Exp. 2: Cutting the Kombucha Mother - Day 2

Into Day 2 of Experiment 2, Cutting the Kombucha Mother, and the new mushroom that's forming seems to be looking good! I am currently brewing in my kitchen cupboard, which is a warmer area in my apartment because of my increased tendency to cook during the cooler months. That, in addition to the fact that my roommate does not like the cold so most of our windows are closed, contribute to the kombucha brewing comfortably at super toasty temperatures of around 76-85°F (Which SCOBYs like!).

"Ideally," you brew at around 75-85°F at a constant temperature. Increased temperatures speed up the brewing process, while colder temperatures mean that your brew will take longer to ferment.

Despite the unevenness of the new SCOBY that is forming on the surface, that is not uncommon for the fluctuating temperatures and fluctuating conditions that accompany home brewing, and I don't think it will be a reason for concern. But we will see how the new mushroom develops further over the next few days.

Happy Friday!

Experiment 2: Cutting the Kombucha Mother

The question is: Can you cut your SCOBY?


Due to increased demands for Kombucha mushrooms and also because of personal interest, I've begun to research if you can brew with a segment of a kombucha mother. This site and this discussion thread indicate that it's ok, and that Kombucha mushrooms are made of many microorganisms that replicate when cut. In fact, this thread even recommends cutting kombucha mushrooms rather than peeling off layers, because each layer contains different organisms!
















So, I took the task of cutting a kombucha mother into four quarters. I brewed the batch as normal, putting in just a SCOBY segment rather than a whole mushroom, and we'll see what happens! Look forward to upcoming posts on the development of this brew.

The Different Teas for Your Kombucha Brew

I have finally been able to start reading the book Kombucha - Healthy beverage and natural remedy from the Far East by Gunther W. Frank. Wondering which tea(s) to use to brew your kombucha? Here's the quick and dirty about the main varieties of tea and how they relate to your brew.

Black Tea

• Examples: Russian and Ceylon tea
• Fermented
• High caffeine content
• Produces the more typical apple cider vinegar taste of kt
• Using more of it increases the ratio of yeast to bacteria in your brew (3)
• What Kombucha tea is "typically" brewed with

Oolong Tea

• Semi-fermented (1, p. 20)
• Inbetween green and black tea in taste and appearance (1, p. 20)

Green Tea

• Examples: Gunpowder, Jasmine, and white tea
• Comes from the same plant as black tea, but is unfermented (1, p. 19)
• Can contribute an astringent quality to kt
  
• Lower caffeine content than black tea
• Using more of it decreases the ratio of yeast to bacteria in your brew (3)
• Often used because of its numerous health benefits

Yerba Mate (2)

Yerba Mate

Herbal Teas

• Avoid teas with too many volatile oils (ex. sage, peppermint, chamomile, and St.-John's-Wort), which can alter the microorganism balance in the Kombucha culture over time (1, p. 25)
• Used for their medicinal properties and for individuals who want to avoid caffeine (1, p. 25)
• The Kombucha culture feeds on the nitrogen in herbal teas (2)

Herbal Tea Possibilities with Kombucha Tea:

• Rooibos (2)
• Recommended by Pastor Hermann-Josef Wendinger: Equal parts bilberry leaves, raspberry leaves, blackberry leaves, and blackcurrent leaves (1, p. 25)

Recommendations Regarding Herbal Teas

• Include at least some green or black tea in your herbal brews to "[make] the best nutrient solution for the Kombucha culture" (1, p. 25)
• According to Happy Herbalist, brew with 25% "real" tea and 75% herbal tea. OR, ferment 3 brews with herbal teas and every fourth batch use "real" tea (2)
• Add herbal teas in the bottling process

Advantages of Black Tea vs. Herbals

• Produces the highest concentrations of lactic and gluconic acid (1, p. 28)
• Provides the "best conditions" "as a source of mineral nutriments for the culture" (1, p. 28)
• Bing (1928) "describes the Kombucha culture as a community of living things which are particularly adapted to a nutrient milieu rich in purine, and which need this rich supply of purine to maintain their metabolism." (1, p. 28). Black tea contains this necessary purine (1, p. 29).
• According to Bing, the tannin content of the tea also affects the formation of the zoogloea (the new baby mushroom that form at the surface) (1, p. 28)
• Herbal teas contain higher amounts of volatile oils and phenol than black tea. And because the volatile oils float to the surface where the new baby mushrooms grow, they can destroy/inhibit bacteria in the Kombucha culture and change the culture's composition (1, p. 29)
• Herbal teas contain more germinal spores than black teas, which can "germinate in the warm nutrient solution" (1, p. 30)

Which teas do I brew with?

