Kombucha - Brewed with Lemon Balm Herbal Tea (no caffeine)

You never forget the first time when kombucha hits your tongue. This bubbly, slightly sweet and sour fermented tea is delicious. My husband and I first encountered kombucha on a trip to Houston and we were hooked instantly. We purchased a cooler full of them to bring home with us. And at $5 a bottle, it was a sizable dent in our wallets.

My husband has always had digestive issues, especially stomach gas. You know, the kind that makes you bloat and burp. He soon found out a drink or two of Kombucha helped him relieve gassy conditions that he could never eliminate before. So, knowing it helped him with stomach gas, I decided to look further into it's benefits and availability. Since we lived in a rural area and there was no kombucha to be found (there is now), I decided to learn how to brew kombucha at home and purchased "The Big Book of Kombucha".

What is kombucha?

Traditional kombucha is a beverage made with fermented sweetened black or green tea with SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast)

By reading the Big Book of Kombucha and doing a little research online, I quickly learned of the benefits kombucha can have on the body:

Kombucha can help populate the gut with good bacteria and B-vitamin-rich yeast, lower the PH of the stomach, and jump start digestion and nutrition absorption with a number of healthy acids and enzymes.

Kombucha's immune boosting properties begin with digestive function support in the form of living organisms and healthy acids, enabling the body to more effectively protect itself.

It's easy to brew kombucha at home. There is plenty of free information online about brewing traditional kombucha with black, green, or white tea. We try to limit our caffeine intake and soon realized drinking kombucha after dinner would affect our sleeping schedule. Even though there was only a small amount of caffeine left in the finished brew, it, along with the energizing effects of kombucha gave us a little too much energy. So, I researched brewing with herbal tea, but information was quite limited. So, I decided to do my own brewing experiments.

My herbal tea kombucha experiments

I started several one gallon brews with different non-caffeinated herbal teas and quickly found the reason kombucha was usually brewed with traditional tea. It was due to many herbal teas having high amounts of volatile oils and a SCOBY would not survive the brew.

I have encountered plenty of dead SCOBYs in my own herbal tea experiments. Here is what I've found:

Comfrey, peppermint, St. John's wort and chamomile have too much volatile oils. The SCOBY died in the brews with these herbal teas.

Lemon balm, nettle, hibiscus flower, dandelion and raspberry leaf make good herbal tea kombucha without caffeine. My personal favorite is lemon balm by far! It has a slight lemony flavor, almost like a watered down lemonade. So refreshing and delicious!

I am not going to tell you about how to brew kombucha the traditional way with black or green tea here. There is plenty of information online about that. I am going to tell you how I brew kombucha with lemon balm herbal tea.

How I brew lemon balm herbal tea Kombucha at home

First fermentation:

• I start my kombucha brewing process by steeping a little over 2 cups of dried lemon balm leaves with hot (just under boiling) water in a gallon glass jar for about six hours. I found that during my experiments with herbal teas, if I don't brew a full strength lemon balm tea, the finished kombucha can taste a bit too watered down, so make sure not to dilute with water and brew full strength.
• Strain the leaves. This usually gives me about 12 cups of lemon balm tea. I typically use 10 cups in the gallon jar and just drink the additional two cups. I add one tablespoon of organic cane sugar for each cup of lemon balm tea. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved. (Don't worry, the sugar is food for yeasts during the fermentation process, so by the time both fermentations are done, not much sugar will remain for you to consume.)
• Tea should be cool enough (somewhere right above room temperature) after six hours of steeping. This temperature will be fine to add your SCOBY. Do not put a SCOBY in, unless tea is below 100 degree F. If tea is too hot, SCOBY will die. With clean hands, take a SCOBY out of the SCOBY hotel and put it in the ten cups of sweetened lemon balm tea.
• Gently pour a minimum one cup of starter liquid into the ten cups of lemon balm tea. It's important to keep the starter liquid at the top of the brew, so try not to mix your starter liquid in too much. By starter liquid, I mean at least six week old plain lemon balm kombucha with a PH of 3.2 or lower) By pouring it gently on top, you keep the lower PH starter liquid as a barrier between the higher, less acidic tea, and the air. This helps prevent mold from forming.
• Cover the jar with a breathable cloth. Do not use cheese cloth because fruit flies can get into your booch and cause mold. Set the glass jar in a warm place, about 75 to 85 degree F and out of direct sunlight.
• Let the sweetened lemon balm tea ferment for five to seven days. Fresh air is occasionally needed if you are brewing in a closed in area like a closet. So make sure to open the door every now and then. Time varies on fermentation, depending on the temperature of the kombucha during the fermentation process. The lower the temperature, the longer the process takes to complete. You will notice a new baby SCOBY forming at the top of the jar. Start taste testing around day five.
• Once the brew reaches the flavor you like or the PH is 3.5 or lower, it's time for the second fermentation. This is when the fun starts! Don't forget to save a minimum one cup of this plain kombucha as starter liquid for your next batch. I take the starter liquid for the next brew from the top of the jar.
• Finished kombucha has a low PH. Use a PH tester that will show the lower range PH levels. The photo below shows the PH tester I use.

