Kombucha Dabbles

Hello I’m Anna, a visitor here at Night Snack Club and I’ll be sharing my kombucha story! Before I do that, let me first introduce myself. Based in New York City, I’m a tea educator/consultant, an occasional rock climber, and an aspiring plant mom. I dedicated my previous life to the hospitality and fine dining industry. It was at Restaurant Daniel that I discovered my passion for tea which has led to my dabbles in kombucha.

FYI: Kombucha is a fermented, lightly effervescent, sweetened tea beverage. Interestingly, Kombucha was first enjoyed hundreds of years ago (!!) possibly in China. Nowadays, it's considered a popular health drink many make at home.

One of the most important components you need in making kombucha is a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast). I bought one but it sat dormant for nearly half a year! It wasn’t until two weeks of “working from home” and feeling uninspired did I begin to explore some side projects that have never seen the light of day. It was then when I decided that I will not let my day job or financial standing define who I am.

Attempt #1

15 minutes in and I almost killed my Mama SCOBY. To give you context, a SCOBY thrives in a sweetened tea concentrate. In my case, I used a Nantou Four Seasons, a floral ball-shaped Taiwanese oolong tea. This is where I messed up: I had submerged Mama SCOBY into the hot tea concentrate and quickly remembered that she can die in temperatures above 185°F! This is why it’s super important to allow the sweetened tea to cool down completely beforehand. At this point, what was there to lose? It was either going to be a failed experiment and I try again, or Mama SCOBY survives and I would have delicious kombucha to drink. I’ll take my chances.

The turning point of this story was when I noticed Baby SCOBY forming on the top layer. Mama SCOBY was alive and well! Fast forward two weeks later, an overly sweet tea had transformed to a fizzy drink that is bursting with flavor and life. I was completely blown away by the results.

Making kombucha ignites so many emotions: perhaps uncertainty, shock, and most importantly, pure joy. As your SCOBY thrives and matures, the flavors and aromas of your kombucha refines. In the proper living environment, the yeast and bacteria becomes happier, stronger and performs better. Happy SCOBY = happy kombucha = happy you. I think you get the idea.

Moral of the Story

I realized nurturing and caring for SCOBY is like feeding our curiosities. If we nurture things that serve and bring us excitement, it will in turn bring us more reward than we had imagined.

Kombucha Dabbles

Below is a simplified recipe to begin your own kombucha journey. In need of more in-depth kombucha instructions? Check out my Kombucha Guide here on my website for reference!

Ingredients & Tools

Yields: 1/2 gallon or roughly 8 servings)

1 SCOBY (homemade, or purchased)

1 cup of cane sugar

7 cups of clean, good tasting water

20 grams of a fragrant oolong tea (we recommend this)

A large glass jar

A large rubber band

A cheesecloth or any other type of breathable cloth

Method

1. Make simple syrup by boiling 2 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar into a pot. Turn off fire.

2. Add in dry tea leaves/herbal of your choice into the simple syrup. Steep for 20 minutes. You’re aiming for a rich tea infusion. The SCOBY feeds off of the tea’s tannins during fermentation.

3. Pre-pour the remaining 12 cups of water into the glass jar. After 20 minutes, pour sweetened tea through a fine mesh strainer into the jar. Discard the tea leaves.

4. Before adding in the SCOBY, make sure that the sweetened tea is completely cooled down. Once the tea is cool, place the SCOBY into the glass jar. Stir gently with a wooden or plastic spatula.

5. Cover the top of the jar with a breathable cloth and secure with a large rubber band. Don’t forget to label your kombucha with the type of tea you used and the date, and leave it at room temperature to ferment. If your kombucha is brewing properly, within a few days a baby SCOBY should begin forming on the top layer. Fermentation takes anywhere from one to two week and is dependent on your environment, the strength of your Mama SCOBY, your personal preference, and many other variables. So trust your palate and not a timer.

6. After the one week mark, I suggest tasting your kombucha as it further ferments. For a sweeter kombucha, you can remove both scabies and decant your beverage into small swing-top glass bottles for immediate enjoyment. For a kombucha that leans more on the tart side, allow it to ferment for a few more days before bottling. Good luck! :)

Text & Photography by Anna Ye