• I typically enjoy using a combination of green and black teas in ratios of around 3:1 or 3:2. I also do brews using only black tea, such as only Ceylon, Darjeeling, or Assam tea.

Read more about different tea types for your kombucha brew at Happy Herbalist and Seeds of Health UK.

Sources:
1. Frank, Gunther W. Kombucha - Healthy beverage and natural remedy from the Far East. 4th ed. Austria: Wilhelm Ennsthaler, 1994.
2. http://www.happyherbalist.com/differentteas.aspx
3. http://geocities.com/kombucha_balance/

Kombucha Brewing Workshop

I am happy to announce that my next Kombucha Brewing Workshop will be in collaboration with Slow Food BU, a club that I am involved with.
Date: Tuesday, October 27
Time: 7:45 pm - 9 pmLocation: Sargent College (635 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA 02215), Room 220Cost: Free
Open to the public
ATTN: Due to demand, this workshop will also be a potluck so we can enjoy some good food while drinking kombucha tea! Bring a dish to share if you can, and we will supply the beverages. :) You are still encouraged to come even if you cannot bring any food. But do remember to bring your own plates and utensils if you would like to eat, so we can reduce our waste!
Traced back to Chinese origins to around 220 B.C., numerous health promoting and detoxifying effects have been attributed to Kombucha Tea, also referred to as the "elixir of life."

While Kombucha can cost $3+ a bottle, it is very inexpensive to brew your own! The workshop will include a demonstration on how to brew kombucha tea, and topics covered will include:

• Required materials
• The traditional brewing method
• Bottling
• Where to obtain SCOBYs
• Growing your own kombucha mushroom
• The continuous brewing method

Several flavors of home-brewed kombucha tea will be available for sampling, and a few SCOBYs may also be up for adoption at this skillshare!

*PLEASE NOTE* Although it's not required, if you think you would like a kombucha mushroom from this workshop, bringing an old glass jar (such as an applesauce jar, around 24-32 oz., or any jar of similar size) to exchange for the mushroom would be greatly appreciated.
Already brew your own kombucha tea? Please consider coming and bringing some of your own kombucha so we can have a taste test, or bringing any extra SCOBYs you have to spare!

Please join us and hope to see you there!

Any questions or comments? Contact me!

The Kombucha Journal + Kombucha Mailing List + Book + Funny Video!

I recently came across the website The Kombucha Journal by Kombucha Guru, Günther W. Frank. Not only is The Kombucha Journal available in 30 languages, but it also hosts a Worldwide Kombucha Exchange where you can find kombucha starters and also offer to share your mushrooms with others.

On the site I found a Kombucha Mailing List, which so far has been wonderful. However, the mailing list is quite active- so don't say you weren't warned!

I was so excited with all of these new discoveries, that I broke down and bought Frank's book "Kombucha, Healthy beverage and natural remedy from the Far East." I cannot wait to receive the book, and I will write posts about it when I do!

And through the kombucha mailing list, I also found out about the video, Kombucha and You. The video is extremely entertaining, and I would highly recommend it for a good laugh! Although, it illustrates more of what you shouldn't do with your kombucha mushroom than what you should. :)

Factors Affecting Your Brew

photo source: http://www.happyherbalist.com/timeandtemp.aspx

I just love this chart from Happy Herbalist, which shows how various elements in kombucha tea are affected with time. As fermentation time increases,

• The acidity of kombucha tea increases
• The pH, sugar content, and alcohol content of kt decrease

With more fermentation time, the yeasts will have more time to convert the sugars → alcohol + CO2 (a waste product that is released into the air), decreasing the sugar content.
Meanwhile, the bacteria will have more time to convert the alcohols → beneficial acids, increasing the acidity, and lowering the pH and alcohol content of the kombucha.
Furthermore, the warmer the environment, the faster the kombucha will brew- which is something to keep in mind in the colder, winter months and the hotter, summer days. Finally, another factor that speeds up the fermentation process is adding more starter tea when brewing.

Kombucha Around the World

So apparently I have a new found love for maps, and could not help but create another Google Map with the locations of your oh-so-dear kombucha companies! The link to the map is here.

Whether you purchase kombucha tea or brew your own, it's fun to see where the brands are coming from. And for you locavores out there, the kt's origins may also be another factor to consider!

*Note* - I am looking for more kombucha companies to add to the map! If you know of a company that I have not included, whether it's in the U.S. or elsewhere, please feel free to leave a comment, send me an e-mail, or get in touch with me in some way, and I will update the map accordingly!

Thanks, and enjoy!