Kombucha Batch #23-01

updated 06/28/2023

June 2023

My daughter-in-law loves kombucha, and my son started making it for her last year. I’d heard of it, but hadn’t tried it, until she gave me some of hers. I like it, so being me, I have to make it, too.

They gave me a basic starter kit for my birthday, and in late May I started my first batch. The basic kit contains a gallon jar for fermentation, a SCOBY, loose tea, pH test strips, and other basic materials. This one doesn’t contain the typical swing-top bottles used for kombucha — I have been making beer off-n-on since 1984, so I have a crown capper and cases of empty 12 oz beer bottles. No point in getting more bottles that I don’t need.

For my first batch, I’m keeping it simple.

Note: At this time I am not going into detail about Kombucha and the things that go into it. There are plenty of sites that do, and I’m fumbling my way into this. As time goes on, I will probably add more detail in my batch notes, and it is possible I’ll write whitepapers like I do for winemaking.

05/25/2023

Started the batch, steeping the included tea in the included muslin bag. I read a lot of “beginner” sites, and decided to steep the tea for 7 minutes before removing and draining the bag. I did this in the kombucha jar.

While hot I stirred in 1 cup sugar, then filled the jar with cool water. It took about an hour to cool down below 80 F.

At that point I checked the pH (4.0), added the SCOBY, covered the jar with a linen cloth (included) and secured with a rubber band. Light is supposed to be detrimental, so I fashioned a cover from white paper.

06/20/2023

I had planned to bottle the kombucha after 14 days, but it wasn’t very sour (pH about 3.2) so I planned to leave it for another week. Things happened and it was left for 26 days.

I tasted it and actually like it as-is. But having a bag of cherries in the fridge, I decided to add minced cherries and some sugar. Getting exact recipes seems difficult, so I bottled in 2 batches:

• Batch A (4 bottles): 1 tsp sugar, 2 minced cherries
• Batch B (4 bottles): 2 tsp sugar, 3 minced cherries

I overfilled the jug, so I had enough kombucha to get eight 12 oz beer bottles from it. This left 1 cup for the next batch, plus 3/4 cup, which I drank. As I said, I like it as it is.

On Saturday I will refrigerate 1 bottle for a couple of hours, then try it. If the carbonation is good, I’ll refrigerate the remainder.

Afterthoughts

This time I minced the cherries, which leaves chunks. I’m ok with this, but for future reference I’ll use a food processor for fresh or canned fruit.

06/23/2023

I got curious so I put a bottle of Batch A in the fridge for a couple of hours. It wasn’t very carbonated, but the flavor is good.

06/24/2023

Today was Day 4, so I put a bottle of Batch B in the fridge for 2 hours. It was much more carbonated and the flavor was much better. More fruit and sugar is better. Yeah, no surprise.

06/25/2023

I put a bottle of Batch A in the fridge for a couple of hours. This one has more flavor, more sourness, and more carbonation. I’m going to put the remaining 5 bottles in the fridge, and will report at least once more on the results.

Batch #2 is in production and a new SCOBY is forming.

06/28/2023

Overall, Batch B is better than Batch A. The extra sugar and fruit make a big difference.

When I bottle Batch 23-2, I’m going to use cherries again, but will grind them in a food processor, as the chunks from mincing can be a bit big.