Brewing of the Tea

[brewmeister13]

So, really basic question here, and perhaps it's the homebrewer in me, but I'm getting ready to make my first batch of Kombucha and I'm finding the actual directions of making the tea for it lacking. The directions I have are to bring the water to boiling then let cool for 1-2 minutes. Follow that by steeping for 7-15 minutes.

I really like tea and brew it quite a bit, but these directions are no where near what actually makes good tea. Does anyone have a precise temperature they use when using a mix of black, green and white teas? I know green and white usually like 170-180F, but black is better just before reaching a boil. I'd probably side on the lower temp, if no one has a suggestion, to help preserve the delicateness of the green and white teas.

However, the steep time has me thrown way off. Both green and white only need 2-3 minutes while black is closer to 3-5. Do people really steep this long? If so, is it to balance the relatively low (looks like about half) amount of tea usually used for the amount of water? Or does the Scooby culture need the extra release of tannins and such for its metabolism? I found one source that stated steeping green and black tea for 15 minutes can lead to a bitter drink that can be used as a home remedy for diarrhea.

I know most of this is probably subjected to taste and luckily Kombucha has a much faster turn time than beer, so experimentation shouldn't have such a long learning curve, but I'd really like my first batch to be at least pleasant and not a tannic glass of diarrhea medicine. Thanks all.

 

[RPh_Guy]

How's it been going? No diarrhea I hope.

Make the tea as you see fit.

The microbes in the SCOBY can fend for themselves

 

[ScobeyDoo]

I haven't found the yeasts and bacteria to be that fussy really. I do know that the stronger the tea, the more accelerated the yeast is in comparison to the bacteria, so if your brews taste too yeasty, you can use a weaker tea and cooler fermenting temps to remedy that.
I use a mix of Green/Oolong/Black and steep it right after I let the water boil for at least 5 minutes at a rolling boil to boil off any chlorines that may still be in the water. Then I add the sugar, mix followed by a rapid cooldown using a cooler coil. Then it's off to the fermenter.