Growing a Kombucha Scoby and Stopping Heartburn

 

 

I used this brand from Costco.   Any Kombucha will work as long as it contains raw probiotics! Most recipes will call for unflavored but I have found it doesn't matter.

I made the starter tea: 

500 ml  (2 1/4 cups) boiling water poured over 2 orange pekoe tea bags and steeped in a sanitized 1 litre ( 1 quart) canning jar.

Add 2 TBSP of white sugar and stir.  Let tea bags steep until cooled to room temperature.  Remove tea bags.
 Meanwhile, pour 2/3 of your  bottle kombucha into a glass and drink it. 

 The 1/3 left behind in the bottle will have some cruddies😝 in it.  This is the good stuff. 😁 Shake it up to loosen all sediment and pour the room temperature juice into your tea starter.  Cover with a coffee filter and elastic

Leave in a warm place for about one month.  About a week later, you will see a scum forming on the top.  This is your scoby growing.  Scobys can also sink  so if this happens to yours, it doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it.
  You will smell a vinegar odor.   If it smells rotten and
not vinegar like, throw it out and start again.

This is a pic after  week three.

This is what a healthy scoby looks like from the top. 😖
 In about a week or so, I will make the actual kombucha. 

 If you buy a case of kombucha like I did,
 make a couple of scoby starters.
  In case one fails you have a backup. 
 If they all work, you can gift them to friends!

Now Let's make KOMBUCHA

Make your tea mixture.
I used to make make my kombucha in a gallon jar but since I am the only one to consume it, I have moved to a one litre canning jar (a.k.a.  one litre or quart jar.)
  Here are two ways to make it:

Recipe for a gallon jar
Bring to a boil 3.5 litres (  3.5 quarts) of water, 12 orange pekoe tea bags and one cup of sugar.  Let steep to room temperature.
Wash your hands thoroughly.
Pour a little white vinegar on your hands to handle your scoby.
Remove tea bags and add a scoby.  Top up jar about two inches from top with starter tea.  Cover with coffee filter and elastic. Let steep for two to three weeks.  You can try your kombucha after week two and see if this is  the strength you prefer.  If you like a strong kombucha, let steep longer.  Refrigerate your kombucha to slow down fermentation.

Recipe for One Litre Jar
Bring to a boil 3 tea bags and and 4 TBSP sugar in 3.5 cups of water until sugar is completely dissolved.  Let sit until it reaches room temperature.
Remove tea bags and pour into a sterilized one litre jar. (One quart jar)
Wash your hands thoroughly.
Pour a little vinegar on them to handle your scoby.
Remove scoby from jar and gently put it in your new tea mix.
Fill the new jar with the leftover tea starter to about one inch from the top.
Cover and let sit in a warm area.  In a few days you will be able to try some kombucha. If you prefer a more acidic taste, let steep longer. 

 

 Check the internet for recipes for fruit flavored kombucha s too.  There are plenty out there.

Remember this is more of a tonic.
 I wouldn't suggest drinking this like pop
 as all good things in moderation are best.

I keep two jars on the go.  While one ferments, the other sits in the fridge.

 If I am suffering from heartburn, I drink about 250 mils of a strong acidic kombucha and voila....I am cured. 
Apple cider vinegar does the same too!  It's not quite as pleasant to drink though.....Mix 2 TBSP ACV in 1/4 cup of water and drink.

If you are obsessed with Kombucha, have exhausted all your family and friends with scobys and you end up with this, 

then you can feed them to these guys.  They LOVE it.

 Hope it works for you too!

Cheers!