased kombucha from our grocery store. Slowly, as this drink got popular, we started noticing that the added sugar content was creeping up. And so was the price! Probably to satiate the sugar-addicted palates, and to cash in on the rising demand.

Luckily, I met Gagan Maur (check out his blog on the Ancient Wisdom of Fermentation here) who was brewing kombucha at home and was willing to share his knowledge and his SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast) with me.

There has been no looking back since. We love our homemade ‘booch’! I’ve shared my ever-growing SCOBY with several of my friends. I’ve tried creative ways to infuse the basic kombucha recipe with fruit and herb flavors – some are lip-smacking. Today’s recipe is really the very basic kombucha you can brew with just a few spices thrown in. Once you get the hang of it, you can start to experiment.

All About SCOBY

Kombucha is relatively easy to make, provided you can lay your hands on the SCOBY, which essentially is a starter culture. Check your local Meetup groups or ask your friends and neighbors – someone’s bound to have some to share.

The SCOBY keeps growing, so in a matter of just a couple of months, you will be able share yours with another newbie. How cool is that, right?! Best of all, you can brew kombucha at home for literally pennies!! Earlier this year, I shipped SCOBY to a lady in Georgia and she reports that she’s already distributing SCOBY to her friends.

How Much Sugar Does Your Kombucha Have?

Store bought kombucha is extremely high in sugar, to make it more palatable for the general population. Companies also add fruit juices into their kombucha recipes to make the drink sweeter. They also “kill” the fermentation process when the liquid is bottled. Reason being, the kombucha continues to ferment even when the SCOBY is removed. The more the kombucha ferments, the more it sours (and less the sugar).

In the past, we have used a device to measure the amount of sugar in homemade kombucha after a 6 day, 10 day and 14 day fermentation. The sugars listed in the Nutrition Facts in this recipe is for kombucha that has been harvested after 6 days. The longer the fermentation, the lesser the sugar obviously. We have measured 2 grams of sugar in a cup of kombucha after a 2 week fermentation period.

How to Care For Your SCOBY

Let’s talk about the importance of keeping contamination at bay while brewing kombucha at home. As with other food preparation, always make sure that you have a clean and sterile environment – use clean glass jars and dishes and remember to clean your hands well before handling the SCOBY.

If you love gut-friendly, probiotic, homemade, delicious (and I could go on with superlatives, but will let you be the judge), check out other easy ways to restore health to your gut:

• Kaanji
• Kefir
• Pickled Chili Peppers
• Multigrain Dosa
• Multigrain Idli
• Spicy Buttermilk Soup
• Mooli (Daikon Radish) Raita
• Raw Plantain with Yogurt Curry
• Chilled Cucumber Dill Soup
• Tomato Onion Tadka Raita
• Vegetable Uthappam
• Curd (Yogurt) Rice
• Doddapatre Tambuli (Karpooravalli Thayir Pachadi)
• Soft Kefir-Quinoa-Rawa Idli

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Probiotic Kombucha Recipe

A wonderful drink that’s great for your gut, kombucha has been brewed for many centuries. Learn to make it for pennies in your own kitchen using healing spices.

Course Drinks

Cuisine International

Keyword black tea, brew, cane sugar, how to brew kombucha, kombucha, probiotic, probiotic drink

Special Diet Gluten Free, Grain Free, Nut Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Cook Time 15 minutes

Ferment Time 6 days

Total Time 6 days 15 minutes

Servings 10 People

Calories 22kcal

Ingredients

• 10 Cups Filtered Water
• 1/4 Cup Sugar - Preferable cane sugar
• 2 Teaspoons Black Tea - Loose Leaf
• 3 Cloves - Optional
• 3 Pods Cardamom - Optional
• 1 Star Anise - Optional
• 1 Inch Cinnamon - Bark (Optional)
• 1/2 Teaspoon Fennel Seeds - Optional
• 1 Inch Ginger - Freshly grated. Optional

Instructions

• In a thick-bottomed dish, add 10 cups of filtered water. Add 2 teaspoons of loose black tea to the water.
  
• Add any kind of spices you wish to. Some great ones are fennel seeds, star anise, clove, cardamom, cinnamon bark, dried hibiscus flowers, turmeric root, freshly grated fresh ginger root etc. Green matcha tea also makes for a great addition. However, note that kombucha needs black tea and other teas are not substitutes.
  
• Allow the spices and tea leaves to come to a full boil. After 2-3 minutes turn off the heat. Add 1/4 cup of sugar and stir well until the sugar melts. Allow the sweet tea to cool.
  
• Pour out the tea into a large wide-mouthed glass container via a fine mesh sieve. Discard the tea leaves and spices into a compost.
  
• Add the SCOBY culture to the sweet tea in the glass container.
  
• Cover with a thin muslin cloth or paper towel and let the tea ferment at room temperature for 5-7 days. During the fermentation process, the yeast in the SCOBY breaks down the sugar in the tea and releases probiotic bacteria.

  Insert a straw after Day 5 and taste the kombucha daily until it reaches the desired combo of sweetness and tartness.
  

To Brew the Next Batch:

• When you are ready to harvest the kombucha, brew the next batch of fresh tea and allow it to cool.

  Using clean hands, transfer the SCOBY to a plate or bowl. Pour the kombucha into glass bottles (filter using a tea strainer if there is residue) and refrigerate to enjoy.

  Transfer the SCOBY into the cooled down tea and allow it to ferment!
  

Hoteling the SCOBY:

• If you want to take a break from making kombucha for a while, it is important to keep your SCOBY well fed. Brew tea using instructions above but double the amount of tea and sugar. Add the SCOBY to the cooled down tea, cover the jar with a breathable fabric tied with a rubber band and allow it to "rest" for up to 4 weeks.
  

Notes

*Use organic ingredients wherever possible

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Probiotic Kombucha Recipe

Amount per Serving

Calories

22

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

0.1

g

0

%

Saturated Fat

 

0.01

g

0

%

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

0.01

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

0.03

g

Sodium

 

12

mg

1

%

Potassium

 

11

mg

0

%

Carbohydrates

 

6

g

2

%

Fiber

 

0.2

g

1

%

Sugar

 

5

g

6

%

Protein

 

0.1

g

0

%

Vitamin A

 

1

IU

0

%

Vitamin C

 

0.1

mg

0

%

Calcium

 

12

mg

1

%

Iron

 

0.1

mg

1

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.