Kombucha is the uber-trendy drink everyone’s been drinking, ditching the sugar-laden soft drinks. Hemp is the hottest new superfood trend for 2019. Add them together and you have a next level health tonic your body will love.
What is Hemp Kombucha?
Kombucha is a crisp-tasting, sparkling fermented tea drink, made by adding a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast) to a solution of sugar and tea. During the fermentation, the bacteria and yeast on the SCOBY feed on the tea and sugar, converting the sweet tea to a probiotic, tart-flavoured tonic with zero sugar. In addition to its famed probiotic content, Kombucha also contains B vitamins, folic acid, tea polyphenols and antioxidants.
In this recipe, we add hemp oil to traditionally crafted Kombucha. Hemp is a powerhouse of nutrition, containing Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids, plus many vitamins and minerals essential for health.
It’s this unique combination that makes Hemp Oz Kombucha seriously great for your health. The synergy of nutritious hemp and gut-friendly probiotics boosts your digestive health, heart health and immunity.
Best of all, you can brew your own hemp kombucha at home. All the ingredients you’ll need are included in the Hemp Oz Kombucha Starter Kit.
Getting Started: What You’ll Need
- Hemp Oz Kombucha Starter kit – includes Organic Tea, Hemp Oz Oil, SCOBY, Organic Cane Sugar, PH testing strips
- Large Saucepan
- Plastic Strainer
- Cup measure
- Large Capacity Kombucha Jar
- Muslin cloth and rubber bands or string
- Apple Cider Vinegar (for cleaning/sterilising the Kombucha jar before use)
Ingredients
- 7 litres boiled water (filtered if possible)
- 5 teaspoons (20g) organic loose-leaf tea
- 1 cup organic raw sugar
- 1 kombucha SCOBY
- ½ teaspoon Hemp Oz oil
Method:
- Before you start, wash out the kombucha jar with a small amount of apple Cider Vinegar. This sterilizes the jar.
- In a large saucepan, bring water to the boil and add sugar. Simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat, add the tea and allow it to rest for 1-3 hours.
- Strain the tea to remove the tea leaves and allow the solution to cool to room temperature. Pour into a large, sterilised Kombucha Jar (glass, preferably with a tap).
- Fill the rest of the large glass container with cool water - 5cm from top. Carefully add the scoby on top. Try not to disturb during brewing.
- Cover with muslin and secure with string or a rubber band. Keep in a warm, dry place (the preferred temperature for kombucha brewing is 24C-32C) away from direct sunlight. Leave undisturbed for a minimum seven to 10 days. During this time, it will grow a baby SCOBY on the top of the liquid. It will also develop a sour, tart flavour as the SCOBY consumes the sugar.
- After 4-5 days, test the PH of the brew with the PH kit. It should go down to between 2.5-3.5ph. Next, taste the kombucha daily for 1-5 days to decide when it is ready.
- When the sour flavour is well developed, decant 80 per cent of the brew into bottles. Keep the scoby, along with the remaining 20 per cent for the next brew. Let the bottles sit at room temperature for 3-10 days before refrigerating. When ready to drink add ½ teaspoon of hemp oil.
Note: Keep your scoby refrigerated before use. Your scoby will last 6 months in the fridge. Outside of a fridge, a SCOBY is OK for 2 weeks. Do not freeze your poor little scoby. If your scoby grows too large, split and gift!
