Simple Kombucha continuous brew recipe

Very simple Kombucha (чайный гриб) continuous brew recipe 

I wrote an earlier blog post on kombucha SCOBY and described what a scoby is compared to the pellicle and starter liquid.  That post started to get a little long so I decided to stop there and write a separate post on the kombucha recipe we use.  

There are plenty of kombucha recipes on the internet.  They pretty much all work because it is actually hard to go wrong brewing kombucha when you use both pellicle and starter liquid. 

I am not suggesting that the way I brew kombucha is the best way to do it, or even a good way to do it, I am only saying it is simple and it works for me.  This blog post is partly a way for me to record this in case I ever forget how to do this in the future.

Continuous brew чайный гриб

I tend to do continuous brew rather than messing around with batches and bottling and using fridge space.  Continuous brew works for me, it never goes wrong, I don't see how it could go wrong, and it takes very little time and effort.  

Some people much prefer batch brewing.  I hear about these going wrong from time to time.  Apparently the issues with batch brewing are simple enough to avoid.  I can't offer any advice on batch brewing or flavouring kombucha because I don't do that.  

Continuous brew and batch brew are both good methods, which one to use is more about personal preference than anything else.  The scoby doesn't care if you do continuous brew or batch brew, you could try both and see what you prefer.  

Kombucha ready to drink

Kombucha looks like beer or apple cider

I have a large glass jar with a tap.  This jar contains one or more pellicles and some finished kombucha/starter liquid.  

I drew two lines on the jar, one at 4 liters, the other at 6 liters.  I fill it up to the 6L line, we drink it as wanted and I refill it once it drops to the 4L line.  It is simple, and a little inconsistent, but can never fail unless there is some mechanical failure such as the jar gets smashed or the tap falls out.  

I don't put the lid on the jar as the scoby needs some air.  Instead I tend to keep a cloth on top of the jar, this keeps out insects and dust.  I used to hold the cloth on with a rubber band, but stopped bothering with that a few years ago and the cloth just sitting on top still does the trick.  

Continuous brew чайный гриб recipe

Once we drink enough that the liquid drops to the 4L line I fill it with sweet tea that has cooled.  Never use hot tea as this will kill (or at least damage) the scoby. 

1. I boil 2L of water, add 1/2 cup white sugar, and 2 or 3 tea bags.  I mostly use regular black tea bags, but sometimes also include a bag of green tea.  
2. I let this steep for about 5 to 15 minutes, then remove the tea bags.  
3. I let this cool to room temperature.  
4. Once cooled I pour this sweet tea in my jar, and it is ready to drink in a few days (or immediately if you prefer it sweeter).  

Let me stress that I always allow it to cool before adding it to my jar, never add this when still hot or it will kill the scoby.  

Some people use more sugar while others use less sugar, some people use more tea bags others use less tea bags.  Sometimes I use some black tea and include some green tea, other times I only use black tea.  I use tea bags so I don't have to strain out any leaves, using loose leaf tea would also be fine as long as you can strain out the leaves.  

If I go away for a while I just fill it up and it is fine when I return.  I don't have a lid on my jar so there is no risk of building too much pressure.  The contents of the jar are too acidic for most pathogens to survive, so there is no danger there.  A pantry moth or something could get in and I would have to deal with that, but that hasn't happened here yet.

Continuous brew kombucha simply works, you can't really go wrong as long as you let the tea cool before adding to the jar and the scoby is strong. 

Continuous brew kombucha, I keep a cloth on top 

My jar already has a pellicle, and 4L or so of starter, so it brews quickly and is ready to drink in next to no time.  I hear of other people having to wait two weeks before their brew is ready, they tend to use significantly less starter liquid than I do.  

Sometimes when we are drinking a lot of kombucha this drops a bit below the 4L line before I have a chance to refill it, that doesn't really matter.  Other times I refill before it reaches the line, again this doesn't really matter.  Over summer it brews a lot faster, over winter it brews far slower.  This is not a precise science.  

Most recipes suggest adding a pellicle and 10% starter liquid to 90% tea, this works fine but is a lot slower than how I do it.  I use about 66% starter liquid and about 33% sweet tea, and it brews very fast.  We tend to drink some kombucha most days, so want to fill my jar and have it ready to drink as soon as possible.  Sometimes my kids drink it as soon as I filled it, I prefer to wait a few days as I like the sharper taste.

It usually has more bubbles

While my method may not be the best way to brew kombucha, the fact that I can keep a continuous brew going like this for a few years is testament to the fact that this method is working.  Perhaps there are better methods, but this works for me, and it is so simple. 

