This easy holiday drink recipe is as simple as boiling water. Simple to make an fun to flavor kumbucha help the digestive system deal with all the rich foods served during the holiday season.
Fun Holiday Drink Recipe With Many Flavor Options
I admit my kumbucha habit is out of control. At almost $4 a bottle buying one a day is just -nuts! I gave up coffee almost two years ago but in the last 6 months I could compete with any coffee drinker on the spare change being thrown at my kumbucha habit. New to kumbucha? I have included several fact articles at the end but in the mean time try a little ginger flavored to start or ease yourself in with my current favorite Spicy Pumpkin Kumbucha.
Then a girlfriend offered me a SCOBY. This wet slimy round disc is a living colony of yeast and bacteria. A Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast (SCOBY) eats sugar to create gas bubbles in the fermented kumbucha tea.
Bonus! Because the SCOBY eats the sugar the drink is low in calories, sugar and high on bubbles. I love bubbles! And I don’t want sugar. The longer the brewing time the less sugar.
Simple Kumbucha Tea Recipe
4 bags of Green or Black Tea
4 quarts water
1 cup sugar
Bring water to a boil. Place tea bags in the water. Remove from heat and brew for at least 15 mins. Add sugar and stir. Can brew longer depending on intensity of tea you would like. Let cool to room temperature and add SCOBY. Cover with cheese cloth and let brew about 7- 10 days at room temperature.
How to get a SCOBY.
First ask a friend. Every batch of Kumbucha Tea makes a new SCOBY. If someone you know is brewing Kumbucha the most likely have plenty to share.
Second buy one on Amazon- Really!
Once the fermented tea tastes acidic enough to you. Not too much like vinegar and not too sweet then it is time to ad the pumpkin puree and spices for the second ferment. It is helpful to remove the SCOBY with clean hands and strain the tea before the second ferment. A cup or so of the tea needs to stay with the SCOBY to help build the next batch.
Spicy Pumpkin Kumbucha
In about 10 clean swing top jars or tightly lidded 12 oz jars are perfect for the second ferment. Typically if you are adding a fruit to a second ferment is the ratio is about 2-20% of fruit/veg to each 10 oz of Kumbucha Tea. I leave 2 oz of space in the bottle for breathing room.
2 Tablespoons Pumpkin puree per quart.
1 teaspoon Pumpkin Spice per quart.
If you flavor all the tea the same 4 quarts of tea requires 8 tablespoons of pumpkin puree and 4 teaspoons of pumpkin spice. This is just a guide. A lot depends on how spicy you want you Kumbucha. Place the Kumbuch in the sealed jars out of direct sunlight for 3-7 days. The longer the second ferment the more bubbles and less sugar.
Burp each bottle every 1-2 days to release pressure of gas build up.
When you are ready to stop the fermentation burp the bottle and place in fridg. Strain the Kumbucha and re bottle at this point or strain it before drinking to remove any baby SCOBYs that may have formed and the spices.
How to make Kumbucha -First and Second Fermentation video that even talks about how to grow you own SCOBY.
How to Make Kumbucha at Home Super Simple Brewing
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