Hottest kombucha questions, answered
Our top 3 'most asked' questions besides "Do you home deliver?"
1. "I am new to kombucha, what do I expect?"
2. "Does it have sugar, can you make it with jaggery?"
3. "Do I have to always keep it refrigerated?"
Kombucha is a tea-based fermented beverage. Its sweet & sour and sometimes flavoured with fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices. Since it is fermented it is rich in live-cultures like hard-working bacteria and yeasts and their metabolites - organic acids, trace minerals, bioavailable antioxidants and most importantly flavours!
All kombucha needs fermentable sugars to kickstart fermentation process. No sugar, no kombucha. Infact the sour flavours of kombucha are contributed by the sugars added in the primary fermentation. The SCOBY turns the sucrose into fructose and glucose which further disintegrates into healthful organic acids as well as fizz. We cannot use jaggery in first fermentation because the SCOBY needs a simple source of carbohydrates for its metabolic process. Using jaggery increases the possibility of weaker SCOBY, slower fermentation process and might end in mold. We don't want that, trust me.
Our kombucha is unpasteurised, meaning in lower temperature the fermentation is halted. Refrigeration helps is lowering the rate at which your booch turns into kombucha vinegar. If you dig sour kombucha you can keep your bottles at ambient temperature (please don't do this in summers with fruit kombuchas).
Ideally, keeping your stash refrigerated is good for optimal shelf-life and flavours. You can always rest it on the counter for few minutes before you chug it.
1. "I am new to kombucha, what do I expect?"
2. "Does it have sugar, can you make it with jaggery?"
3. "Do I have to always keep it refrigerated?"
Kombucha is a tea-based fermented beverage. Its sweet & sour and sometimes flavoured with fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices. Since it is fermented it is rich in live-cultures like hard-working bacteria and yeasts and their metabolites - organic acids, trace minerals, bioavailable antioxidants and most importantly flavours!
All kombucha needs fermentable sugars to kickstart fermentation process. No sugar, no kombucha. Infact the sour flavours of kombucha are contributed by the sugars added in the primary fermentation. The SCOBY turns the sucrose into fructose and glucose which further disintegrates into healthful organic acids as well as fizz. We cannot use jaggery in first fermentation because the SCOBY needs a simple source of carbohydrates for its metabolic process. Using jaggery increases the possibility of weaker SCOBY, slower fermentation process and might end in mold. We don't want that, trust me.
Our kombucha is unpasteurised, meaning in lower temperature the fermentation is halted. Refrigeration helps is lowering the rate at which your booch turns into kombucha vinegar. If you dig sour kombucha you can keep your bottles at ambient temperature (please don't do this in summers with fruit kombuchas).
Ideally, keeping your stash refrigerated is good for optimal shelf-life and flavours. You can always rest it on the counter for few minutes before you chug it.