How to cook kombucha

Kombucha is also called “zooglea”, or “medusomycete”. Strictly speaking, it’s not exactly a mushroom. This is a mix of yeast and probiotic culture of bacteria. Kombucha is very fond of sugar. Over the millennia of making this drink, people have realized that it interacts best with tea, which is why they began to combine jellyfish with it.

Together with the chef, we will tell you how to properly cook kombucha and what subtleties will help to make a delicious drink. We provide step by step instructions.

Step 1. Looking for kombucha

You can ask your friends for it, buy it at small enterprises that manufacture modern soft drinks. But the easiest way to order online. Now many companies sell zooglea culture at a price of 200-300 rubles. There are even gift sets with a breeding container and everything you need for the process.

Sometimes you can buy kombucha from grandmothers who sell on the streets and markets. We do not vouch that the ingredient will be of high quality. Although some say that pensioners have kombucha with a history, and only on its basis can you get the right drink. Important: there should be no mold and extraneous unpleasant odors on the zoogley.

You can cook kombucha yourself, but it takes a long time and the result, especially if you are doing it for the first time, can be unpredictable. To prepare, you need two tablespoons of sugar, 7-10 grams of loose tea and two tablespoons of diluted apple cider vinegar (6%) per 500 ml of boiling water. Infuse for a month and a half until the body of kombucha begins to appear. Then separate it and continue according to our recipe.

Step 2. Preparing tea and a container for a drink

Gently place the kombucha in the bottom of the container. Boil one liter of clean water and brew about a teaspoon of tea leaves in it in another bowl. Classic black tea is best. But experiments are not forbidden. For example, an interesting drink is obtained in combination with pu-erh, oolongs and green tea.

Step 3: Add Sugar

Sometimes it is recommended to experiment with honey or different sweeteners like date syrup or Jerusalem artichoke. However, practice shows that after such know-how, Kombucha quickly dies – literally in two or three “harvests”. Therefore, to make the right infusion, use regular white sugar. Start with 4-5 tablespoons per liter of infusion.

Step 4. Mixing the Ingredients

Stir sugar into hot tea and cool it to room temperature. Only then pour it into a container with a mushroom. Make sure that tea leaves do not get in – the jellyfish does not like foreign cultures and can become moldy.

Step 5: Let the Kombucha Breathe

Do not cover tightly. It is enough to cover with gauze and fit with an elastic band. Infusion takes 5-10 days. It is desirable that the jar be stored in a warm place around +25 degrees Celsius. At the same time, direct sunlight and drafts should be avoided. As for the timing of insisting, we have outlined the boundaries – then your right to experiment.

Step 6. Drain the drink

When finished insisting, pour the drink into a new clean container. If you pour it into a bottle and tightly close the lid, then after a couple of days in the refrigerator the drink will become carbonated. You can not do this and drink immediately.

Step 7. We prepare a new infusion and properly care for kombucha

To continue the production of the drink, make sweet tea again and “feed” it to the mushroom. Don’t forget to chill your tea before doing this! Please note that over time, the culture will begin to acquire new layers. This is normal – it means the body lives and feels good.

Once a month, take out the mushroom and separate the old brown layers from it. Rinse the mushroom with clean water. You can put it in a bowl of water, gently swirl it there and return it to the jar. Ideally, leave at least 100 ml of the old tea leaves and add a new one to it.

Step 8. Store Kombucha

If you want to stop production for a while, then after water procedures put the mushroom on a clean plate and cover with gauze. Let it dry for a few days, turning occasionally. Wrap kombucha in paper and store in a cool, dry place. You can use it again whenever you want.

Chef’s Tips

Chef Aidar Khaloev has been preparing drinks based on Kombucha in its establishments for more than a decade. We asked an expert to share helpful tips to get the right drink.

• During the preparation process, everything must be sterile. Someone may have a stereotype that a mushroom lives in a dirty jar and feels good there. Under no circumstances should this be allowed. If you can, wear clean gloves or at least wash your hands thoroughly when handling the mushroom. All utensils must be boiled.
• Use a regular glass jar. In their work, cooks use stainless steel containers. But such containers are expensive, take up a lot of space – it makes no sense to buy a special home. Therefore, a glass jar remains an ideal place for the existence of kombucha. Plastic utensils are not recommended.
• There should be nothing extraneous in tea. Tea leaves, small debris, paper, sugar crystals – none of this should be. Pour the liquid over the kombucha through a clean sieve or cheesecloth. Otherwise, the fungus may get sick.

• If you want a more varied taste. Do not use supplements directly with kombucha. Only when the infusion is drained after 5-10 days, add to it whatever your heart desires. Try jams, fruit purees, coffee syrups, freshly squeezed juices – apple or exotic fruits. Add mint or other herbs to taste. An excellent combination of drink with ginger and lemon.
• Kombucha only gets along well with “pure” tea. Black tea is best. Do not take tea with thyme, bergamot and other flavors. You can also try pure green tea or pu-erh. I have tried making a drink based on sweet coffee. It turned out to be an interesting cocktail, but the mushroom itself died after the second infusion.
• Kombucha-based drink contains tenths of alcohol. Like kvass or kefir. Therefore, it is not recommended to drink infusion while driving in order to avoid misunderstandings with the traffic police.
• In the production of kombucha for sale, the drink is pasteurized. Heat it up to keep it longer. At home, technology cannot be observed. Therefore, try to drink ready-made kombucha infusion in the first week after draining.

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