3 quarts distilled water
1 cup refined white sugar (or raw organic)
4 tea bags (green or black tea only)
4 ounces newly harvested kombucha tea or 4 ounces apple cider vinegar
1 large kombucha culture (“mushroom”)
4 quart glass bowl
1 square of cheesecloth
6-inch rubber band
wooden or plastic spoon
Procedure:
Metal should never touch the culture. Avoid contamination, make sure your utensils and work area are scrupulously clean. Never make ingredient substitutions. White sugar is essential for its survival. (I use organic raw sugar)
Tobacco smoke will kill your kombucha.
After using one kombucha “mushroom” for some time, environmental stresses may affect the organism, causing the tea to taste flat. When this happens, use green tea, rather than black, to make the growing medium, and use the tea from a “livelier” fungus until the old one is restored.
To make the tea, you will need:
1. Place the water in the glass or enamel pot over high heat. (do not use aluminum pot). Add sugar, and boil for 5 minutes.
2. Remove the pot from heat. Add the tea bags to the pot, and steep for 10 minutes. Wash your hands, and remove and discard the tea bags.
3. Pour the tea into the glass bowl (do not use crystal, metal ceramic or plastic), and allow it to reach room temperature. Add the harvested kombucha tea or vinegar.
4. Place the mushroom smooth side up in the “growing” tea. Cover the bowl with the cheesecloth, and secure the cloth with rubber band.
5. Place the bowl in a dark, quiet, ventilated place with temperature between 70F and 90F. (A shelf in the kitchen is an ideal place.) Allow the bowl to remain there for 7 to 10 days. Do not refrigerate.
6. After 7-10 days, remove the “mushrooms” with a wooden or plastic spoon. Note that a “baby” kombucha is now growing on top of the original kombucha. Separate the baby from the mother by gently pulling them apart with clean hands.
7. Using the cloth as a strainer, pour the new tea from the bowl into a glass bottle, leaving some space at the top of the bottle. (Do not store the tea in plastic, as chemicals can leach out of the container into the tea.) Store in the refrigerator, drink 4oz 3x day, before or after meals. (Do not drink more then recommended amount.) Use the 2 “mushrooms” and part of the newly harvested tea to make more tea.
Kombucha is part lichen, part bacterium, xylinum, and part natural yeast culture. When placed in a mixture of ordinary sugar and tea for 7-10 days, the kombucha produces both a winey tasting health restoring tea and a new ‘baby’ kombucha.
