Tricks to Kombucha Tea Making

Kombucha tea has been prepared for 2000 years by mixing kombucha mushrooms into regular tea and letting the mixture ferment. Kombucha mushrooms are not really mushrooms at all. They are pancake shaped lichen fungi that taste more like wine apple cider than mushrooms. Kombucha tea is delicious and thought to be a magic potion that can energize, rejuvenate and restore your health. Making the tea is not difficult. It simply requires time, patience and the right environment.

Materials

• If this is your first batch of kombucha tea, begin with 2 quarts of water, 3 black or green tea bags, 1/2 cup of refined white sugar and a live kombucha culture.

  Choose a glass container with a wide mouth, a cotton or linen cloth to cover it and a rubber band or ribbon to secure it. Never use metal containers to ferment your tea as the acids in the tea may react with the metal. You will need a cooking thermometer to accurately determine the temperature of your tea.

Preparation

• Begin by making tea the old-fashioned way. Bring the water to a boil and then take off the stove. Place the tea bags in the water and steep for 15 minutes. Add the sugar and stir until it is completely dissolved. Let the tea cool down to a temperature between 68 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Higher temperatures can kill the kombucha cultures.

  Transfer the cooled tea to a glass container. Add the liquid that came with your culture to the tea and then place the live kombucha culture into the tea. Cover the glass container with a breathable, tightly woven cloth and secure with a rubber band or string. Your tea will be ready in 8 to 12 days depending on the room temperature. The warmer the temperature the quicker your tea will brew.

  The kombucha culture needs a warm, clean, quiet place to ferment. Once you find the perfect location for your culture, do not move it. On all later batches of kombucha tea you make, reserve 10 percent of your current kombucha tea to add to your new batch as a "starter liquid". This helps maintain proper pH balance.

Preventing Mold and Contamination

• The fermenting process for kombucha tea can be tricky. Always keep your hands, glassware and utensils clean. Do not smoke cigarettes or tobacco around kombucha cultures. Keep culture jars completely covered with breathable material, secured with rubber bands or string. Use high-quality ingredients to provide the best nutrients and least amount of chemicals and preservatives.

  Select a brewing place that is out of direct sunlight, clean and warm (between 75 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit). Keep your tea far from plants, as soil contains millions of spores and microbes.

  Maintaining a pH balance of 4.5 or below makes it difficult for mold to grow. Testing your tea with pH strips helps ensure a proper pH level. Remember that a properly brewed tea has a slight vinegar smell, not a moldy or musty smell.