Obviously, despite the funny name, Kombucha is pretty simple. The 3 familiar ingredients are water, tea & sugar. But one ingredient we’ve already mentioned makes all the difference in the depth, flavor and quality of your brew.
Kombucha Culture – SCOBY
I mentioned briefly in Chapter 1 about the importance of starting with a fresh culture. When brewing for the first time, AVOID these cultures:
- Older cultures have often been neglected or have lost potency. Look for dark gelatinous spots that disintegrate on touch.
- Dehydrated cultures may or may not produce a successful batch of Kombucha; they are temperamental and mold easily. Strangely, they are even more likely to get mold during the second brewing cycle, a phenomenon I have yet to understand, though it’s likely because the new SCOBYs are weak and cannot protect themselves when moved to the second brew.
- Many well meaning friends pass along cultures from the fridge, unaware that prolonged hibernation may render the cultures useless. The resulting brew is often “flat” or “sour,” meaning most of the acids that should be produced are not present. In my opinion, this is NOT Kombucha, even though it may produce a “culture,” that culture does not have the necessary bacterial/yeast population to full propagate Kombucha. Over time, it is possible to recover the probiotic profile as Kombucha is a very hearty organism. That process may take months and is easily avoided by using a fresh culture.
- If you have only a very small culture, for example the size of a silver dollar, the first batch should be no more than about 4 cups. Most of that liquid must then be used in the second brew to try to bring to full strength and protect from mold or other contaminants. It is much easier to start with a fresh, full size Kombucha culture.
Many new brewers think they’ve done something wrong when actually they started with an inferior culture. Start with quality and you will get quality. One good Kombucha culture from Kombucha Kamp can propagate for life if properly cared for.
