Kombucha is unrivaled in the realm of people’s interest in various types of health beverages, and it is difficult to find anything that can compete with it. Many people like kombucha because of its one-of-a-kind qualities, including its unusually high level of health benefits and its distinct appearance.
After all, it is fermented tea, which is not something you come across very often. It’s possible that if you’re new to kombucha and working with it, you won’t know what to anticipate and will think that the procedure is straightforward due to the fact that you’ve never done it before.
The fact of the matter is that it is not simple for novices to produce their very own kombucha at home for a number of different reasons.
To begin, there is the reality that the process of fermenting kombucha involves close to three steps, beginning with the creation of the SCOBY and continuing all the way through the second pass of fermentation.
There is also the fact that kombucha can be rather picky about the temperature at which it is kept and the environment in which it is kept. If you happen to live in an area that does not have a place that is moderately chilled where you can store your kombucha, then you may run into some difficulties.
Having said all of this, one of the many issues that some people have with kombucha is that they do not completely grasp why tea is such an important part to it. This is one of the numerous concerns. In kombucha, the relationship between the tea and the remainder of the beverage is analogous to that of grapes and wine.
Because the bacteria and yeast that are responsible for the distinctive health benefits and flavor of kombucha are best able to feed on black and green teas, kombucha will nearly always need some sort of tea.
Because the SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) is responsible for digesting and processing the sugars contained within the tea, the kind of tea that you use may have a significant influence on the final product that you get when you make kombucha.
If you wind up making the mistake of using the “wrong” tea for your kombucha, there is a strong risk that you will be quite dissatisfied with the final product after it has fermented for many weeks.
The Role That Tea Plays
As was just discussed, a comparison may be made between kombucha and tea and grapes and wine. It is an irrefutable reality that in order for kombucha to be termed kombucha, it must first be fermented from tea. In the same way, the majority of people demand wine to be fermented from grape juice.
The majority of the SCOBYs that you also buy in for your kombucha are going to be specially developed to interact with the components and chemical make-up of tea, as opposed to working with other kinds of liquids. This is because tea is the primary element in kombucha.
Even if you don’t put any more sugar in your tea, the majority of the time it already contains a certain quantity of sugar on its own (as you should when you are making kombucha, since the sugars are fuel and food for the SCOBY).
If you are thinking of brewing your own kombucha in the near future, you will need to ensure that you have a comprehensive understanding of how the various types of teas may influence every facet of the kombucha.
For instance, you should use certain teas if your primary goal is to cultivate a healthy SCOBY and you do not really care about the flavor of the tea that you make afterward; rather, you are more concerned with the quality of the SCOBY that you produce.
Other times, a tea should really only be used when you are making a later batch of kombucha. This is because the earlier types of kombucha will not be as “refined” as the more modern types of tea that are used in kombucha, which is why you should only use a tea when you are making a later batch of kombucha.
When you are learning how to make kombucha for the first time, there are a variety of teas that you will want to research and get familiar with. This is because there are more than a few different kinds of teas that can be used to make kombucha.
Finding the Right Tea for Your Kombucha
First things first, one thing that you should be aware of concerning tea and kombucha is that it is absolutely possible to have a decaffeinated tea and have tea that will remain completely caffeine-free, which is good information to have for people who enjoy decaffeinated things. Another thing that you should be aware of concerning tea and kombucha is that it is absolutely possible to have a tea that will remain completely caffeine-free.
When you do research on kombucha and tea, you will discover that many, many sites suggest that black tea is the best (and even the only) tea that you should be using for your kombucha. Some of these sources even say that green tea is the only tea that should be used.
Although it could be a bit of an exaggeration to argue that only people of this kind should be working with kombucha, it is a well-established fact that kombucha and black tea make an excellent combination. Black tea also goes very well with kombucha. When it comes to ensuring that your SCOBYs are prospering, the nutrients that can be found in black tea are going to be the most optimum.
Following that, there will be some oolong tea served. It’s possible that other kinds of tea from about the same period weren’t quite as popular as this one was back then.
It goes without saying that drinking oolong tea is still highly beneficial to your health. Because oolong tea does not have a lot written about it, you should think about adding it to your kombucha so that you can start giving it more respect. This would be all the more reason why you should consider doing so.
Green tea is going to be the next kind of tea that you’ll be able to add to the list of potential ingredients for your kombucha. When dealing with kombucha, this kind of tea is the one that people use the second most often after black tea.
It is strongly discouraged for use in the production of your first batch of kombucha due to the fact that the nutrients it contains are unsuitable for the upkeep of a brand-new SCOBY system.
