how to start a kombucha culture
I will try to start a Kombucha culture from a bottle of unpasteurized, unfiltered Kombucha.
This spring I was doing a lot of Kombucha, learning how to do the brewing and trying different flavours. I really enjoyed it, but when we went away this summer, I didn’t save the scoby properly.
The first time I tried to brew Kombucha, I bought a scoby from a small brewer here in Malmö. It felt like a too big step to take as a new beginner to start from scratch.
But now I feel more confident and want to give it a try myself. I simply followed the instructions by Roots of Malmö and used their Kombucha. I love their Kombucha, and that they are so open about what they do and share the recipes.
If you want to learn more about Kombucha (and understand Swedish) I really recommend you to listen to the interview with Roots of Malmö in the awesome podcast Bondesamhället. https://www.bondesamhallet.se/podcasts/rootskombucha
what you need
a glass container with a large opening
a cloth and a rubber band
A pot with a lid
Start with cleaning everything thoroughly. When fermenting it’s important to be hygienic, you don’t want the wrong bacterias to grow. I always boil water and pour over all the tools and the container.
ingredients
3 g organic black tea
1 l water
0,5 dl organic sugar
a bottle of unpasteurized, unfiltered Kombucha
Step 1: Make sweet tea
Bring the water to a boil, add the tea and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes. Remove the tea and add the sugar, let it simmer for another 3-5 minutes while occasionally stirring. Remove from the heat.
Step 2: cool the tea
Let the tea come down in temperature until it reaches room temperature. I usually do the tea in the evening and let it cool down over night.
Step 3: add the kombucha
Pour the tea in the glass container and add a bottle of kombucha. Cover the opening with a cloth and close with a rubber band.
Step 4: let it rest for 3 to 4 weeks
Keep the container in a warm, protected place. The ideale temperature is a few degrees higher than room temperature. Let it rest until a thin layer if scoby has developed on the surface and the tea has a light aroma of vinegar.
Here you can see the Kombucha culture from the bottle. It will grow and create a gelly-like thin layer on top of the liquid.
It’s a good idea to add a label with the starting date. Time flies and it’s easy to forget exactly when you started.
It will be super exciting to see how it’s developing! Now it’s resting in my pantry and I will check it out every now and then. I will keep you updated on the progress!
