Curriculum

• porcelain crock with spigot, 4 liter or bigger
• 4-liter cooking pot
• 4-liter tea brewing jar
• 4-liter kombucha brewing jar
• cloths
• large rubber bands
• strainer
• funnel
• wooden spoon
• bottles 300 ml with flip top cap (qty 10)
• hydrometer

• starter scoby
• starter kombucha
• tea: black, green, oolong
• sugar
• ph strips

Common bottle sizes:

• Standard wine bottle: 750ml
• Grolsch: 450ml
• Cha Mama: 300ml (my favorite)
• Blue Diamond: 200ml

Batch size:

• 4-liter brew vessel,
• less 20% for starter,
• less 5% for scoby,
• leaves 3-liters to bottle with each batch

80-20 Rule:

• 80 percent new tea
• 20 percent previous tea with scoby

3-liters is 3000ml / 300ml bottles = 10 bottles with each batch

According to the e-book, 1 quart finished product requires:

• 1-1/2 teaspoon loose tea, or 2 tea bags
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2-1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup starter

Assume 1 liter is approximately 1 quart.

Then for 3-liters of brewed tea, we need:

• 4-1/2 teaspoon loose tea, or 6 tea bags
• 3/4 cup sugar

My kettle takes 4:28 minutes to boil 1 liter of water.

Wash equipment and hands with soap and water or vinegar.

No:

• no competing bacteria
• no soap
• no food residue
• no bleach
• no tea flakes in with the scoby (strain tea well)

Keep brewing operation away from fruit storage, kefir fermenting project, sprouting, plants, etc.

• Bring 3 liters of water to boil
• Dissolve sugar first
• Add tea
• Let steep for 10 minutes, or longer
• Strain into brewing jar
• Let cool to room temperature, all day

• add starter and scoby
• put away to ferment, 5 to 30 days, between 70 and 80 degrees F
• after 5 days, taste test every day. Use straw as pipette to draw sample.
• notes
• * Carbon dioxide is formed, but cover is not air-tight.
• * If cover was tight, scoby could be harmed.

• Move starter and scoby out to new batch of cooled tea
• Kombucha is drinkable at this point
• Strain out the brown yeast bits
• add flavor (use 3rd brew jar for straining and flavoring)
• pour into small bottles

• let bottles sit at room temperature to let carbonation build up, two to 14 days
• notes:
• * Fermentation continues but slower, without scoby and without oxygen.
• * Carbon dioxide is formed, and cover is airtight, so carbon dioxide builds up in bottle.
• * Adding fruit or juice adds sugar for more fermentation and more carbon dioxide.

• test ph: should be 2.5 to 4.0
• test sugar and alcohol content

• move bottles to fridge
• notes:
• * Fermentation slows to almost nil.

The first ferment is usually 3 to 4 days according to your taste. It should be just a little vinegary. Then you add the flavoring, about 1/4 of the mixture should be flavoring. The flavoring should be concentrated and strong in flavor, add sugar til it tastes good and then just a little more. You leave the mixture loosely covered 1 day. Cover tightly 1 day. Then you need to put it in the refrigerator or the lids will start blowing off! Kaboomb!

If you let the kombucha go 7 days it would be too vinegary and undrinkable. My kombucha goes 3 at the max 4 days and it is very strong. I dont really flavor it anymore because I really like the taste just as it is. I use 1 tablespoon Lapsang Schoosang tea + 2 tablespoons of some oolong Tea. The lapsang give the kombucha a delicious smoky flavor. I used this also in Pai.