Manna International: How To Make Kombucha Manual

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Manna International: " How To Make Kombucha Manual "

Kombucha Recipe : How To Make Kombucha Tea

*IMPORTANT Please remove your Kombucha Colony and Starter-tea from the

container you receive it in and place in a glass jar or bowl, with a cloth or

coffee filter cover secured with a rubber band. You may leave it at room

temperature. Brew your first batch of Kombucha tea as soon as possible. Enjoy!

Things needed for Making Kombucha

Ingredients

1. Starter. 1 to 2 cups (250ml. to 500ml) of original, unflavored, Kombucha tea,

or 1/4 cup (63ml) of Distilled Vinegar (use _distilled_ vinegar only if no

starter is available).

2. Kombucha Colony.

3. Pure, chlorine free, water

4. 1 1/3 - 1 2/3 cups (333ml -417ml) preferably organic sugar. Don't use raw

honey - its antibacterial activity could change your colony. You can use white

cane sugar. Note: both liquid and dry ingredients are measured using the

standard metric measuring cup, that measures in ml; the sugar isn't measured by

weight. (kg)

5. 5-6 tea bags (preferably organic) tea for each 1 gallon of Kombucha you want

to make. (you can use a combination of various Blacks, Oolong, and Green teas.

15 grams loose tea leaves equals 5 tea bags. (one cup size tea bags) .

Utensils

1. A tea container. A large glass or stainless steel sauce pan for the

water/sugar/tea mixture. (Don't use aluminum.)

2. A fermentation container. A one or two gallon (U.S. gallon = 3.785 liters)

glass container with a wide opening works well.

3. A plastic funnel.

4. A strainer (cheesecloth, plastic, or glass).

5. A glass measuring cup.

6. Glass storage bottles for storing the Kombucha tea you've made.

7. A clean closely woven cover for your jar (a napkin, handkerchief, paper

napkin, or paper coffee filter). Don't use cheesecloth!

8. Large rubber band to secure the cover to the container.

Making Kombucha

Preparation

1. Remove all rings from your hand.

2. Wash your hands and rinse them well so you don't have any soap residue left

on them. Use a nail brush.

3. Wash and rinse the fermentation container. Be sure to rinse very well.

4. Put 4 cups of chlorine free water into the stainless steel or

glass pan that you're going to use to heat the water, sugar and tea.

To get rid of the chlorine in your tap water, boil it uncovered for 5 minutes.

You can also get rid of

the chlorine by letting the water sit uncovered for 24 hours. This will

allow the chlorine - which is a gas - to dissipate naturally. Natural

mineral water would also be safe to use. "

5. Add 1 1/3 to 1 2/3 cups (333ml to 417ml) of sugar to the water before it

boils. Stir the sugar into the water as you bring it to a boil (to keep it from

burning on the bottom of the pan). Use Organic sugar if possible.

6. When the water/sugar mixture boils, turn off the heat. You may boil it longer

if you need to purify your drinking water.

7. Immediately add 5 or 6 bags of Organic tea to the water/sugar mixture. You

can use varieties of black, oolong or green teas.

8. Let it steep, covered, with the heat turned off for around 15 to 30 minutes.

9. Remove the tea bags.

10. Pour 3 quarts of cold water into your fermenting container. If you are not

sure of the safety of your drinking water boil it first!

11. Pour the tea, sugar, water mixture into the fermenting container with the

cold water.

12. Wait until the liquid in the fermenting container cools down to room

temperature. Kombucha prefers a temperature of around 75-85 degrees F.(73-83

degrees means 22-27 centigrade).

13. Pour half of the Starter into the Fermenting Container and stir.

14. Place the Kombucha Colony into the Fermenting Container. Pour the rest of

the Starter on top of the Colony.

As the new colonies grow; discard any old and worn colonies. (You may wish to

put them onto your compost heap.) Be sure to set aside a spare colony in enough

Kombucha tea to keep it covered with liquid. You may store it covered with a

cloth at room temperature or refrigerate it. Better yet; give it to a friend:-))

15. Cover the Fermenting Container with the cloth or paper cover, and fasten it

with a rubber band.

