A break from Robotics today. Today I made a batch of Kombucha, a fermented drink made from tea and a mushroom/fungus called the “SCOBY” (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) and is also known as the “Mother”.
I use the following recipe:
- 9 Quarts of Water, boiled
- 1-2 ounces loose tea leaves steeped for 5 minutes. My current batch uses Rooibus, a red tea from Africa, but using black tea is more common
- 3 cups of sugar (1/3 cup per quart)
- 1 SCOBY
While the tea comes out as very sweet initally, the yeast and bacteria in the SCOBY will feed off the sugar and create a more acidic, vinegary tasting drink after 1-2 weeks of fermentation.
I like to flavor my Kombucha with a second anaerobic fermentation, where I place cut up fruit or ginger into the bottle and let it sit for another week or two.