If you have a kombucha recipe that is different, and it works for you, please keep using it.  If you try one recipe and don't love it, then change it and try something different.  One of the best parts of kombucha is nothing is precise, and you really can't fail.  

If you are new to brewing kombucha, it is difficult for anything to go wrong if you brew using both pellicle and starter liquid.  Some people discard the pellicle from every batch, which works for them, but when first learning how to do this it is best to include the pellicle as well as the starter liquid.

чайный гриб has been brewed by people at home since at least the 1800s, it is simple and inexpensive.  I have never used a heat mat, I don't have a thermometer, nothing is overly precise and nothing ever goes wrong.  At worst I leave it too long before drinking and it tastes a little too sour for my liking.  

If you want to try brewing kombucha at home, you could try using unflavoured kombucha from the shops.  This will likely have a significantly lower number of strains and you can't be certain it has not been pasturised (killing many of the bacteria and yeasts) prior to sale.  You are better off finding someone who brews kombucha and buying a scoby (not just a pellicle) from them.  If you can't find any locally, and you are located in Australia, my contact details can be found on my for sale page.  

Kombucha (чайный гриб) SCOBY

For a few years we made чайный гриб (pronounced as chai-knee grib).  This translates to tea mushroom.  The beverage itself is sometimes known as grib “mushroom”.  I have read on the internet that it is also affectionately called gribok “little mushroom”, but have never heard anyone use this term.  Most people in Australia call this drink kombucha. 

Kombucha is sweet tea that has been fermented using SCOBY.  If you make kombucha at home it is cheap and surprisingly simple to do.  Many people flavour it with various things, while some of these are nice I prefer to drink it as is without flavouring.  

SCOBY is an acronym for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast.  Various studies have been done to count the number of species present in the scoby, while these numbers range dramatically depending on the scoby tested (and keeping in mind that each scoby will gain and/or lose species as time passes), kombucha often contains around 200 species with 20 bacteria and 16 yeast being the most dominant. 

People often like to think that symbiosis means all the organisms working together in balanced harmony to benefit each other.  The truth is far less romantic.  Symbiosis only means different organisms living together for a period of time, symbiosis does not have to be mutually beneficial, or even beneficial at all.  

In kombucha, all the organisms are competing for survival, some of them benefit from this arrangement, others less so, some even entrap and almost 'farm' others.  These organisms competing for survival make the environment too harsh for non-beneficial organisms, while adding health benefits to the drink.  It is a fascinating subject that is poorly researched, and no two scoby's are exactly the same.  

kombucha jellyfish

For some inexplicable reason there is a growing number of people who like to argue (looking at you Reddit) over what exactly is the 'SCOBY' in kombucha.  It seems like semantics to me.  They will also aggressively demand that scoby is written all in capitals because it is an acronym, they are correct on that point, but I find it harder to read when all in capitals so tend to use lower case. 

Kombucha pellicle

When making kombucha at home it often has a pellicle.  The pellicle is a flat thing that looks a bit like a pancake, or a jellyfish, (or a placenta).  Some people refer to the pellicle as the scoby, while others aggressively attack them for using this term as it is not strictly accurate.  

The pellicle is made of cellulose that is built by bacteria.  The scoby lives in and on and under the pellicle, you could not separate them if you tried.  The pellicle helps to protect the scoby, and helps the scoby survive if conditions are not ideal.  Kombucha pellicles have been tested in the international space station to see how it protects against radiation etc - it is a fascinating subject.  We don't fully understand how the pellicle works, or exactly what it does, but we know it has a role for the microorganisms interacting with each other.  While the pellicle is not the scoby, I don't see much harm in calling the pellicle the scoby, to me it seems like semantics.  

While certainly not ideal, it is possible to brew kombucha by simply adding the pellicle to sweetened tea.  This is possible, and I have done it, but things could go wrong.  The main problem is the liquid will generally not be acidic enough to prevent other microorganisms from growing.  Another issue is most of the scoby are in/on the pellicle rather than mixed through the liquid.  If starting kombucha with only using the pellicle, by the time enough of the scoby are in the liquid and the pH is low enough there are also many other microorganisms who have started to grow.  For this reason you should always include at least some starter tea when brewing kombucha.  Most people add about 10% starter to 90% sweet tea but I include a lot more.  You could only use the pellicle and add something acidic to lower the pH, but it is easier and better to just include some starter tea.  

