Process Journal 23 - Fermentation

On January 21st, I began the process of fermenting the tea (I had additional research to complete before I made a journal documenting the process.) From Process Journal 18, here are the first steps to the process:

1. Brew approx. 1 gallon of tea (approx.4-5 teabags, 3 heaping tablespoons sugar per half gallon)
2. Cool tea completely to room temperature
3. Pour tea into large glass jar along with kombucha starter cultures
4. Place SCOBY over mixture
5. Secure handkerchief over mouth of jar using rubberbands
6. Let ferment for a few days; taste for doneness

Brewing the Tea

As detailed in Process Journal 21, I decided to use Luzianne Green Tea for the kombucha:

The tea

Boiling a gallon of water

Tea ready to brew and sweeten

One of the tea bags burst when the water was poured into the pitcher. This meant I had to strain out the tea leaves before mixing it with the kombucha cultures.

Straining the leaves

Sweetening the tea

Tea brewing

If both the tea and the kombucha cultures are not room temperature when the fermentation begins, than the SCOBY may sink in the liquid or the cultures may be 'upset'. The tea was left to cool overnight.

Tea cooling.

Mixing the Tea and Kombucha

The starter kombucha cultures given to me by my mentor were placed in the jar first.

Starter cultures in jar, SCOBY in bowl

The SCOBY!!

Tea and kombucha mixed, SCOBY placed on surface

Fermenting the Tea

The handkerchief was then secured over the mouth of the jar.

Placed in a cool dark place

The tea is now in the process of fermenting! It has been about eleven days since the tea began fermenting, and the tea will be ready for flavouring and carbonation within the next few days.