Kombucha tea: what to do with it?

JoyceH

I was given a kombucha mushroom tea/batch as a gift a couple weeks ago. It’s in a nice container (1 gallon) and the mushroom looks pretty big. I’m guessing it’s ready to drink. I have it sitting in my kitchen with the cloth still over the top.

I’ve found some good websites with recipes and instructions but I’m still not clear on what to do with my big mushroom tea exactly. I assume I’ll put it in bottles for the refrigerator soon.

If I want to keep it going, do I boil up another batch of tea and sugar? Or do I just add water, already brewed tea and sugar without boiling the sugar? I like things as simple as possilbe and was hoping someone could give me a quick paragraph/summary on what to do with my kombucha mushroom :-)

Calling all Kombucha experts out there :-)

Satchy

I’ve been following the recipe from this site to make my kombucha: http://www.kombuchaustralia.com/making.html

I often double or triple the recipe.
1. I first boil filtered water then add a mix of organic green and black tea bags.
2. Let it brew for 15-20 minutes.
3. Then I add organic cane sugar.
4. Once completely cool add to 200 ml (or more if doubling or tripling) of previous kombucha batch
5. Fermentation takes 5-14 days. I prefer the 14 days but I’d taste to find your preference.
Notes: It is essential then to allow the mixture to cool as heat can kill the mushroom. (To reduce cooling time you can boil half the water and then add cool filtered water to reach the desired amount after following steps 1-3).

In the meantime I often bottle the previous batch (my boyfriend’s brother donated a bunch of GT kombucha bottles that I reuse). I find that 2 weeks seems to allow for the taste I prefer. It even gets pretty carbonated.

Just some other advise…I cover the top of the container with a kitchen towel (the mushroom needs to breath) and I also cover the front of the jar with another kitchen towel to prevent it from being exposed to the sun.

Best of Luck!

Satchy

Yes, that is correct. You use the same container for making the kombucha, the mushroom never has to leave home :). I leave the mushroom in the container the whole time even when I am emptying out the old batch. I usually pour the liquid into a measuring cup to easily transfer the kombucha into a glass bottle/jar. Just make sure to leave some kombucha from the last batch. Hope that helps.