Kirstine McKay From Life At Greenlaw Shares Her Award-Winning Kombucha Recipe
If social isolation and spending extra time at home has got you thinking about getting proactive about your health and wellbeing, then making your own kombucha is a great way to keep busy and stock up the fridge with healthy bevvies.
But, where do you start?
Life At Greenlaw’s Kirstine McKay has shared her kombucha recipe with us, and it’s easier than you think! Kirstine uses her own homegrown, organic herbs to make various flavoured kombuchas including lemon verbena (which recently won an award at the Mossy Show!), mint and chocolate mint…..helllllooooo – yum!
“Authentically fermented kombucha is so good for gut health. It keeps your biome healthy and your immunity strong,” says Kirstine.
INGREDIENTS:
14 cups of boiling water
1 cup of sugar (try rapadura, white or raw)
8 teabags or 2 tablespoons of loose tea (black or green) or a large bunch of herbs
2 cups of starter tea (from previous batch)
1 scoby
“If you’re new to making kombucha, ask your friends if they have some starter tea or a scoby you can use. You’ll probably find they have lots of scoby babies to give away,” Kirstine says.
“Or you can purchase them from Southern Highlands Home Brew in Mittagong.”
METHOD:
Boil water and place in an extra large glass jar.
Stir in sugar until dissolved and then add tea. Leave until cooled.
Remove teabags or strain out loose leaf / herbs.
Stir in the starter tea and then slide in scoby.
Cover the mouth of the jar with a few layers of muslin or cheesecloth and secure with an elastic band.
Keep at room temperature, out of direct sunlight for 7 to 14 days. Duration will depend on the temperature of the room / season. In cold weather the fermentation process could take much longer, so regular taste testing is recommended until you reach the desired ferment.
Once the desired taste has been achieved, pour into sterilised bottles.
Remember to retain 2 cups of your new kombucha for the starter tea of your next brew!
Store bottled kombucha at room temperature until carbonated (usually a couple of days).
Place in the fridge to stop fermentation and carbonation.
Consume within a month.
Heads up! Avoid prolonged contact between the kombucha and anything metal, this can alter the flavour and weaken the scoby.
Yum! Thanks Kirstine! Now, if life is still a little hectic for you and kombucha projects aren’t your thing, no probs! Kirstine sells her delicious kombuchas as well as preserves, beeswax wraps and other eco products online via The Mill’s Online Farmer’s Market.
You can follow Kirstine on Facebook and Instagram – she’s always happy to answer any questions about making kombucha, and any of her gorgeous products.
