My Favourite Ingredients to Flavour Kombucha

I've been Kombucha obsessed for quite a while now and have experimented with different flavours to get the most out of my favourite probiotic, gut healing drink!



It has helped to heal some stomach problems that I had and I am constantly recommending it to everyone to at least give it a try! 

For those new to Kombucha, you can flavour your drink after it has finished the first round of fermenting. This is usually after around 10 days. After that, you can bottle it up into airtight bottles (which is called the second ferment stage) and add in whatever flavours you like to really make your Kombucha pop! (Quite literally, my bottles have popped all over my kitchen!) 

You leave your bottles to ferment for another few days or up to two weeks, depending on how deep a flavour you are after. Generally the longer you leave it, the tarter it becomes. Also, the fizzier it becomes!

My absolute favourite flavours, quantities and timings are listed below, although you may need to play around with your timings to get it how you like it.

Second ferment -
Ginger - a few thinly sliced pieces of ginger per bottle. Leave it for only 3-4 days. Produces huge amounts of fizz! Very tasty and the ginger comes through nicely.
Raspberry & Vanilla - 6-8 frozen organic raspberries. Leave it for up to 2 weeks. 1/2 tablespoon organic vanilla paste. Not as much fizz or flavour as ginger but much more mellow and delicious all the same.
Mango & Coconut - 1/4 mango diced into each bottle with 1/4 cup coconut water. Leave for approx 7 days. Very fizzy! Had a little Kombucha explosion over my kitchen when I opened one of these bottles. Super delicious!

Raw Sauerkraut, Probiotics & Fermented Foods

Fermented foods and probiotics make bellies happy. You've probably heard before about the health benefits of them. The yoghurt ads on TV with the flat bellies and the promise of a happy belly are all referring to the power of probiotics. The reason for these claims are basically because the more probiotics in your belly the less chance of the bad bacteria causing you any problems! 

This is why many people like to eat fermented and cultured foods as they are naturally occurring in probiotics. There are many types of fermented foods such as kimchi, pickles, yoghurt and kefir. One of my favourites is raw sauerkraut. 

I thought it would be fitting to mention the benefits of it as we are in the middle of the silly season and I'm sure I'm not the only one that's gotten slightly off track. 

Christmas parties, a few wines here and there all begin to take a toll on your digestive system after a little while. For people that suffer IBS like myself,  it can take only a few meals to get the balance out of whack which can cause massive stomach upsets. I read a blog post recently where the writer talks about how introducing fermented foods helped her with all sorts of health problems [click here to read]

When people say "gut health" they are usually referring to looking after your gut by feeding it lots of good bacteria so the bad bacteria doesn't wreck havoc on your system. I once read somewhere that the key to happiness is to have a healthy gut! Don't you think this to be true? When everything is running smoothly in your digestive system, you don't seem feel lethargic, worn out or depressed, instead you feel full of energy, light and ready to take on the day!

What I had noticed over the past few weeks of parties and unmindful eating and drinking were things like bloating, cramping, being constantly tired and feeling like it was taking hours (which it probably did) for my food to digest. Do you feel that too? 

To help combat any stomach problems I've upped the anty on probiotic rich, fermented foods such as home-brewed kombucha and home made raw sauerkraut and I'm already noticing a huge difference in how I feel and how my belly feels! If you missed my post on how to make your own raw sauerkraut, you can check it out [here]. It is so easy to make, very inexpensive, takes barely any time and has so many benefits. Sarah Wilson has talked about the the benefits of raw sauerkraut and other fermented foods, you can check out her post [here] (I love what she talks about on her blog, you may find her site useful too!).

After speaking to a naturopath about fermented foods she recommended that they are always introduced slowly so you don't shock your system. Start with a tablespoon of raw sauerkraut or a small glass of kombucha and slowly work up your tolerance to it. I usually now have one or two glasses of kombucha per day and when I have some made I have a little bowl of sauerkraut before or with dinner. These foods/ drinks are quite tangy and can take some getting used to but stick with it and after a couple of tries you will hopefully love it! If you don't really like sauerkraut you can always hide in your salad by mixing a few tablespoons through. With kombucha you can always flavour it during the second fermenation stage (more on that here) and that can make it more palatable for some. 

Fermented foods make a huge difference to many people and from personal experience I think they are definitely worth introducing to your diet.

NOTE - store bought sauerkraut is NOT raw sauerkraut, it has been pasteurised which means all of the beneficial enzymes and probiotics are no longer remaining. If you can find raw sauerkraut in a health food store you could give that a try before you make your own, but don't bother with the regular sauerkraut from the supermarket.



TIP - You can add any flavours to my basic sauerkraut recipe. The most recent batch of sauerkraut which was really delicious was just 1 small purple cabbage, a couple of carrots and an apple & pear grated up and all mixed together with salt. You can follow the easy instructions on my post [here]. I have friends that add caraway seeds to theirs and say it's delicious. I am sure there are many other great variations that I am yet to try. 

