My First Batch of Kombucha

Last week I wrote about Kombucha, giving the basics: what it is, how it's made, and other benefits, proven or not.

Pomegranate Flavored Kombucha

No matter how one looks at it, it is really tasty, to my palate, and so far it appears it is acceptable to my husband's palate also. Yesterday was 7 days fermenting. The pH registered at about between 2.5 and 3.0, so that was right on target. I opted to do a secondary ferment using fruit juice, so I poured off two bottles of plain kombucha, to taste as a baseline and then added 2 ounces of pomegranate juice to each of the jars, before filling with Kombucha. This will re-ferment on the counter for another 2 or 3 days, or until it tastes right and is fizzy. 

I was so excited last week, the day my SCOBY was to arrive - that I completely forgot to take any photos of it when it came! The temperature of SCOBY and the tea must be the same, so it took some time and monitoring to have them become equal. And then I slipped the SCOBY into the tea - set it on top of the fridge, covered and thought - DRAT! forgot to photograph. 

I had planned to get photos yesterday when draining and making the new batch of tea - and again I forgot. That said, the kombucha was delicious! I am hoping the pomegranate juice (from a jar) will also be as good as I anticipate.

Plain Kombucha in front and
Pomegranate Kombucha behind

The one thing I had wondered about receiving a SCOBY in the mail - is there any waiting period? As in, maybe it could be in shock from travel and need a grace period. Do you think I could find an answer to this? I looked online and just could not find an answer. So, yesterday when I uncovered the kombucha, preparatory to draining it into containers, there was no new SCOBY on top! I certainly wondered at that, because everywhere I read it said that with each batch a new SCOBY will form. Obviously I was not entering the right question.

As I saw no new baby SCOBY, I looked online for that concept and found that yes, if the SCOBY is weak, it may not produce a new SCOBY the first and even possibly a second time, but eventually, given its preferred diet of sweet tea, it will recover. I hope next week to see a new baby SCOBY on top. Meanwhile, there was nothing wrong with the one I got, because the tea was fermented nicely and the flavor was very similar to the store bought bottle (only better!). 

I used one gallon of boiled water, 2 tablespoons of black tea, steeped for 10 minutes, then sweetened with 1 cup of cane sugar. Actually, since it is taking such a very long time to cool the tea, this time I steeped the 2 tablespoons of tea in one quart of boiling water, then sweetened it and added in the other 3 quarts of water. This way it only took 5 hours for the tea to cool to the 77 degrees of the SCOBY! 

I am using the continuous brew method. I bought a large 1½ gallon glass jar with spigot. I drained off the tea, leaving about 2 cups in the bottom of the jar, and added the new batch of tea on top. 

It remains to see the flavor of the pomegranate kombucha, but it surely looks pretty. The plain is delicious. This is fast becoming a love affair!

July 30, 2015: Three days later . . . 

Just Poured, left                  |          after 20 seconds, right

Today makes three days since I decanted my first Kombucha. The plain is delicious, and I love it. But - once the secondary ferment takes place, with the addition of juice or any other flavoring agent, it becomes far more fizzy and active. In the case of the addition of 2-ounces of pomegranate juice to the jar, the flavor is amazing! The fizz-factor is really up there. In general, I do not drink anything fizzy. Even Champagne takes some work to get through. About the only sparkling wine I have used repeatedly over the years is the Italian sparkling red from Banfi called (these days) Rosa Regale. In past, this was called Brachetto d'Acqui. It is a lovely flavored sparkling wine, reminiscent of raspberries and rose petals. While I will not say the flavor of my Pomegranate Kombucha is alike, this is the only thing that even comes close in my taste memory. The bubbles respond the same way, filling the glass immediately and then coming down, slowly. After pouring, it took over 20 seconds for the bubbly fizz to come down from near the top of the champagne flute to about ¼-inch thick. The flavor is most lovely. Once getting past the bubbles, I do love this stuff!



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Tea or Tisane?

Everyone knows what tea is, right?  Tea, technically, comes from the leaves of one plant: camellia sinensis. Anything other than the leaves from this plant is not actually tea, although “tea” is often used as a catchall word to include all the different herbal beverages used these days. 

Legend has it that tea was discovered long ago in China quite by accident.  Some leaves from a nearby plant blew into a cup of hot water; a nice brown colored beverage resulted, was found to have a refreshing taste, and tea was born.  However it was discovered, tea is very refreshing, whether it is black, green, oolong or white.  Tea has been proven in more recent times to have wonderful health benefits.  We have all heard of antioxidants in tea, helping to fight free radicals that can cause harm to the body.  Tea is far lower in caffeine than coffee.  It is refreshing, whether used hot or cold. 

Golden Tippy Black Tea, brewed

There are various types of tea, all beginning with the same leaves.  Black tea is created by bruising or crushing the green leaves to expose them to oxidation and allowing them to ferment, then rolling the leaves and drying.  This produces a beautifully colored beverage and has the strongest flavor of all the varieties of tea.  Oolong tea (pronounced ‘OH-long’) is oxidized and fermented the same as black tea, but only for about half the amount of time and the resulting product is a lighter, more reddish beverage with a flavor all its own, somewhere in strength between black tea and green tea.  For green tea, the leaves are heated immediately, stopping the fermentation process entirely, then dried and rolled.  It produces a lovely light colored beverage, and is said to have the most health benefits.  The processing of white tea is similar to that of green tea, but only the unopened buds of the leaves are used.  It has the same health properties as green tea, but the flavor is the lightest and most delicate.

Golden Tippy Black Tea Leaves

Good quality tea is a wonderful beverage.  Whole rolled or twisted leaves are the best quality; the smaller the leaf, the higher the quality of the tea.  The top grades are called Flowery, Golden Flowery or Tippy.  Seconds, termed “Choppy,” are the leaves that have broken into smaller pieces.  They brew a great tea, and are usually less expensive.  The smallest particles leftover from the tea process, called “Fannings”, are what is used in tea bags.  It brews tea of course, but once tasting a tea brewed from a wonderful full leaf Darjeeling Black Tea, for example, it is hard to return to a tea bag for optimal flavor. 

“Orange Pekoe” (rhymes with “gecko”) is a western terminology applied to a grade of black tea; the word orange in the name has nothing to do with flavor, but could be a reference to the Dutch House of Orange using the name Orange as an implied “seal” of some sort.  Pekoe may be a westernized interpretation for a Chinese word meaning “white hairs”, referring to the fine white down on the tea leaves.

So, what are herbal beverages called?  Herbal beverages are called tisanes, and may be prepared by different methods; usually infusion or decoction.  It is incorrect to apply the term “tea” to anything infused or decocted, although tea is actually infused.  Infusion is the preparation method of choice for leaves, flowers or buds; plant matter that will release its properties easily into a drinkable beverage.  Placed into heated or boiled water and allowed to steep, the herbs release their goodness into the water, and then are strained out.  Decoction is the method used for harder or denser plant materials, such as roots or barks that take longer to release their flavors or health benefits.  With a decoction, the plant materials are brought to a boil, simmered gently for 15 minutes or more allowing the liquid to reduce, and then straining.

No matter which you prefer, tea or tisane, for pure enjoyment or for health benefits, look for the best quality.  Discover your favorites among the different types of loose teas.  Taste the different herbal tisanes and discover new flavors.  Above all, enjoy! 

My passion is to teach people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and help pass along my love and joy of food, both simple and exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, trying new things weekly. Join me at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook and Pinterest.