Green tea, on the other hand, is fantastic for maintaining more SCOBYs, which means that when you finally get around to making kombucha, you will have everything you need to ferment many bottles at the same time.
Following that, there will be white teas available. The relationship between white tea and black tea is analogous to the one that exists between green tea and black tea. White tea is seen as being subpar to green tea in many regards; as a result, comparisons between white tea and black tea are not made as often as they should be.
Having said that, once you have a more strong and healthier kombucha batch set up, you may begin utilizing white tea as your fuel if you enjoy the taste of it. This can be done after you have a more robust and better kombucha batch lined up. You only need to fortify it in the beginning with the more robust black teas.
If we are going through the many types of tea in descending order of rating, red tea will come after white tea. There are a lot of individuals who have never heard of red tea, and this is especially true if they are not someone who is really enthusiastic about tea. When it comes to the quality of kombucha, white tea is considered to be superior than red tea, which is more often known as “rooibos” tea.
In a manner comparable to that of white tea, red tea has the potential to serve as the primary source of fuel for your kombucha; however, in order to ensure that your health beverage provides you with all of the essential nutrients, it is imperative that you first fortify your batches with black and oolong teas.
Herbal teas come in last, but that does not mean they are any less important. These beverages are examples of chamomile, jasmine, and chai teas, respectively. Herbal teas will be positioned at the bottom of the list when considering potential ingredients for kombucha.
Again, once you have made many batches of kombucha, starting with the traditional black tea, you may then transition to utilizing herbal teas as the fuel for your SCOBY. Again, this can be done after you have made several batches of kombucha. To be able to deal with it, you only need to fortify the remaining kombucha with a little bit more tea.
Because there are so many different kinds of tea to think about and keep track of in your thoughts, it is easy to feel confused and even overwhelmed by all of the options available to you.
Make sure that your first two batches of kombucha are prepared using black tea, since this is the simplest method to determine the kind of tea that may be used in the process of making kombucha. When you do this, you will have a strong kombucha foundation, which will provide you a nice canvas to work with when you want to add teas to the mixture that you want.
You may feel secure in the knowledge that you will be able to enjoy kombucha prepared with your preferred kind of tea if you put in the necessary amount of time and effort, and you will also be able to confidently respond to someone who asks you whether or not kombucha truly does need tea.
FAQs
Can I make kombucha without tea?
If you want to make kombucha but you don’t want to use sugar or black tea, there is really just one catch: your SCOBY won’t be happy. To flourish, the SCOBY need both the tannins that may be found in tea as well as sucrose. On the other hand, it is possible to brew kombucha using several types of sweeteners in conjunction with tea.
Why does kombucha need black tea?
Both black tea and green tea are delicious to kombucha cultures, and either one will support the growth of robust and healthy SCOBYs. Black tea, on the other hand, has a higher concentration of nutrients that may be used as fuel for the SCOBY’s growth; as a result, the cultures often develop more rapidly and remain healthier.
Does kombucha always have tea in it?
Because the bacteria and yeast that are responsible for the distinctive health benefits and flavor of kombucha are best able to feed on black and green teas, kombucha will nearly always need some sort of tea.
Can you make kombucha without green tea?
If you’re just getting started with making your own kombucha, a straightforward Green Tea Kombucha is the recipe that’s going to set you off to the best possible start. When brewing your own kombucha at home, you may use almost any kind of tea. There are several types of tea, including black tea, white tea, red tea, pu-ehr tea, and herbal tea. They can all be used safely and will result in a great kombucha beverage.
What if I have a SCOBY but no starter tea?
Therefore, the next best thing to do was to use vinegar to decrease the pH and acidify your brew in the event that you occurred to acquire a SCOBY but did not have enough starting tea to brew a batch. It was dangerous, but doing something was better than doing nothing.
How do you make a SCOBY without tea?
To the fruit that has been macerated, pour in a half cup of vinegar. Before covering the jar with a piece of tightly woven fabric, give the contents a thorough stir. Transfer the jar to a cabinet or another room temperature location that is dark and similar in appearance. The sour fruit mixture should be allowed to ferment for three to four weeks while being stirred once each week.
Can I use tap water for kombucha?
Can You Make Kombucha using Water from the Tap? You certainly can, but you shouldn’t drink water from from the faucet unless it has been filtered beforehand. Tap water must go through further purification processes before it can be used in the brewing of kombucha. This might be as simple as passing the water through a charcoal filter or boiling it before use.