Team:UGent2 Belgium/Contribution

Contribution

Because our project has its roots in kombucha we have spent a lot of time tinkering around with it and are left with a bunch of equipment that we basically never used. However, we cannot give the equipment away but we can give you our best kombucha recipes in a beautiful PowerPoint.
If you do not know how to make kombucha then make sure to check our "How to Kombucha" guide below.

How to Kombucha, the Guide

Kombucha is a fermented brew which is gaining in popularity all over the world. It originated centuries ago presumably in Asia. The basis for the kombucha is tea, black, green or rooibos which is fermented by adding sugar and a Scoby and just waiting for one or two weeks. The scoby is the fungus like disc on top of the kombucha after the fermentation and the word itself means Symbyotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast. It consists of biocellulose and acts as a carrier for these microorganism in order to kickstart every new fermentation. Most people find it a not very attractive part of the kombucha brewing but with a good sieve your kombucha will look fine. Another important ingredient is sugar. This sugar is not for sweetening the brew but is to feed the kombucha. The yeast and bacteria will use the sugar and convert it to acids like acetic acid. This gives the drink its defining refreshing taste. Keep in mind however that the longer the fermentation process continues, the more it will start to taste like vinegar because of the build-up of acetic acid.


Making kombucha is easier than baking eggs, it is basically making tea and adding sugar. However, in this guide we will give some pro tips. So first of all here are the ingredients for one litre kombucha.
Per litre you will need:

- 2 bags of tea OR 5 grams loose tea

- 50 grams of white sugar

- 1 litre of water

- some starter kombucha

First of all you need to get your water boiling. Then, depending on the kind of tea, put the loose tealeaves/teabags in and let them cook for 10 minutes if you are using black tea or, when using rooibos or green tea, put the teabags/leaves in after the boiling and let them steep until the water is cooled down.

When done boiling let the tea cool down and add the sugar and make sure it is dissolve by stirring. Once the temperature is below 30°C you can add the starter kombucha. This is kombucha from a previous fermentation or store-bought kombucha. This is done in order to lower the pH to stop any harmful microorganisms from growing. Try to add at least 5% of your total volume in the form of starter kombucha.

Gently add the scoby to the mixture, it doesn’t matter if it floats or not.

You are done! Store the kombucha away from direct sunlight in a dry and clean place xhere it is not easily disturbed. Depending on the room temperature you will now have to wait a week or two before it is ready. It should taste slightly sour with a touch of carbonation. And oftentimes it tastes way better than it smells.

Protips

Use glass jars so the acid does not interact with your container.

Let the tea cool down before pouring it in the container, the temperature difference can break the glass.

You can cook only half the amount of water but with the same amount of tea, this might sound strange but you can just add the other half of the water later, this way you preserve energy and it will cool down quicker.

Black tea is the easiest of the three with the highest rate of succes.


Recipes

You can download the PowerPoint by clicking right here: Kombucha Recipes
And then click the link in the red rectangle as shown below.