How To Make Kombucha - First & Second Fermentation

Today, we're going to talk about my process for making Kombucha It's going to be a busy day in the DaddyKirbs farm kitchen. I have pears that I peeled and cored last night I'm going to make some canned pears some pear butter from the other pears back here and Kombucha We're going to start the Kombucha process in the video a little bit from the middle and Then go to the beginning because this is a batch of Kombucha that has already brewed - already fermented - and I need to get it started on the second fermentation. Then we're going to move on to making the tea and starting a new batch Now that this Kombucha has processed for the adequate amount of time to make it taste just right to start the second fermentation Let's get started. First of all, if you're new here, and you're not sure what's going on What is Kombucha? Kombucha is fermented black tea. It goes through a fermentation process. It has the scoby that lives on top. This is the symbiotic culture of Bacteria in yeast. It's a living organism that turns the sweet black tea into Kombucha. It's a fermented product. That fermented tea is then taken and put into smaller containers for what we call a "second fermentation". That's when the fermented tea is flavored with fruit juice and allowed to ferment a little longer to give it that nice sweet flavor that you love. Just like in the Apple Cider vinegar video where I talked about touching the mother of vinegar, you have to have clean hands whenever you touch that living organism This Kombucha has been processing for eight days. With a SCOBY this thick in a jar this big, 8 days is about as long as you want to let something like this process so it doesn't get too vinegary. What I do to make sure that it still tastes good and that I actually want to use this to make my Kombucha drinks, I test each batch before making it to make sure it's not too vinegary By pushing that scoby down mixing it up a little bit And pouring a little bit in like this, this is just plain Kombucha And I taste it if it tastes Too hard to drink too vinegary at this stage. I'm not going to waste fruit juice on it If it's a nice sweet flavor...not too sweet (not sugary sweet because that means it's not processed enough). Once you start making Kombucha And you start tasting each stage you can tell when it has transitioned from the sugary sweet tea into vinegar There's a stage in between that I call the sweet spot. That's when you want to start making your second fermentation Take the scoby that has developed to multiple Scobie's in fact and Place it into a bowl just like this and I'll pour some of the Kombucha in there Keep it Happy. We'll use that liquid later in the process We'll set that aside, and we'll get started with making our second fermentation. Normally, I have a couple of gallon Pitchers ready and a little strainer and I'll just pour this Kombucha through the strainer just to catch any large bits. Between each batch, I like to give the jars a good rinse. I don't use any soap We'll set these aside for the next process where we're actually going to make the next batch of Kombucha but for now We're going to be using the Kombucha that's in the pictures and bottling it up We're going to flavor this batch with a mango juice. Let's talk about the juice for a minute. You can use any natural fruit juice that has no preservatives or even whole fruit. Some people use berries or chopped fruit to put into their second fermentation containers. They let the Kombucha ferment on that whole fruit which would be delightful. What I have found in my family, though, is that they really love the mango juice. This is really the only flavor I found that everyone will drink. The jars that you'll be placing your kombucha in for the second fermentation can be anything that you can put a cap on. This jar right here is a tea jar that we bought at the grocery at some point And we kept the lid and that makes a really nice jar for your second fermentation. Now my normal process for the second fermentation is approximately a quarter cup of fruit juice for each pint These are roughly one pint jars. Actually, I think these are exactly one pint....this one might be a little more You can use as much or as little fruit juice as you find that you like. I found that about a quarter cup per pint is just perfect for our family. So at this point, I just go through and start pouring a quarter cup of juice into each pint jar. Alright, now we're adding our kombucha and since we've already filtered it when we poured it into the pitchers We don't have to filter it again Now each of the jars is sealed tightly When the Kombucha is brewing you want it to breathe, but when you do your second fermentation You don't want the CO-2 that's forming in there to escape because you want it to be forced into the liquid giving your Kombucha that bubbly carbonated feel like a soda Unless you don't like that, and then you let it breathe At this stage the Kombucha with the fruit flavoring is going into the pantry What's going on inside of these jars is that this Kombucha is still alive. There's still some live Bacteria and yeast in there and it's going to be eating up the fruit sugars. The longer it second ferments, the less fruit sweet it is but the more carbonated it becomes if you like it real fruity flavored don't worry about doing the second fermentation just pour your fruit juice in and Bottle it up and put it in the fridge. That way the fermentation process will stop and it will be very fruity. I like to give the Kombucha a few days outside of the refrigerator to eat up those fruit sugars and become very carbonated. how long do you keep it in the pantry? Well I tell people to keep it in the pantry Until it reaches the carbonation level that they like I've noticed though that if you go longer than four days the lids get pretty tight And I wouldn't want to risk popping so my recommendation is no longer than four days in The pantry before you put it in the refrigerator. The next part of the process Includes making some fresh sweet tea to make our next batch of Kombucha out of, in the fermenting jars. The way that I do this - I make two gallons of tea But I brew it in a smaller container so that I can dilute it later to cool it off faster. The teabags that I use are one ingredient: black tea. If you start experimenting with other teas you need to be careful because Flavored teas a lot of times will have oils in