Wild Kombucha Tea

Welcome to my mystical and magical world of Wild Kombucha Tea. I learned how to make kombucha tea in the valleys of Northern Thailand in 2015 and have been making it all over the world ever since, teaching and inspiring others with this ancient technique of wild fermentation.

Jump to:

• Welcome to my world of Kombucha
• The art of wild fermentation
• What is kombucha tea
• Where did kombucha tea originate?
• How long does it take to make kombucha
• Where can I get a SCOBY
• Health benefits of kombucha
• How does our digestion work?
• Is there alcohol in kombucha?
• What kind of sugar is best to use?
• What teas to use for making kombucha?
• Brewing Kombucha Safely
• Ingredients for making kombucha
• Equipment
• Kombucha Flavors
• More fermentation recipes to try
• 📋 Recipe

Welcome to my world of Kombucha

In this article, I will explain how to make your own Kombucha Tea at home.

Discovering, understanding, and embracing Kombucha Tea marked a major turning point in my career and life. In September of 2015, I decided to take some time out from my hard grafting head chef job to go on a cultural culinary adventure of Northern Thailand.

While visiting a Muay Thai training camp in the jungles of Mae Hong Son,  I attended a two-day fermentation course, learning all about the makings of sauerkraut, kefir, and kombucha.

I had been happily consuming copious amounts of this sparkly probiotic drink on my travels. But, I never really understood the extent of the fermentation process that took place to create such a medicinal elixir. Kombucha has its origins traced back to the Far East some 2000 years ago.

The art of wild fermentation

Up until this time it never really dawned on me that we have the ability to work with nature and give our foods superpowers by applying the natural biological process of wild fermentation. It was an awakening, this opened a whole new pathway of exploration for me...

What is kombucha tea

Kombucha is a live pro-biotic green or black tea that's fermented with the aid of a culture, commonly referred to as a ‘’SCOBY’’

SCOBY = symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast.

Cane sugar is added to the tea to act as food for the SCOBY. As it feeds on the sugar, as well as the wild yeast and bacteria in the environment, it, in turn, populate the tea with probiotics, enzymes, and organic lactic and gluconic acids.

The live culture will miraculously produce a new baby SCOBY! This can be given to friends or family interested in making their own kombucha. And so the life cycle continues.

The resulting beverage will taste something like sparkling apple cider and champagne, depending on what kind of tea you use.

It's an ancient recipe that is simple and safe to produce at home. When consumed on a regular basis can have a very positive effect on your long-term health as part of a balanced diet.

Where did kombucha tea originate?

Known to the Chinese as the ‘Immortal Health Elixir’ 

The origins of Kombucha have become lost in the mists of time. It is thought to have originated in the Far East, probably China. Kombucha has been consumed there for at least two thousand years. The first recorded use of kombucha comes from China in 221 BC during the Tsin Dynasty. It was known as "The Tea of Immortality".

Kombucha has been used in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Japan for several centuries. It's from Japan in 415 AD that the name kombucha is said to have come. A Korean physician called Kombu or Kambu treated Emperor Inyko with the tea and it took his name, "Kombu" and "cha" meaning tea. Russia has a long tradition of using a healing drink called "Tea Kvass" made from a "Japanese Mushroom".

From Russia, it spread to Prussia, Poland, Germany, and Denmark but it seems to have died out during World War Two.

After the war, Dr. Rudolph Skelnar created renewed interest in kombucha in Germany when he used it in his practice to treat cancer patients, metabolic disorders, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

How long does it take to make kombucha

It takes 7-10 days for the 1st stage of fermentation, after which the culture is removed (to start another batch), the live probiotic beverage is then strained and placed in flip-top airtight bottles.

The kombucha is left at room temperature for about another week to continue the bottle fermentation, which builds up the carbonation producing a Champagne-like fizz.

The kombucha SCOBY

The Kombucha culture looks like a beige or white rubbery pancake. It's often called a 'SCOBY' which stands for ''symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts''.

The culture is placed in sweetened black or green tea and turns a bowl full of sweet tea into a bowl full of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and health-giving organic acids.

As the Kombucha culture digests the sugar it produces a range of organic acids like glucuronic acid, gluconic acid, lactic acid, acetic acid, butyric acid, malic acid, and usnic acid; vitamins, particularly B vitamins and vitamin C; as well as amino acids, enzymes.

And of course, there are all the benefits of the probiotic microorganisms themselves.

The Kombucha culture is a biochemical powerhouse in your kitchen.

You might wonder if fermenting tea with yeasts would produce an alcoholic beverage. The yeasts do produce alcohol but the bacteria in the culture turn the alcohol into organic acids. Only minute quantities of alcohol, typically 0.5% by volume remain in the kombucha brew.

