Basic Home-made Pineapple Kombucha is a traditional British recipe for a classic method of creating a kombucha fermented tea drink that's flavoured with pineapple scraps. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Basic Home-made Pineapple Kombucha.
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At its heart kombucha is a fermented, effervescent and sweetened black tea drink. Sometimes the beverage is called kombucha tea to distinguish it from the culture of bacteria and yeast. Juice, spices, fruit, or other flavourings are often added (as here). Commercial kombucha contains small amounts of alcohol.
Kombucha is produced by symbiotic fermentation of sugared tea using a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) commonly called a "mother" or "mushroom". The microbial populations in a SCOBY vary. The yeast component generally includes Saccharomyces cerevisiae, along with other species; the bacterial component almost always includes Gluconacetobacter xylinus to oxidize yeast-produced alcohols to acetic acid (and other acids). Although the SCOBY is commonly called 'tea fungus' or 'mushroom', it is actually 'a symbiotic growth of acetic acid bacteria and osmophilic yeast species in a zoogleal mat [biofilm]'. The living bacteria are said to be probiotic, one of the reasons for the popularity of the drink.
Various kombucha SCOBYs are available on-line. You can also use a mother of vinegar culture. However, as the tea base for kombucha is different from the sweetened tea base for kombucha you will need to add the vinegar of mother to a sweetened tea starter and then use a small portion of this as your home-made SCOBY.
You can omit the pineapple from this recipe and just make the black tea kombucha but I think the addition of pineapple lifts the flavour (it's also a great way of using-up leftover pineapple peelings and cores).
For this recipe you will need a 2 litre/3½ pint wide-mouthed clip-top jar, a very large jug or bowl, a large measuring jug or bowl, a clean tightly woven muslin, a rubber band or string, a funnel and clip-top round glass bottles for decanting.
Ingredients:
4 tea bags (everyday black tea rather than a speciality tea)
100g granulated or caster sugar
1.75 litres just-boiled filtered water
pineapple peelings and cores
1 medium kombucha scoby culture (available online)
Method:
First wash your jar, jug or bowl and funnel thoroughly in hot soapy water. Rinse well under very hot water and leave to air dry.
Combine the tea bags, sugar and pineapple peelings in a very large measuring jug or heatproof bowl and pour over the just-boiled filtered water. Give the tea a good stir and leave to stand for 30 minutes. Lift out the tea bags and pineapple pieces and discard, then leave the tea to cool for a further 30-45 minutes or until lukewarm.
Pour the cooled tea into the prepared jar (you may need to use a funnel if you haven’t steeped the tea in a jug). Place the kombucha scoby into the tea along with the starter liquid it has been stored with.
Cover the top of the kombucha jar with a piece of clean muslin (cheese cloth) and secure with string or a rubber band. Leave at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. The kombucha will take from a few days to 2 weeks to brew. You will notice it changing colour and becoming a little cloudier as the days pass. After 5 days, spoon a little out and taste. If it tastes more like apple juice than tea, with a pleasant, slight tartness and a little fizz, it should be ready. If not, leave for another day or so and taste again. Some people like a stronger taste, so will leave longer (about 7–10 days), but to start with, you may want to drink when it is a little milder.
Transfer the scoby and approximately 150ml of the tea to a clean bowl, ready to make the next batch. Use as a starter liquid to make the next brew or cover and store in a cool, dark place for up to 5 days if you plan to use it again. Strain the remainder of the brew through a fine-meshed sieve into clean, lidded bottles. Secure the lids and place in your refrigerator to chill. Drink within a week.
The kombucha will begin to become slightly fizzy at this point, and will get more fizzy the longer it is stored. This is caused by the bacteria within the liquid naturally producing carbon dioxide. Make sure you ’burp’ the bottle(s) every day or so to release the build-up of gas. If you leave your bottled kombucha at room temperature for a day or two before putting in the fridge, it will become fizzier more quickly.
You can begin drinking the kombucha straight away, but it's best to start with small amounts (to avoid any digestive upset as your system gets used to the bacteria).
Note: If your scoby is new, you will need to reduce the amount of kombucha you make for the first few times in order to have the best chance of success. Try using 1–1.5 litres of just-boiled water with 3–4 teabags and 75g sugar.
The scoby will produce its own gelatinous ‘baby’ as it ferments and later the mother and baby can be separated and the baby used to start a new fermentation. If there is a batch that smells rotten or becomes mouldy it should be discarded.