Kombucha

Kombucha starter tea

Some people refer to the kombucha liquid that you drink as the SCOBY.  Again, this is not technically true.  The liquid is tea and waste products after it has been partly digested by bacteria and yeast (it sounds gross, but it is good for you).  The scoby lives in this liquid, and feeds off this liquid, and you could not separate them if you tried.  While the liquid is also not the scoby, I don't see any harm in people referring to the liquid as the scoby, again it seems like semantics.  

It is possible to brew kombucha by simply adding some starter liquid to sweet tea.  I am told the finished kombucha brew tastes different than when the pellicle is also added.  

Fermenting kombucha using only the liquid and no pellicle works well enough because this liquid is too acidic for many harmful microorganisms to thrive, the scoby are mixed through the liquid, and the scoby can multiply quickly and make the environment too harsh for other microorganisms to get a foothold.  

kombucha jellyfish in a jar

For those who disagree with me that the pellicle acts as biofilm and can be used effectively as an inoculum, I thought I would include a link to a paper on this topic and quote some relevant parts.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8371556/#:~:text=Kombucha%20pellicles%20are%20often%20used,part%20of%20the%20kombucha%20consortia.

The below talks about what the pellicle is, the different layers, and the role of entrapped yeasts: 

The kombucha biofilm presents similarities to cellulosic pellicles grown by pure acetic acid bacteria (AAB) in sugared black tea but differs by the presence of yeast, which are involved from the early steps of biofilm formation. Based on observations, the formation model consists in an initial trapping and aggregation of yeasts (possibly in pseudo-mycelium form) in bacterial cellulose. With accumulation of cellulose and cells, a consistent layered pellicle is formed and, from then on, grows in thickness. The top layer at the interface with air is made of parallel cellulose fibrils and hosts yeasts and bacteria, while the bottom surface at the interface with liquid is made of cellulose network colonized by bacteria and where biomass accumulates. Finally, a middle layer located under the top cellulosic layer is filled with biomass and viable bacterial cells that are suspected to be the active agents of pellicle growth. This region is thought to play a nutritional function for bacteria by taking advantage of entrapped yeast metabolism and autolysis, thus revealing an aspect of the microbial interactions in kombucha. This study indicates that the yeast–AAB interactions in kombucha act on the structure and building of the pellicle, which could, in turn, enhance other types of interactions, including the metabolic interplay necessary for optimal kombucha production.

Some people brew kombucha without ever using a pellicle, and throw away every pellicle they see.  While this seems to work for them, for a beginner I would not recommend it.  Brewing kombucha using both starter tea as well as the pellicle is very simple, and it has been demonstrated to produce a healthy result.  Using both pellicle and starter tea is the traditional way to make kombucha, and it is really hard for anything undesirable to start growing.  

For someone who is just starting out brewing kombucha, it is easiest to use both pellicle and starter tea.  The pellicle and the starter liquid both contain live SCOBY, and including both when brewing kombucha is simple and gives a beginner no real way to fail.  Including both the pellicle and the starter tea ensures you will have the maximum diversity of microorganisms, it will have the maximum number of beneficial microbes, and it gives the best chance that they will be interacting in ways you want them to.  

Once you have done a few kombucha brews and have a feel for how things should progress, as well as what looks normal, feel free to discard the pellicle and only brew using the liquid (which is simple), or to only use the pellicle (but only if you are very confident you know what you are doing).  When you are still learning, however, I strongly suggest using both the liquid and the pellicle.  

If you are new to kombucha, and are buying scoby to get started, don't just buy a pellicle.  Make sure you get pellicle and some of the starter liquid.  

Kombucha

Kombucha continuous brew 

There are plenty of kombucha recipes on the internet.  They all work because it is hard to go wrong brewing kombucha when you use both pellicle and starter liquid.  

I tend to do continuous brew rather than messing around with batches and bottling and using fridge space.  Continuous brew works for me, it never goes wrong, and it takes very little time and effort.  

Other people prefer batch brewing.  This works for them, and they are happy with the result.

They are both good methods, they both work well, it is just personal preference.  

Continuous brew чайный гриб

You can see in the photo above I have a large jar that has a tap.  It is simple, and can never fail unless the jar gets smashed or the tap falls out.  

I don't put the lid on the jar as the scoby needs some air.  I tend to keep a cloth on top of the jar, this keeps out insects and dust.  I used to hold the cloth on with a rubber band, but stopped bothering with that a few years ago and it still does the trick.  

This blog post is getting a little long.  At some stage I will try to write another blog post with the kombucha recipe I use. 

Kombucha Continuous Brew

We have been keeping various ancient cultures for years.  We started with milk kefir, then went on to things such as water kefir and sour dough.  Some cultures we have kept going for years, others we have lost, and others we decided to stop doing for now due to various reasons.  One of the cultures we have at the moment that I really enjoy is kombucha.