With every brew you make the kombucha forms a new layer of SCOBY on the surface of the liquid. These can be left to thicken naturally or the SCOBY can be divided. Thus giving you spare cultures that you can store in some sweet tea in case something should happen to your active culture.

Or you might want to pass on spare Kombucha cultures to friends or use a new SCOBY to start another batch of kombucha.

Where can I get a SCOBY

I took a baby ‘SCOBY’ home from my travels in Thailand 7 years ago and have been producing 1000’s of liters of kombucha ever since.

There are many places to source a SCOBY online, they only cost about $10. Or, if you know someone who brews kombucha you can ask them to save you a baby!

Health benefits of kombucha

There are many health benefits of consuming Kombucha on a regular basis. It's best enjoyed in moderation as part of a healthy balanced diet. No single ingredient will cure all illnesses or ailments.

Variety is the spice of life, it is best to consume a wide array of fresh, natural, raw, cooked, and fermented foods...

The good bacteria in kombucha and other fermented products interact and support the bacteria in our guts to perform their magic on a microbial level.

Our ‘Gut’ is a vast universe in itself, it is more intelligent and mind-blowing than anything the human species will ever create. Each human being has a microbial existence unique to themselves, much like their fingerprint.

We are human beings who are made up mostly of bacteria - without bacteria, there would be no life on earth.

Bacteria were here, living in harmony long before us and will be here long after us. Rather than waging war on bacteria, we must look after our gut ‘bacteria’ health, tune into it and look after it by consuming more living, raw and fermented foods which will provide us what we need to thrive.

After all the true arbiter of good health is our ‘Gut’, ⅔ of our immune system resides here.

How does our digestion work?

A healthy gut is essential to the health of our whole body. If our digestive system is not in balance we may develop not only digestive symptoms but also dis-ease throughout the body.

How do Kombucha and other fermented beverages help?

They contribute to a healthy gut eco-system and they also have specific actions that directly improve its function.

Swapping the fizzy drinks for Kombucha is one simple change that will not only improve digestion but also make a positive impact on immunity, weight management, energy, and even the way we feel emotionally.

Listen and follow your ‘Gut Instinct’, it mysteriously and magically has the answers to all your questions.

Is there alcohol in kombucha?

Kombucha does contain a little bit of alcohol as a by-product of the fermentation process. It is usually no more than 0.5%. So unless you drink several glasses back to back, you should be just fine.

However, people with alcohol sensitivities or who avoid alcohol for other reasons should be aware of its presence.

What kind of sugar is best to use?

The sugar in Kombucha tea is for the SCOBY. It is not for you! The majority of the sugar is consumed by the SCOBY throughout the fermentation process.

I use cane sugar with a ratio of 80g per 1000ml.

You may follow this link for more information on different sugars that could be used and the impact this will have on your Kombucha brew.

What teas to use for making kombucha?

Kombucha cultures love black tea and green tea and grow thick, healthy SCOBYs in either one. Black tea contains more fuel for the SCOBY to grow, so the cultures generally grow more quickly and more robustly.

Read more here for tips on choosing the best tea for making kombucha

Brewing Kombucha Safely

While the home-brewed nature of Kombucha makes some people nervous, it’s unlikely that kombucha will ever make you sick. Kombucha has been around for a long time and has been brewed in environments that were even dirtier than our own!

Like all things, you need to use common sense when brewing Kombucha and pay attention to what you’re doing. It’s natural to feel nervous and unsure at first.

• Make sure your equipment is kept clean.
• Keep your Kombucha covered securely with breathable cloth.
• Don't allow any foreign invaders to get into your kombucha.
• If your SCOBY is healthy, the Kombucha will be healthy.

Ingredients for making kombucha

• Green tea - loose leaf
• Cane sugar
• Filtered water
• Pink salt
• SCOBY
• Live kombucha starter liquid (optional)

Equipment

• Weighing scales
• Kettle
• Glass jars
• Whisk
• Strainer
• Jug
• Funnel
• Muslin cloth
• Elastic bands
• Glass bottles
• Labels

Kombucha Flavors

You can have so much fun creating different flavored kombucha! There really are no limits to the variations. I like to use what fresh fruits are in season and play around with different herbs, spices, and seasonings.

Here are some of my recommendations for flavoring your Kombucha:

Please refer to the recipe care 'Infusion Stage' for the technique on how to flavor Kombucha.

• Mixed berry
• Lime and ginger
• Mint and ginger
• Lemongrass
• Passion fruit
• Hibiscus
• Butterfly pea flower
• Turmeric
• Spirulina
• Matcha
• Beetroot

More fermentation recipes to try

• Pineapple Tepache
• Sauerkraut
• Coconut Yogurt

We hope you enjoy this delicious recipe. We're happy to share it with you. If you make this recipe please let us know in the comments below what you think. We love seeing your recreations. Happy cooking friends!

📋 Recipe