Fermenting Kombucha

1. Put the Fermenting Container in a quiet place. Don't move it until you decant

it.

2. Keep it at around 73-83 degrees F. (22-27 Centigrade), and out of direct

sunlight.

3. Don't smoke or grow plants around your colony, (it may cause mold, " mould " ).

4. Fresh air and warmth are important for Kombucha.

5. Rarely molds may form on top of the culture that look fuzzy like bread mold.

Their color may be white, green, or black; powdery in appearance. If molds

develop throw it all out and start over again with a completely new colony.

6. How long to ferment: On average, after 7 days it will be slightly more sweet

than sour. At 8 days it will be more sour than sweet. After 8 days it becomes

progressively more sour until it turns into a delicious mild table vinegar. Suit

your own taste. Speed of fermentation depends on many factors including brewing

temperature and the width of the opening of your container and its size. Taste

to be sure. Whenever it tastes the best to you, decant and enjoy it.

Harvesting Kombucha

1. First remove the Colony from the fermenting jar and put it into a glass

pie-plate or container. Pour in enough Kombucha liquid to completely cover it.

It is best to begin your next batch of Kombucha right away. (If you need to

store it for awhile, you may do so in your brewing jar, at room temperature, in

it's own Kombucha tea, covered with a cloth.)

2. Save 1-2 cups (250-500ml) Kombucha liquid for your next Starter. Keep the

Starter unflavored (otherwise you could alter the chemistry of the Kombucha).

3. Pour the remaining liquid into your glass bottles. Some people prefer to

strain their Kombucha while bottling.

4. Seal the bottles and refrigerate. The Kombucha tea can keep at least a year

or so, if refrigerated. It is normal for the liquid to develop a small Kombucha

Colony even in the sealed bottle.

5. If you need to store the Kombucha Colony for a week or two, keep it in plenty

of Kombucha tea, Keep it in a glass jar covered with a cloth. The lower the

temperature the slower the fermentation. When you want to start making Kombucha

again you can use this liquid - even if it is vinegary - as Starter. It is

easier to start a new batch at the same time that you decant the one you just

made.

Using Kombucha

1. If you wish, you can flavor the Kombucha tea that you will drink when you

bottle it. Try using pieces of ginger, berries, lemon juice, preserves,

extracts, or herbs. Feel free to experiment with various flavors. We do not

recommend flavoring the fermenting tea because it may effect the constituents of

the Kombucha Colony in an unpredictable way.

2. If you take the bottled Kombucha tea out of the refrigerator for a long time

loosen the air tight seal. (At room temperature carbonation will build up and

the bottle may break.)

3. You may prefer to let the liquid come to room temperature before drinking.

Some prefer it cold. Don't overheat the liquid; heat will destroy some of the

healthful benefits.

4. If you are using Kombucha for the first time you may wish to start with 1

ounce (30ml.) a day or even less for the first week. After that you may increase

the amount slowly ounce by ounce. Go by how your body feels. Be sure to always

drink lots of plain water too! In the beginning you may prefer to take your

Kombucha with meals rather than on an empty stomach first thing in the morning.

Kombucha Animation by Pamela Spencer :-))

Questions or Comments:

Feel Free To Contact Us We Like Hearing From You:-))

Visit Kombucha Drops: Kombucha Manna Drops http://users.bestweb.net/~om/kmi/

KOMBUCHA MANNA INTERNATIONAL™

Beverly B. Ferguson,

2 Lane,

Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.

USA 10520

*IMPORTANT: Information given here is for research and educational purposes only

and is not intended to prescribe treatment.

Permission is granted to freely copy this document in electronic form, or in

print, if the publication is distributed _without charge_ provided it is copied

in its entirety without modification and appropriate credits are included. On

the www however, you must link to it rather than copy it. Any other use requires

explicit permission by the author.

Copyright © 1999 Revised 2005 Beverly B. Ferguson

http://users.bestweb.net/~om/kmi/