Content
Caring for kombucha is not that difficult. It is enough to follow a few simple rules, ensure sterility, and kombucha will reward you with a tasty, healthy drink.
How long does Kombucha live?
Chinese healers call the drink made from tea mushroom an elixir of health. It really helps get rid of many diseases and promotes overall strengthening of the body. Externally, the medusomycete does not look very nice. The body resembles a slippery jellyfish and is beige, pink or light brown in color.
The growing medusomycete resembles gelatinous pancakes
Kombucha lives on nutrients (sugar, tea).If you provide constant care, follow all the rules, and feed, the tea jellyfish will grow and produce a carbonated drink ad infinitum. Under industrial conditions, the medusomycete can grow up to 100 kg. At home, the mushroom lives in a jar. As it grows, it is divided. They share the flatbreads with their friends or increase the amount of the drink.
If a tea jellyfish has grown to cover the entire jar, it will disappear without division.
It is proper care that determines the life expectancy of the tea jellyfish. You cannot be greedy, acting on the principle - the larger the mushroom, the better the tea drink. If the medusomycete fills the entire jar, it will disappear. Failure to comply with sterility, temperature, storage location, and feeding will similarly lead to a shortening of the life of kombucha.
Basic rules for caring for kombucha at home
When you decide to start growing kombucha, you need to remember the basic rules of care:
- Kombucha living in a jar should not be tightly closed with a lid. Instead, use a breathable cloth, napkin or several layers of gauze. A fabric cover will provide access to oxygen, but will block access for flies and other insects.
- In order for the drinking tea mushroom to live and work for a long time, it needs to be cared for correctly. Kombucha is placed only in ready-made tea leaves with dissolved sugar. It is made from boiled water. Raw water cannot be added due to the high salt content.
- It is unacceptable to pour undissolved sugar into a jar or pour in tea leaves with tea leaves. Solid particles stick to the body of the jellyfish and leave burns.
- When preparing the tea leaves, you should not make it too strong. High concentrations of medusomycetes will inhibit growth.
- Do not place kombucha in hot liquid. Flavored teas with fruits and other additives are not suitable for refueling. It is optimal to use pure loose-leaf tea that has not expired.
- One of the important rules for caring for kombucha is compliance with the frequency of washing. The jellyfish is placed under running water. In summer the procedure is done more often, in winter – less often.
- If the body of the jellyfish has changed color, brown spots or mechanical damage have appeared, this area is removed. The kombucha is washed and placed in a new resuscitation solution.
It is important to remember that in summer, at high air temperatures, kombucha works faster than in winter. You will have to pay attention to it more often and provide proper care.
Caring for tea jellyfish requires sterility and accuracy
The video shows how to care for kombucha and the beneficial properties of the drink:
How to keep kombucha at home
After mastering the basic rules of care, you must clearly understand other equally important recommendations regarding the content of tea mushroom:
- During its life, the medusomycete produces acid. Kombucha should not be kept in aluminum containers. Stainless steel will do, but the best option is a 3 liter glass jar.
- The container with the tea jellyfish is placed in a slightly darkened place where sunlight does not reach. The jar cannot be placed on the window.
- Kombucha will develop well in a room with good ventilation, clean air at a temperature of 24-25 OC. If the temperature inside the room is below 17 OC, the growth of the jellyfish will slow down, and algae will appear. An increase in temperature above 25 is harmful OWITH.
- You need to carefully monitor the kombucha, drain the drink in a timely manner, and add new tea leaves. If the medusomycete changed color, sank to the bottom, or other unnatural signs appeared, then something went wrong. It is necessary to reanimate the jellyfish and fill it with new tea leaves.
- A warm place for a tea drink does not mean an area near a radiator. The jar should not be placed near heating devices.
Kombucha is placed in a jar with ready-made tea leaves.
If you follow simple maintenance conditions, kombucha will reward you with a tasty and healthy drink.
How to properly care for kombucha
The general rules of care and maintenance are clear. However, there are many nuances associated with medusomycetes. It is important to consider step by step how to properly care for kombucha if you want to start breeding it.
A healthy medusomycete always floats on the surface of the liquid
The Importance of Cleanliness
Sterility must be maintained from the very beginning of kombucha breeding. Use a sterilized jar for the drink. The tea drink is kept in a clean room, where there is no burning, tobacco smoke, or mold on the walls. You cannot place dirty dishes, indoor plants, or leave food near the jar. It is important to limit access to pets.
When servicing the tea jellyfish, a person must wear clean clothes. You need to wash your hands well, and it is better to wear medical gloves.
