How To Make Kombucha Tea An Affordable Habit

Last week, we talked to some kombucha brewers about why their tea is good for you. Kombucha may aid with digestion, immune functioning and more. But it’s also $3 or $4 a pop if you buy it at the store. That might not be unreasonable (people pay $4 for Starbucks’ drinks all the time), but it is an indulgence. How can you still reap kombucha’s health benefits (or just enjoy it) without spending a lot of money?

1. Look for local, independent kombucha brewers in your community. Part of the reason bottled kombucha costs more is because of the individual packaging. Many independent brewers sell by the liter- or growler-full in their local communities, at stores, markets or directly. Some coffee shops, breweries and bars now offer kombucha on tap, as well, and may fill up containers to go.

2. DIY. I’ve recently started brewing my own kombucha at home, which is both an inexpensive and relatively quick process. To start with, you’ll need what’s known as either a kombucha mother, culture, mushroom or SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts). Sometimes local brewers will sell or give away cultures. You can also purchase them online from places like Etsy (that’s where I got mine). With a culture, you’ll also need apple cider vinegar, sugar, brewed (regular) tea and some sort of large glass container. Here’s the basic ingredient breakdown:

SCOBY
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 cup sugar
3 cups brewed tea
10 cups cold water

For tea, many people recommend organic black or green tea. The type and quality of tea you use will influence how your kombucha turns outs (some brewers used flavored teas). The same goes for sugar, and organic cane sugar seems the most common recommendation. Brew tea, and dissolve sugar in hot tea. Let cool, then add sweetened tea mix to cold water and vinegar. Last, add SCOBY (do not put in hot tea!).

Bryan Deane Bertsch of Deane’s Kombucha (a brewer who is super informative about what’s found in kombucha tea and how to brew it ) recommends adding ginger to your brew, for added flavor and bubbles.

When everything’s in, cover lid of container with cheesecloth, muslin or a kitchen towel and use an elastic-band to keep in place (cover must be breathable, but you’ve also got to ward off fruit flies, dust, etc.). Store some place where it can be undisturbed for about a week (kombucha doesn’t like a lot of moving around).

Let it sit for 7-10 days. Then you’re done—well, almost.

“You have to give it love and affection, or it will croak,” says brewer Rich Awn, of Mombucha kombucha in Brooklyn. “You can make a ton of it for pennies, but it’s like caring for a pet. You have to keep refreshing it’s environment.”

By this, Awn means changing out the cultures, not brewing batch after batch from the same mother. “I only use the new cultures that grow,” he says, “And compost the mothers. The mothers give out after a few cycles. You should always use the babies, they’re the strong ones.”

Because we’re dealing with a ‘living’ food here, there are some safety concerns. Keep glass (and hands/utensils handling tea) very clean. Watch out for mold. According to The Happy Herbalist: “While an under-fermented probiotic may harbor pathogens or fail to develop the beneficial nutrients, an over-fermented probiotic (higher in acetic acid) may overburden the stomach’s digestive juices. Kombucha is completely safe and ant-pathogenic when properlyfermented.”

For more on kombucha safety, see here.

Photo: MNAE.org