them That's what gives them the flavor and the aroma and that can damage your SCOBY...and you don't want to do anything that's going to degrade the SCOBY that you depend on to make your Kombucha. When I brew my tea I bring roughly two quarts of water up to A low boil, and then I just turn it off and I drop enough teabags in to make two gallons of tea I'll let that sit five Six minutes or so - let it steep really well. It'll get really dark because there's a lot of teabags in this small container While your tea is still warm we're going to use a ratio of one cup of sugar per gallon of tea that we're making. This is going to make two gallons of tea. So we're going to put two cups of sugar We're just going to stir it to make sure it all dissolves well We want to be right around room temperature when we add this scoby to it So we're just going to let it sit for a little bit for now. The tea has cooled down on the stovetop. So we're going to pour it into our gallon pitcher. I just take the first bit of water and fill it up and dilute it, and then I take that and divide it in half. That's about half. Then I'll get more water to add to those and we'll end up with two gallons You do need to make sure that your tea is not hot when you put your SCOBY in it. The ideal temperature for a scobie is somewhere around 75°F. In my one gallon pickle jars, before I put my SCOBY in, I'll fill them up about two-thirds of the way We have to leave room for the scoby and a little bit of Kombucha that we're adding to our batch. Now we're washing our hands again That is a nice sized SCOBY to put back inside the Kombucha right there So we're just going to lay it right on top of the tea. The SCOBY likes to float on top But it is okay if it sinks or turns sideways It'll process the Kombucha is still the same. We're going to add the Kombucha that we put on top of our Scobies into our next batch of Kombucha. We're going to do about a cup or so in each batch And then we're going to fill it up just a little bit more with some of this extra tea These jars are ready to put away for another seven days or so. I just cover them with a clean Dish cloth Keep the bugs out keep the flies out and I put a rubber band around it This is the same method I use for the apple Cider vinegar. And I've been keeping track because sometimes it's hard to remember When you did this and today is september 6th And I'm just going to attach that to the batch with the rubber band. Now those are ready to put away Now here are a few questions that I get asked often with the Kombucha The number one question just like with apple Cider Vinegar is "Well, how do you start if you don't have a SCOBY?" This is a SCOBY. If you know somebody that makes kombucha they're going to have plenty of SCOBYs. Ask them if you can have one or if you can buy one Here's the method that I use to make my first SCOBY. A friend of mine handed me a jar that with some Kombucha that came from the local market I brought that into the kitchen and I added the Kombucha and It doesn't have to be a whole lot I probably would prefer a little more than that, but that's all I had leftover and some sweet black tea Make sure it's not too hot if you do it in a quart jar You can put a towel and use the ring and just secure it that keeps the towel on and the bugs out Put that in the pantry and forget about it for... I don't know....four/five weeks when you come back There should be a nice little slimy layer on top. That's the beginning of your SCOBY That SCOBY will grow and eventually become quite thick inside this jar. When it reaches about 1/4 inch thick You can put that into a gallon jar or whatever size jar. You're using for your batch of Kombucha, and you'll be good to go This is a batch of the mango Kombucha that I have that I brew on a regular basis. Now there's floating bits in here. That's the pulp from the mango juice, and there's also a baby SCOBY in there Let's see if we can find it There it is. Now many people will tell you that you shouldn't or can't start a batch of Kombucha with something that has the fruit juice in it it may be less than Desirable, but I will tell you it can still work This baby SCOBY -even as tiny as it is - is a start to what could be a mother (a big SCOBY) For you to use in your batch. If somebody gives you some kombucha that's flavored you could save part of that Maybe [1/2] a cup with a baby SCOBY in it and put it in some sweet black tea and see if you can get started that way too. Speaking of the baby SCOBY... one of the questions that I get asked sometimes when I talk about Kombucha is that "Is it ok to eat that or drink that? Or what if it's in my drink and I accidentally swallow it?" No big deal! In fact I do it all the time. The SCOBY is full of probiotics and minerals that's good for you It may be slightly uncomfortable when it hits your teeth and you're not expecting it But it's not going to hurt you. If you like the idea of drinking Kombucha But you don't like the idea of the excess pulp or scobie getting in your mouth Just pour it through a strainer like this, and you'll be good When you kombucha is ready to go back into the pantry Put it someplace where it's out of the direct light Your kombucha does not like.. certainly doesn't like sunlight and would prefer to live in a place that doesn't have much light at all There are a couple things that your kombucha needs: sugar and time alone......sounds like some people I know the only reason you should Disturb your Kombucha is if you need to get in there and taste it to become familiar with the process so that you can make better Kombucha If you have any additional questions about the Kombucha post them in the comments below I'd love to see if I can help you there It's about time for me to get started on these pears, so I'm going to let this video end, and I'll talk to you soon

Channel: Daddykirbs Farm

Views: 936,250

Keywords: daddykirbs, daddykirbs farm, kombucha, kombucha tea, make kombucha, brew kombucha at home, scoby, probiotics, fermentation, fermented, ferment, how to make kombucha, diy kombucha, kombucha tutorial, cultures for health, vegetable garden, healthy living, permaculture orchard, beyond organic gardening, modern homesteading, how to, how-to, Kombucha (Tea), clean eating, better digestion, culture starter, SCOBY, digestive health, brew, how to make scoby, kombucha scoby

Id: 23P7QqsjEMw

Length: 13min 56sec (836 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 25 2016