If you make your own sauerkraut or kombucha, what are your favourite flavours to add in?

Cheers to a happy gut! :)

Bee xx

Here is a great post on the health benefits of fermented foods, if you are interested in having a read from a blog I love by The Wellness Mama.

HOW TO | Kombucha

SCOBY DOBY DOO! Let’s get Kombucha making!

Making anything from scratch is so rewarding. Kombucha is no exception. The first taste of your first fizzy batch of kombucha will make you so proud!

It is a very easy process. The key is getting the balance right of sweetness & tart. You don’t want it to taste too sweet because that means it hasn’t been fermenting long enough and there is too much sugar in it still and you don’t want it too tart because it won’t be palatable. I personally find that 7 days is generally a good amount of time for the amount I make (3 litres) to ferment.

This week it has been really warm weather so I only needed it to brew for 6 days… Other times when it was really cold in winter I left it for 10 or so days. You will get the hang of it and how you like it. Another way I can tell if mine is ready is by the thickness of the new SCOBY that forms on top of the mother SCOBY. 

 

What the heck is a SCOBY you ask? It is the white ugly looking thing that forms on top of the fermented tea - Symbiotic Culture/ Colony of Bacteria & Yeast. Some people refer to it as the ‘mushroom’ or the ‘mother’’. You can see it formed my photo at the top of this page.

 

 

Once you have the first part of the fermentation down pat (meaning you know how long to brew it for to suit your tastes) you can start experimenting with different flavours & extra carbonation. This is called the ‘second fermentation’. I have made ginger flavour, berry flavour and am currently experimenting with apple flavour. So far I love the berry flavour, as does my son. It is easy to do; you literally just add pieces of what you like to the Kombucha in an airtight flip lock bottle and allow it to ferment for a few days which creates extra carbonation (caused by the sugar in the fruit and the compression of the bottle/ lack of oxygen). It is never going to be fizzy like a bottle of coke because that is forced carbonation. This is natural carbonation so once you get used to it you will be surprised at just how bubbly you can make it! Again, this is trial and error. Be careful because I have heard that the bottle tops can pop off or the bottles can explode from all of the carbonation. I have never experienced this myself though. Because I have been worried about it happening, I always store my bottles in a cooler bag in the laundry so if they do explode they will just explode in the bag and cause no damage.

 

To get started you will need a SCOBY and some starter liquid. I have heard of people making their own SCOBY’s from raw Kombucha they have bought. You will find more information on that on the links provided below. I got my SCOBY from my yoga teacher. If you know someone that brews their own Kombucha they will most likely have a spare SCOBY to give away as they are constantly multiplying. Otherwise you can buy them online. The links below have a source for online SCOBY's.

Here are some great sites with useful information if you would like to read. They also have recipes for making Kombucha.

http://www.culturesforhealth.com/make-kombucha

http://www.kombuchakamp.com/kombucha-recipe

This is what I do exactly..

What you will need:
Big wide mouthed jar (a big biscuit jar is ok)
An elastic band
One or two pieces of paper towel

Ingredients:
6 tea bags (Green Tea, White Tea or English Breakfast Tea)
1 cup plain white sugar, castor sugar or raw cane sugar (I find white sugar works best)
3 litres of filtered water
1 cup starter liquid & a SCOBY

Method:
I use 3 organic Green tea and 3 organic English breakfast tea bags (you can't use flavoured tea only, the oil in the tea ruins the SCOBY although one or two bags for flavour should be fine).

Boil 3 litres of water in a big pot.
Once boiled, add tea bags and leave to brew for 5-10mins
Take them out, stir in 1 cup plain white sugar and let it dissolve (remember the SCOBY lives off the sugar, so the end product actually has very little sugar in it)
Take off the heat, let it come to room temperature
Pour into brewing vessel (big glass jar with wide neck)
Pour SCOBY and starter liquid on top (it will start to float after a couple of hours)
Cover glass jar with a piece or two of paper towel and secure with rubber band (make sure there is no room for bugs to crawl in)
Keep in well-ventilated area (I store mine in the laundry), away from direct sunlight
Keep for 7-10 days. Taste along the way. The longer you leave it the more tart it will become

I then do the second fermentation but you don't have to, you can just drink it now :)

 

Second fermentation goes like this:

Get a few airtight flip lock bottles, wash out and dry.
Pour kombucha into bottles, add a few pieces of fruit if you like then top up until it reaches 1cm to top of bottle. Close and store in cooler bag for a few days before transferring to fridge.

NOTES ON CLEANING THE JARS – Do NOT use antibacterial soap or hand soap when touching the SCOBY or cleaning out the jar, it will kill the SCOBY. Just wash it out with warm soapy dishwashing liquid or white vinegar and dry thoroughly. I also pour boiling water all over the jar when I am cleaning it. I keep refilling my jar without washing it out for about 3-4 brews, then I clean it out and start again.

Let me know how you go.

Happy brewing!!!

Bee xx