The good news is that you can make your own Kombucha at home. kombucha can be made at home with just a handful of ingredients. In this write-up, we learn how to make kombucha step-by-step at Home in Uganda.
Are you well versed in the drink kombucha? If not first read the article, ‘all about kombucha; Ingredients, health benefits, risks.’
Uganda produces kombucha drinks like the Buganda Kombucha. The kombucha made in Uganda is left to ferment and is turned to alcohol due to the high demand for alcoholic drinks compared to the healthy pro-biotic kombucha that is good for your gut. For this reason, in addition to hygiene and sanitation, it is, therefore, better to make your kombucha at home. See the Independent
Is there Alcohol in Kombucha?
Yes, kombucha contains a little bit of alcohol which is a by-product of the fermentation process. It is usually not more than 1%.
Kombucha starts out as a sugary tea, which is then fermented with the help of a scoby. “SCOBY” is actually an acronym for “Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast.” The scoby bacteria and yeast eat most of the sugar in the tea, transforming the tea into a refreshingly fizzy, slightly sour fermented.
Where to Find Kombucha Brewing Supplies for Kombucha in Uganda?
You can use the regular tea bags and sugar that you use for your tea for brewing kombucha.
The complex ingredient to locate is the scoby in Uganda. I visited all the big supermarkets and I didn’t get it there. You can pick up a scoby from a kombucha-brewing friend, since not many people make kombucha in Uganda it is highly unlikely.
I checked out Jumia Uganda and I came across a scoby from ma’s raw kombucha scoby being sold at Uganda shillings 100,000/= with this price I choose to make my own scoby instead. Yes, you can make your own scoby, look out for my next Article.
Related: How to make your own Kombucha Scoby from scratch
How To Make Kombucha Tea at Home in Uganda step by step
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to make your own Kombucha at home in Uganda
Ingredients for making kombucha at home
- 3 1/2 cups of water
- ¼ a cup of sugar
- 5 bags of black tea, or green tea
- 1 cups starter tea from the last batch of kombucha or shop-bought kombucha
- 1 scoby per fermentation jar, homemade or purchased online
Optional flavouring extras for bottling
- 1 to 2 cups chopped fruit
- 2 to 3 cups of fruit juice
Equipment for making the Kombucha at Home
- Cooking pot
- 1-gallon glass jar
- Tightly woven cloth like clean napkins or tea towels to cover the jar
- Bottles for packing in the kombucha
- Small funnel
Step-by-step Instructions for making Kombucha at home
Step 1: Make the tea base
Bring the water to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar to dissolve. Drop in the tea and allow it to steep until the water has cooled.
Step 2: Add the starter tea:
Remove the tea bags or strain out the loose tea. Stir in the starter tea. The starter tea makes the liquid acidic, which prevents unfriendly bacteria from taking up residence in the first few days of fermentation.
Step 3: Transfer to jars and add the scoby:
Pour the mixture into gallon glass jars, and gently slide the scoby into the jar with clean hands. Cover the mouth of the jar with a few layers of tightly-woven cloth, coffee filters, or paper towels secured with a rubber band.
Step 4: Ferment for 7 to 10 days
Keep the jar at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Ferment for 7 to 10 days, checking the kombucha and the scoby periodically.
A new cream-coloured layer of scoby should start forming on the surface of the kombucha within a few days. It usually attaches to the old scoby, but it’s ok if they separate.
You may also see brown stringy bits floating beneath the scoby, sediment collecting at the bottom, and bubbles collecting around the scoby. This is all normal and signs of healthy fermentation.
After 7 days, begin tasting the kombucha daily by pouring a little out of the jar and into a cup. When it reaches a balance of sweetness and tartness that is pleasant to you, the kombucha is ready to bottle.
Step 5: Remove the scoby
Before proceeding, prepare and cool another pot of strong tea for your next batch of kombucha, as outlined above. With clean hands, gently lift the scoby out of the kombucha and set it on a clean plate. As you do, check it over and remove the bottom layer if the scoby is getting very thick.
Step 6: Bottle the finished kombucha
Measure out your starter tea from this batch of kombucha and set it aside for the next batch. Pour the fermented kombucha (straining, if desired) into bottles using the small funnel, along with any juice, herbs, or fruit you may want to use as flavouring. Leave about a half inch of headroom in each bottle.
Step 7: Carbonate and refrigerate the finished kombucha
Store the bottled kombucha at room temperature out of direct sunlight and allow 1 to 3 days for the kombucha to carbonate. Until you get a feel for how quickly your kombucha carbonates, it’s helpful to keep it in plastic bottles; the kombucha is carbonated when the bottles feel rock solid. Refrigerate to stop fermentation and carbonation, and then consume your kombucha within a month.
Step 8: Make a fresh batch of kombucha
Clean the jar being used for kombucha fermentation. Combine the starter tea from your last batch of kombucha with the fresh batch of sugary tea, as above.