Over the past few years, kombucha has overtaken coconut water as the non-alcoholic drink filling the fridges of veg*n restaurants. I've typically searched around both, looking for an iced tea or mineral water instead. I would never have entertained the idea of making my own kombucha if Aaron and Sophie hadn't included a recipe in the Lab Farewell Cookbook.
My friends Troy and Bec are much more dedicated kombuchers, and shared some of their excess scoby so that I could take this on. Aaron and Sophie's recipe is simple and clear, with all the extra tips that a newb like me needs, like: don't let metal touch the scoby, and: avoid oil components in your flavoured tea. The recipe also offers lots of flexibility in the tea and fizz flavours that you can add to the green tea base. (For all these reasons, I'm posting their full recipe with permission rather than paraphrasing it myself.)
I chose apple and ginger flavours for my first batch, and carefully worked through the steps over the course of a fortnight. The 10-day taste test was promising, and the final batch was thoroughly enjoyable! It had the sweetness of apple juice, a gentle tang akin to apple cider vinegar and a very subdued fizz. The ginger wasn't so distinct, so that's something to work towards perfecting.
It is useful timing for me to see this - I have a plan to start my kombucha with your donated scoby this afternoon - this recipe is different to what I have seen on other websites because it does not have the starter tea that I have found a bit confusing. Will let you know how it goes.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck, Johanna! I think the tea that the scoby was floating in might also do that job, but it sounds like you often buy kombucha anyway - you should be all set. :)
DeleteMaking kombucha is something that mildly terrifies me, so excellent job! I do really enjoy kombucha, and have some almost every day. I prefer dry ginger type flavours. But steer clear of anything that includes gross stevia. I really should make my own!
ReplyDeleteSusan, I have have really not delved much into the worlds of fermentation, preserving, sterilisation and so on! And a kombucha scoby must be one of the most intimidating versions. :D I reckon ginger versions will be top of my list too.
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