Over the long weekend we had a stall at the Old Bar Beach Festival. What a great town and festival! We were overwhelmed with the positive feedback and interest in our latest product trial – Gurbuchi (Gurạdji Kombucha).
Fermented foods and drinks have a wonderful community culture surrounding them and it was great to share this with others as it was shared with me by my mum.
If you haven’t heard of kombucha before it is a fermented probiotic tea drink that has been used for thousands of years for its many health benefits. Some of these positive effects are:
- Alkalising the body to balance internal pH
- Detoxifying the liver
- Increase metabolism
- Improve digestion
- Boost energy
- Relieve headaches and migraines
Kombucha is traditionally made with black or green tea which contains caffeine. Caffeine is something we should all be trying to limit in our diets due to the negative impact it can have on our bodies. Using the kombucha fermenting method to create Gurbuchi is a perfect way to get the health benefits of kombucha without caffeine and the added benefits of Gurạdji.
Gurạdji has high anti-inflammatory properties from the Caffeoylquinic acid, Quercetin and Kaempferol found in the leaves tannins. These compounds have been found to be beneficial in cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, gout, prostrate inflammation, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and cancers associated with inflammation such as colon cancer. Caffeoylquinic acid was found to out preform other anti-oxidants in reducing aflatoxin production by more than 95%!
The bitter compounds found in Gurạdji are ideal for good gut health and compliment the probiotics found in Gurbuchi.
At the festival many people asked me how they could make their own Gurbuchi at home, here is my recipe so everyone can enjoy the health benefits and refreshing taste for themselves anytime.
How To Grow Your Own Gurbuchi Scoby
What You Need
Ingredients
- 4 Litres water
- 60g sugar
- 16g Gurạdji loose leaf tisane
- 250ml starter Gurbuchi culture
Equipment
- 1 L or larger saucepan or jug (to brew sweet Gurạdji tisane)
- A tea bag or filter to strain loose leaf (coffee filters work well to get all the fine particles)
- Wooden spoon
- 4L or larger glass jar or similar glass brewing vessel
- Something to cover the top of the vessel which lets it breathe without letting fruit flies in such as a tea towel, coffee filters or paper towels.
- A rubber band or Elastic
Instructions
This recipe is to make 4 Litres of Gurbuchi Native Kombucha for our DIY brew kits. It is easy to scale up or down your brew by dividing everything by four to find the per litre ratios to fit your individual jug.
- First we need to make the sweet tisane. Brew the loose leaf Gurạdji tisane with 80oC water, which is just as the first bubbles show or 1-2 minutes after boiling and stir in the sugar until it is completely dissolved. Allow to steep until the tisane cools to room temperature. Strain the loose leaf.
- Add the sweet tisane and Gurbuchi starter to your brewing vessel, adding the Gurbuchi second and stirring to combine.
- Cover and store away from direct sunlight. Depending on the temperature of your house it can take 1-4 weeks to be finished. Cover the mouth of the jar with a few layers of tightly-woven cloth, coffee filters, or paper towels secured with a rubber band.
When brewing your own scoby and Gurbuchi, hygiene is incredibly important. Make sure you wash your hands before handling the scoby and all jars, vessels and utensils are cleaned and free from soap residue.
Always be safe when fermenting: if you suspect something isn’t right, ask for advice or toss the batch and start a new one. Use your best judgement, bubbles, jelly-like masses, and gritty brown-coloured residue are all normal, fuzzy black or green spots of mould are not. The liquid should always smell fresh, tart, and slightly vinegary.
If you need any advice or help along the way don’t hesitate to contact me and I will do my best to help out! I’d also love to hear how your Gurbuchi brewing is going and any positive stories or comments you have.
Remember to have fun with it, fermenting is a great adventure!
Once I use the gurbuchi liquid how do I keep the scobbi going? Do you just keep it in a jar for next time. Or do I add it to the main jug.
Ros.
Sorry if this is silly question.
Hi Roslyn. Apologies for the late reply. This one slipped through and we didn’t get to it. In answer to your question, It’s best to start another brew once your first is ready. This way, you will have another batch of Gurbuchi ready for when you finish drinking your first batch. If you needed to take a break, you can make up a light brew with sugar and keep your scoby in what most people call a scoby hotel. This will keep for several months.
Hello I don’t have Gurbuchi starter, would it be OK to use a Kombucha Scoby and some of the Kombucha?
Thank you, Ligaya
Hi Ligaya,
Yes. You most definitely can use your Kombucha Scoby and starter culture. As the Kombucha Scoby is use to black tea as a food source it usually takes a few batches of brewing with the Gurạdji tisane to transition the cultures. After a few batches you will have a healthy and happy Gurbuchi Scoby!
Good luck and if you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to ask 🙂
Happy brewing and let us know how you go. We love to hear from our fellow brewers.
Isabelle.