How to care for kombucha in a jar
When the kombucha in the jar has grown and the drink is ready for drinking, it is drained.Two glasses of liquid must be left as a starter. For a new dressing, large leaf tea is brewed. For 1 liter of water take 2 tsp. tea leaves and 5 tbsp. l. Sahara. Leave the dressing for 15 minutes. The liquid is cooled to room temperature and filtered through tea-leaf cheesecloth. Pour the remaining 2 cups of starter into the dressing. The prepared liquid is poured into a jar. The jellyfish is taken with clean hands and placed in the dressing. Initially, it may sink to the bottom. There's nothing wrong. Cover the neck of the jar with a clean cloth, press it with an elastic band, and wait for a new tea drink.
How to care for young kombucha
If a young mushroom is obtained independently from tea leaves, then after 1.5 months from the moment of its inception, it is pulled out onto a dish, washed with a weak solution of apple cider vinegar, placed in a jar with a new tea leaves, and further development is awaited.
When caring for a young mushroom obtained by separating a large tea jellyfish from the body, the new medusomycete is poured with tea leaves containing 1/10 of the old starter from the total volume of liquid.
How to properly maintain “sick” kombucha
If the care technology is violated, the tea jellyfish gets sick. The first signs of the disease are a change in color, the appearance of mold, and the jellyfish sinking to the bottom of the jar. You can't drink this drink. If the first signs appear, the kombucha needs to be properly cared for, but first it must be rehabilitated.
The jellyfish is removed from the jar, damaged areas of the body are removed, washed under running water or in apple cider vinegar, which depends on the type of disease. The container for the new drink is sterilized. Brew a new dressing and place the mushroom in it. At first, the medusomycete will float on the bottom, which is considered normal.When the body recovers, the tea jellyfish will float to the surface.
Proper care of kombucha after separation
Over time, the medusomycete grows and requires division. New cakes can be given to friends or used to increase the production of tea drink. The jellyfish is divided when it begins to flake off. The young flatbread is placed in a sterilized jar, filled with fresh leaven, adding 1/10 of the old leaven from the total volume of liquid. After three days, the kombucha will grow and begin to produce a drink. However, it will reach its highest quality after 2 months.
How to drain kombucha
Kombucha is grown for its healing drink. When it is ready, you need to drain it in a timely manner, but do it in the same way, following the rules.
Kombucha drink is beneficial for older people
After how many days should you drain the kombucha?
Approximately on the seventh day after pouring the new dressing, the drink is tasted. Determine its readiness. If the tea drink is pleasantly sweet and tart, it is time to drain it. However, the ready time may vary depending on the season. Kombucha works faster in the summer. The drink will be ready in 2-5 days. In winter, they are drained less often - every 6-8 days.
In addition to draining the drink, the mushroom itself must be periodically washed under running water. There are also deadlines here. In summer, washing is carried out once every 1-2 weeks, and in winter - once every 3-4 weeks.
How to properly drain kombucha
The readiness of the tea drink is tested carefully, without putting metal cutlery inside the jar. If it is time to drain, remove the kombucha from the container and place it on a clean plate.Immediately drain 2 cups of starter separately for a new batch of brew. The rest of the drink is poured into glass bottles and sent to cool in the refrigerator. If desired, you can add honey, pieces of fruit or natural spices.
Frequent mistakes in the care and maintenance of kombucha
Even an experienced person who knows how to care for kombucha in a jar is not immune from mistakes that lead to negative consequences. However, most often they are allowed by novice kombucha growers.
The medicinal properties of the drink are preserved with proper care of kombucha.
The most common mistakes:
- Drinking an unripe drink is not beneficial. In addition, early draining does not give the kombucha the strength to grow.
- The burning of the jellyfish's body comes from grains of undissolved sugar poured into a jar.
- Turning the cake over inside the jar and tearing off the lower fibers results in the drink not ripening. It is the yeast threads that are responsible for this function.
- With a rare change of dressing, the drink becomes vinegar, which destroys the medusomycete.
- Using metal utensils instead of a jar leads to oxidation of the liquid, which ends in the death of beneficial organisms.
- Using hot tea for a new seasoning ends in the death of the fungus.
Avoiding common mistakes will help a novice kombucha brewer get a healthy and tasty drink all year round.
Conclusion
You need to constantly care for your kombucha. If you don’t need it for a while, you can pause it and put it in the basement. After a while, when the need arises, the kombucha is filled with new dressing and brought back to life.