Unfortunately the origin of kombucha has been lost to history.  Several romantic theories have been made about the origins of kombucha, none appear to be based on anything other than dramatic story telling, and these stories eventually merged to the one that is often told today.  The truth is that we know roughly where kombucha originated, we know vaguely when it started to become popular, but it doesn’t make one ounce of difference.  The drink tastes good, it is simple to make, and it reportedly has several health benefits.  Who really cares when or how it was discovered.

I thought I would write a blog post to share the down sides of continuous brew kombucha, and test some of the health claims.  I think you may be surprised by the results.

Continuous brew kombucha

Early this year a very generous person gave me their beautiful continuous brew kombucha set up.  This thing is amazing.  It is large enough to make decent amounts of kombucha, and other than drawing off liquid and filling it up when low the system pretty much takes care of itself.  I have no idea if continuous brew is as good as batch brewing, but it works well for us so I am happy with it.  There have been two down sides to continuous brewing kombucha so far.

Firstly, and unimportantly, my scoby is not as pretty as the ones I see on the internet.  On the internet they always look like a perfect neat pile of fluffy pancakes floating blissfully in clear tea.  My scoby looks more like a pile of pancakes that was quickly eaten and immediately puked up by a donkey.   I am sure I could remove the messier ones and make it look prettier for a short time if I wanted to, but it would soon get back to looking like this.   It does its job well, so it doesn’t matter what it looks like.

Secondly, the only important down side I have noticed is that the little tap gets clogged from time to time.  The tap had a little mesh filter behind it, I removed that filter and it has never clogged since.

 

Kombucha scoby, mine doesn't look as pretty as the ones I see on the internet!

There are many anecdotal reports about the health benefits of kombucha, these range from things that seem reasonable to utterly absurd exaggerations that only a fool would be taken in by and everything in between.  Some health benefits have been scientifically tested, while others have not.   Some of the more commonly reported health benefits include decreased blood pressure, evening out of blood sugars, improved digestion, weight loss, increase in general immunity, lowered levels of anxiety and depression, and improvement in overall health.

Some of the alleged health benefits would be lovely, while others would actually be bad for me.  Decreasing blood pressure would be dreadful for me as I already have low blood pressure.  It is possible that kombucha helps even out blood pressure, but the people who rave about it mostly have high blood pressure?  Or maybe it has no noticeable effect on blood pressure and this is one of the many false claims?  I don’t know, so I decided to just drink it and see how I went.

Nothing works immediately, if anything is actually going to actually make you healthier it is going to take time before you can notice the difference.   When you notice the difference straight away it is often not going to do you a great deal of good long term (such as in the case of pain killers or antibiotics) or it is a placebo.   For the past few months I have been drinking kombucha most days.

So how do I feel after drinking kombucha for around six months, and how does that compare to before I started to drink kombucha?

Kombucha - the lines let me know when to refill

Unfortunately I have to admit that I feel exactly the same as I did before I stared to drink kombucha.  That's disappointing and unexpected.
 
My digestion is no better or worse, my general immunity is no different than before, my blood pressure and blood sugars are the same as always, and my overall level of health has not been altered one bit.  I was not expecting that.

I would love for kombucha to be a cure all tonic that made me as fit and strong as I was ten years ago, but it is not.  This doesn’t matter, I plan to keep brewing and drinking kombucha simply because I like it.

I don’t know if kombucha ever improves people’s health, maybe it helps some people but not others.  Perhaps my health made no improvement as I was relatively healthy to begin with.   I have issues with my neck and back due to an injury, I have low blood pressure and I need to keep an eye on my blood sugars (I have almost cured myself of blood sugar issues), but I eat well and am not sick all that often.  I don’t eat a lot of processed food and I sometimes drink water kefir so my gut flora is probably well established and robust.

Maybe kombucha improves the overall health of people who are generally unhealthy, eat poorly, and have imbalances in their gut flora.   I will continue to brew and drink kombucha simply because I like the taste, any health benefits that I may be getting from it are just a bonus.

Kombucha taste good to me

I should put up a post with the recipe for how I make kombucha, partly to help others but partly in case I ever forget.  The recipe I use is really simple and takes very little time.   When I do write a post with the recipe I will try to remember to link to it from here.

I don’t currently sell kombucha starter scoby through my for sale page as I am concerned about how it is covered under food safety laws.   I know that it is virtually impossible to legally sell eggs at markets in Australia due to food safety laws, I assume kombucha is probably restricted in similar ways.