Second fermentation:

• Remove the SCOBY and set it in a clean bowl. Cover with a clean towel so no fruit flies can get to it. And remember to make sure you have already taken the starter liquid out prior to removing the SCOBY. Moving the SCOBY can stir up the yeasts at the bottom of the jar which is not as good to use as your starter liquid. (You can drink the kombucha at this point without even doing a second fermentation. This is considered plain or original kombucha)
• Now, some more fun. We bottle the rest of the liquid for a second fermentation so more flavor and carbination can develop. Add any flavor combinations you like to the bottles. I usually let the second fermentation last between three to five days, depending on kombucha temperature. More carbonation will be created during the second ferment.

A few tips on the second fermentation

• Add a small amount of ginger (candied or fresh) and / or raisins to the bottles. This will to add carbonation and flavor. I usually put about 1/2 teaspoon of candied or fresh ginger and six raisins in each bottle.
• If you like your kombucha sweeter, try adding a date in the 2nd fermentation instead of sugar, it's better for you and it tastes great. It also adds a nice carbonation to the booch.

• My personal favorite: blueberry + rose petals + lavender
  (this flavor combination comes from "the Big Book of Kombucha". Being a professional artist for 12 years right out of college. I know how annoying it is when people don't respect my intellectual property. Therefore, to respect the author's work, I will not show the amount of each ingredient here. To find out, please purchase her book! Highly recommend her book if you want to learn how to brew kombucha at home.)

• Other flavor combinations we also love:
  hibiscus + lemon
  Rose hip + goji berries
  Rose petals + rose hip + elderberries
  Wheatgrass + spirulina + barely grass + chlorella
  Wild blueberry + lemon + extra ginger
  Apple + cinnamon
  Cherry + extra ginger
  lemon balm + mint + peach

• I have also had success with adding fresh lemon balm leaves, cucumber, and different herbs and flowers such as rosemary & calendula

A few tips for people who are new to kombucha

• If you have never tasted kombucha and would like to give it a try, introduce it to your system slowly. Maybe two ounces at first and see how your body reacts after a few hours. If you like the way your body feels after consuming kombucha, then gradually increase the amount you drink. People have reported having a healing crisis when consuming too much kombucha, too fast.

• If you decide to embark on the journey of brewing kombucha at home, keep in mind we can never control kombucha brews perfectly. It is a fermented tea and it's alive with bacteria and yeasts. Even if you have two identically prepared batches with the same brewing conditions, the finished batches may still taste and look different. But that's the fun of brewing kombucha at home and I get excited about tasting my final brew each and every time.

Do you brew kombucha at home? What are your favorite flavor combinations? Have you had experience with brewing with herbal teas? Please share your story with me.

This post is inspired by @riverflows and @lovenfreedom after reading @riverflows 's post on kombucha making and the conversation we had. You can read her post here: https://steemit.com/health/@riverflows/mighty-mighty-boosh-green-tea-kombucha-with-jalepenos-and-lime

I am so glad to find like minded people on Steemit! It's a community I am happy to be part of. If you like my post, please upvote, resteem and comment. I would love to hear your experience.

Photo copyright: @thelaundrylady