Matcha Kombucha | from Eat to Thrive Nutrition
March 06, 2019
This month, we’re happy to welcome Holistic Nutritionist Sara of @eattothrivenutrition who has created a magical matcha kombucha! See below for Sara’s write-up and easier than you’d think recipe! If you’ve ever considered fermenting at home, this is a great place to start.
DōMatcha®-Infused Kombucha
Kombucha is made with fermented sweetened tea and a kombucha culture known as a scoby, mushroom or kombucha “mother.”
With fermentation, the kombucha “mother” produces acetic, lactic and glucuronic acids when fed sugar and caffeine. Another product of kombucha fermentation is the creation of living bacterial cultures, also known as probiotics, or beneficial bacteria, which are amazing for gut health and digestion!
Plain kombucha tastes like fizzy, carbonated iced tea. The taste can be modified by adding juices, different teas, herbs, roots, and fruit for flavouring, or additional health benefits.
This recipe will be using DōMatcha® Sencha green tea to brew, and Summer Harvest matcha as a second ferment!
Kombucha can be made with a variety of caffeinated teas. Green tea-based kombucha has a smoother and more refreshing flavour, which can taste less vinegary than black tea-based kombucha.This was my first time trying kombucha with matcha, and it was a huge success! The matcha gives a smooth and almost creamy earthy addition to the iced green tea flavour.
Here is what you’ll need to make your own matcha kombucha:
- 8 DōMatcha® Tencha green tea bags (or other DōMatcha® green tea)
- 1 cup sugar (I prefer raw cane sugar, but white sugar is traditionally used)
- 1 litre of boiling hot water
- 3 litres cold filtered water
- 1 cup starter tea from a previous batch or 1/5 cup pure apple cider vinegar (with mother)
- 1 Kombucha “mother” or scoby
- 1 tsp DōMatcha® Summer Harvest matcha powder
- 1 x 4 litre glass jar, or ceramic pot with a wide mouth
- Pot to boil the water
- Measuring cup
- A clean tea towel and an elastic band to cover your brew
- Bottles or jars with tight closing lids to store the final product - sling closures are best
Instructions:
- Boil 1 litre of the water.
- Add DōMatcha® green tea bags, and steep for 10-15 minutes.
- Add sugar, stir until fully dissolved.
- Allow to cool for an hour or so until room temperature, then remove the bags
- Pour cooled tea into your 4L brewing jar and add the remaining water and vinegar or starter kombucha, then stir again.
- Continue to cool to below body temperature if the brew is still warm, before adding your kombucha scoby (heat can kill / deactivate the scoby).
- Gently add scoby to your jar of cooled sweet tea.
- Once you add your scoby, cover top of your brewing jar with a tea towel, and secure with the elastic band.
- Store this jar in a dark, room temperature place, inside a cupboard works well. Do not allow it to get cold.
- After 7-8 days give your kombucha a taste! There should be bubbles by this point.
- If your kombucha is too sweet or flat, then leave it to ferment another 1-5 days until desired carbonation and sweetness or tartness is achieved. (Note: additional carbonation will take place during the bottling process). Temperature affects the rate of fermentation. If your home is cooler, it make take a few extra days to ferment.
- Once your kombucha is fermented to your liking, pour it into sealable bottles or jars. The stronger the seal, the more carbonation will accumulate and hold; sling closures work very well for this. Leave sealed kombucha in your cupboard or on a counter for an additional 2-5 days to get more fizzy. Store your final kombucha in the refrigerator otherwise it will continue to ferment and turn sour like vinegar.
Matcha infusion:
- This is done as a second ferment, without the scoby.
- Remove your scoby with 1-2 cups of this brew for storage.
- Whisk your matcha powder into the remaining kombucha.
- Bottle this matcha kombucha as usual in tightly closed bottles, and allow to ferment an additional 2-4 days out of the refrigerator without the scoby, so more carbonation will build.
- After the second ferment, refrigerate the final product.
- Enjoy cold from your fridge!
Together matcha and kombucha are powerful and delicious supports for your health! Kombucha contains live cultures and probiotics for a healthy gut, while DōMatcha® powdered green tea is rich in antioxidants and alkalizing due to its high PH value.