Kombucha SCOBY

Fermented food and beverages are natural, healthy, and full of Vitamin B and other probiotic nutrients. They are good for those on a strict diet especially a ketogenic diet or digestive problems. Fermented food help restore the gut bacteria and natural fauna of the digestive system making us healthier, stronger, and with a stronger immune system.

Unlike packaged food, fermentation adds to the taste without any oil, sugar, food colors, preservatives, or chemical essence or any unhealthy additives. This makes homebrew healthier than its commercial equivalent.

During fermentation, the yeast eats away the sugar and adds to the taste. Hence reducing calorie intake and tackling hunger pangs. India is the Diabetic country of the world, and a lot of diabetics are switching over to homemade apple cider vinegar and kombucha as an alternative to soft drinks.

If you have a pre-existing condition or allergies, it is best to consult with your doctor. Fermentation often results in drastically altering the food properties. You can also read about how 8 different types of ayurvedic preparations can be made at home.

So many products around you are fermented: curd, cheese, black tea, coffee, olives, bread, and pickle. Not all fermentation is alcohol.

For centuries, fermentation was the method of choice for the preservation of food, purification of water, and enhancing the taste & nutritional value of the food ingredients. Making alcohol and getting drunk was never the central obsession of society. It had more benign purposes like food preservation in the absence of refrigerator and preservatives.

You can make several probiotic food recipes like pickles, cheese, curd, vinegar, kombucha, kefir, sauerkraut, idli/ dosa batter, or even bread at home which are fermented foods and do not contain any alcohol.

Refer to this link for further details on FSSAI compliance on 0.3% ethyl alcohol permissible limits in your probiotics that you are marketing.

Kombucha can go flat because of a variety of reasons. Here is a troubleshooting guide.

1. Improper packaging: You need a proper container that can retain CO2 pressure. Crown caps are the best for it. However, screw cap type milk bottles don’t hold pressure that well. A swing type bottle is also great.
2. Priming Sugar: If you ferment the kombucha completely, then there is not much sugar left for it to ferment and carbonate. Use a hydrometer and add about 8gm of residual sugar per liter at the time of bottling.
3. Improper bottle conditioning: Natural CO2 takes a couple of days to form. Keeping the kombucha in the refrigerator immediately after bottling does not give it adequate time to carbonate.
4. Lack of yeast. If you filter your kombucha, then you might strip it of yeast and healthy microbes. This would not allow the fermentation to happen in the bottle.

Jun tea is a sweet, sour effervescent beverage made from fresh unpasteurized honey and green tea. Kombucha on the other hand is made from tea and sugar. The primary difference is that kombucha is a lot more tart than Jun. However, you can use the kombucha mother to make Jun tea as well. So the two cultures are very similar in origin. For all practical purposes, Jun tea is a type of kombucha and should not be treated as a different culture altogether.

• First have a look at the SCOBY. If there are black or green patches on it, then the kombucha is most likely affected by mold and should be discarded.
• Then look, if there are any insects, weevil or pests in the kombucha. If they are 1-2, you could probably discard the impacted portion. If there are too many, then you may have to procure a fresh mother.
• Smell the kombucha. If it smells pleasant then you are probably OK. If it smells rotten or sewage like, then discard.
• Trust your senses. Taste a spoon full. It should taste tart and yet refreshing.

In short, if the kombucha that you made looks OK, smells ok and tastes ok, then it is OK.

Kombucha traditionally is made in a glass or porcelain fermenter. We would strongly recommend you to start in a similar mason jar or a pickle jar that is typically found in Indian kitchens. Tie it with a muslin cloth (or handkerchief) to prevent insects from dropping by.

As you scale your kombucha, we would recommend you to use either:

1. Conical fermenter: This allows you to rapidly clean the sediment without disturbing the SCOBY. Hence, you can ferment faster and scale up your enterprise.
2. Another option is to ferment in a Corny Keg. These are inexpensive and allow you to produce very good quality natural carbonation. You can sell and transport in the kegs as well. This allows you to scale up fast.