How to Make Homemade Kombucha

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What is that ugly thing? Some people think it's the path to better health and vitality.

GUEST POST by Maureen Lefebvre

The making of kombucha is not for the faint of heart ? at least at the beginning. And never let your children watch if you want them to drink the stuff. The scoby — symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast — that is used as a starter is gross to say the least. Depending on its age, it can be a creamy white or all shades of brown. In solution it might have yeasty strands hanging off it. Never mind. It?s so good for you that you have to look beyond appearances. After making it for a few times you won?t be squeamish at all.

The internet abounds with information about kombucha and its health benefits. So I won?t go into all that here. Suffice to say that it is an easy to make, delicious, fizzy drink that supplies beneficial probiotic bacteria that you can drink on a daily basis to help your gut. You can get your first scoby online or from someone local who is making it. Each time a batch is made a new scoby appears, so there is always an abundance. I got mine online from Kombucha Kamp.?Hannah Crum‘s site has a wealth of information. There seems to be slight variations on the method of brewing, but this how I learned and what works for me.

Equipment
4L glass jar
small piece of tightly woven cloth
elastic band
numerous reusable glass bottles with wire-held stoppers or any glass bottle with top

Ingredients
1L non-chlorinated water in a kettle
2L non-chlorinated water at a cool temperature
1c white sugar
1c kombucha from the last batch
5-6 black tea bags or a combination of black and green tea (do not use herbal tea)

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Kombucha is easy to make. All you need is black tea and white sugar. This is the only recipe on this website with white sugar.

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Steep the black tea in the hot water. Squeeze the tea bags and remove. Add the sugar and stir well to dissolve.

1. Bring one liter of water on to boil.
2. Put 5-6 tea bags in the four liter jar.
3. Pour the boiled water in with the tea bags. Pour over a metal spoon to reduce the risk of the jar cracking. Make sure your jar isn?t too cold.
4. Steep 5-10 minutes.
5. Remove the tea bags, squeezing the juice out.
6. Add the sugar and stir well to dissolve.
7. Add the two liters of cool water and stir.

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Add the cool water to the tea and sugar solution. Make sure the solution is about 98F before adding the scoby.

8. When it is lukewarm — no warmer than body temperature of 98F — put the scoby into the jar. If the solution is too hot it can kill the culture.
9. Add the reserved kombucha from the last batch. The scoby may float or sink, it doesn?t matter. The new one will always be on the top after brewing.
10. Cover with the cloth and add the elastic band to hold in place.

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Cover the top of the jar with a cloth and label with a decanting date.

11. Let sit without disturbing in a dark, warm, ventilated place for 7-10 days.
12. Decant into smaller jars/bottles and do a second ferment with flavoring if desired. Flavorings can be fruit juice or small pieces of fruit. A few strawberries or raspberries; a slice of peeled orange or lemon; a slice of peach or apricot; a few dried cranberries or cherries are some possibilities. The second ferment is about 3 days. Then put it in the fridge.

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Decant into smaller jars or bottles and do a second ferment with flavoring, if desired. Flavorings can be fruit juice or small pieces of whole fruit. The best bottles for kombucha are reusable glass bottles with wire-held stoppers but any bottle can work.

If you would like to learn more about kombucha please read Continuous Brewing: Tastier, Easier and Superior Kombucha by John Moody.

Maureen Lefebvre is a co-leader for the Weston A Price Foundation Kamloops Chapter. If you are looking for free Kombucha scoby please contact Maureen at 250.573.6017.

Updated November 24, 2012: There is an article called Flavored Kombucha: A Home Brewer’s Guide by Dori Oliver in the current Wise Traditions Journal Fall 2012 Edition. As a service to the community the Weston A Price Foundation uploads all the old journals to their website after the new journal is out. If you would like to learn more about flavoring kombucha watch for this new article. Please join the Weston A Price Foundation if you are not a member. Our memberships fund their good works.

Updated February 14, 2013: Here is the article for Flavored Kombucha: A Home Brewer’s Guide.

WAPF Kamloops Chapter Meeting: Crunchy Kale Chips

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Crunchy Kale Chips are a great substitute for potato chips or popcorn. My youngest daughter and I love them. We like the Kale Chips sprinkled with some cider vinegar just before serving.

I love potato chips. How I have missed potato chips and popcorn on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. While I was at the Weston A Price Foundation Kamloops Chapter meeting on October 9, 2012 Maureen Lefebvre’s sister introduced me to Crunchy Kale Chips. I must admit I became a convert overnight! Who would have thought kale could taste so great?

Please remember that there will be a meeting of the Weston A Price Foundation Kamloops Chapter on the second Tuesday of each month. Please call Maureen to confirm you are coming. If you can’t come, call anyway and tell us why you can’t come. We would like to find a time and location that is good for everyone.

When: Tuesday, November 13, 2012 (Second Tuesday of Month)
Time: 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Where: 1831 Shumway Rd, Kamloops, BC (Just past the Barnhartvale Hall)
Contact: Maureen Lefebvre at 250.573.6017

The video for the WAPF meeting will be the second hour of The Oiling of America. There will be a discussion after the video. If you cannot make the meeting but would still like to see the video, here is an full online version. We hope you can make it for the meeting and discussion.

Crunchy Kale Chips

10-12c organic kale leaves, remove the stems
4-6T organic extra virgin olive oil
2-3 large pinches of sea salt
1 organic bird’s eye pepper (optional)
organic cider vinegar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Remove the stems of the kale and compost or feed to the animals. If the kale leaves are very large, rip the leaves into two or three pieces and put in a large bowl. Drizzle the olive oil all over the kale pieces. The trick is to make sure each piece is completely covered with olive oil. Use your hands to rub each piece until completely coated. Put the kale into a large glass baking tray and sprinkle with sea salt and the hot pepper. Cook the kale for 30 minutes and turn over the kale. Cook for another 15 minutes. Do not over cook the chips. When the chips are mostly dry you can turn off the oven and just let the chips sit in the warm oven to cool or you can leave the chips on the stove-top. Both methods will ensure very crispy chips. When you are ready to eat your cooled chips try sprinkling some organic cider vinegar on top.

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Here are the chips half way through the cooking process. Remember to use a timer and stir the chips every 5 minutes. Let the chips cool for a crispy chip. Sprinkle chips with cider vinegar before serving.

Weston A Price Foundation Kamloops Chapter Meeting

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Maureen Lefebvre is the new co-leader of the Weston A Price Foundation Kamloops Chapter.

When: Tuesday, October 9, 2012 (Second Tuesday of Month)
Time: 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Where: 1831 Shumway Rd, Kamloops, BC (Just past the Barnhartvale Hall)
Contact: Maureen Lefebvre at 250.573.6017

Maureen Lefebvre is the new co-leader of the Weston A Price Foundation Kamloops Chapter. She has been kind to open her home to meetings on the second Tuesday of the month starting October 9, 2012.

The first meeting will be a video night. The video will be Farmageddon. Here is a Farmageddon trailer. If desired, bring a nourishing traditional snack to share. There will be a discussion after the video and time for everyone to introduce themselves.

Maureen will have a limited number of Kombucha scobies to give away.

Updated January 22, 2015: The WAPF Kamloops Chapter has closed.