Pomegranate Kombucha
- 14 cups purified water
- 16 to 20 tea bags or
- 8 tablespoons (35 grams) loose-leaf black tea
- 1 cup evaporated cane sugar
- 2 cups starter tea
- 1 SCOBY
- 4 cups pomegranate juice
- Heat 6 cups of the water in a stainless steel saucepan to 212F over medium heat.
- Remove from the heat, add the tea, stir well, and cover.
- Steep for 4 minutes, stirring once after 2 minutes.
- Remove the tea bags or pour the tea through a colander or fine-mesh strainer into a second pot.
- Compost the tea.
- Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.
- Add the remaining 8 cups of water to cool the tea to about room temperature (72F or cooler).
- Add 2 cups of the starter tea and stir.
- Pour into a 1-gallon jar.
- With rinsed hands, carefully lay the SCOBY on the surface of the tea.
- Cover the opening of the jar with a clean cotton cloth and hold it in place with a rubber band.
- Place the jar in a warm spot (72F to 78F) out of direct sunlight and leave undisturbed to ferment for 7 days.
- Taste your kombucha using a straw.
- Does it taste too sweet?
- Let it go a few more days before tasting again.
- Is it sufficiently tart, and you love it?
- Time for the next step.
- Carefully remove the SCOBY with rinsed hands and place it on a clean porcelain or glass plate or bowl bathed in kombucha.
- This will be your culture for the next batch.
- If immediately proceeding with another batch, reserve about 2 cups of the finished kombucha for the starter tea of your next brew.
- Add the pomegranate juice to the fermented kombucha tea.
- Stir gently.
- Using a funnel and a spouted measuring cup (for easy pouring), fill your bottles with the flavored kombucha, leaving about 1 inch of air space in the neck of the bottle.
- As you pour, you may want to use a fine-mesh strainer to filter out yeast strands.
- Cap tightly.
- Your kombucha is ready to drink, but if you prefer a more carbonated beverage, proceed to the next step.
- To begin the optional secondary fermentation process, simply store the capped bottles in a warm dry place (72F to 78F is best) for 48 hours.
- Be aware that the sugars present will add fuel to the fermentation action in the bottle, which will increase the pressure inside the bottles.
- After 48 hours, chill one of the bottles for at least 6 hours.
- Crack it open and pour it into a glass.
- If it effervesces, youve done it!
- If you want more carbonation, let it go for a few more days and test again with another chilled bottle.
- When youre pleased with the carbonation, refrigerate all the bottles to end the fermentation.
- Starter Tea
- Starter tea is previously brewed kombucha or store-bought raw kombucha with no flavorings or infusions (essentially as close as possible to a traditional plain kombucha).
- It is added to freshly brewed sweetened tea to lower the pH and introduce a plethora of beneficial yeasts and bacteria to help kick-start the
- fermentation process.
water, looseleaf black tea, cane sugar, starter tea, pomegranate juice
Taken from www.cookstr.com/recipes/pomegranate-kombucha (may not work)