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It's here. The Home Brew Kit is now officially a product available from Holos Kombucha: it's a one stop organic kombucha starter kit with everything you need to get brewing. Here we will break down the story behind the new product and some tips and tricks to get the most out of it at home, from using our organic green tea and create an unlimited amount of your own fermented tea drinks..
Over the last year or so, our customers and friends have asked if we would ever create a kombucha making box so they can try it themselves at home. We've even had family members try and steal a precious SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) so they can get going! So for Christmas 2022 so we put together a small run of them as gifts and they sold out within two weeks! We also noticed no one was really doing it to our standard and at an affordable price. So here we are making it official, all our brewing secrets are now out there...
What the kit contains:
- Large 4L glass jar, tried and tested by our own brewing team.
- 15g Organic Tea (the HOLOS signature blend of four loose leaf teas, used in the same product you see on the shelves)
- 200ml kombucha starter liquid (aka SCOBY), extra strong and tapped from Holos own fermentation vessels
- 150g Organic raw cane sugar, only the best.
- Temperature strip, for sticking on to the glass jar.
- Cloth lid + elastic band, for the finishing touches.
- HOLOS tote bag, to keep all your goodies in one place.
- Set of instructions
You'll also need from your own kitchen:
- A sieve, the finer the better.
- A good, large, measuring jug.
- A mixing spoon
Instructions:
1. Clean all your equipment & surfaces really well
2. Stick your thermometer on the side of your new jar, then add 1800ml of cold filtered water.
3. In a measuring jug, add 200ml of cold water then 800ml of boiled water (approx 80c).
4. Add the tea (HOLOS signature organic blend) to the hot water, make sure it’s fully submerged & brew for 30 minutes.
5. Whilst brewing, dissolve the bag of sugar into the tea mix.
6. Using a sieve, strain your sweet tea mix into your new jar & mix well.
7. Add 200ml (the whole bottle) of your HOLOS starter liquid (aka Liquid SCOBY) & gently stir.
8. Cover with the cloth lid & elastic band.
9. Place in a warm dry place between 20-23c (eg. airing cupboard or on a heat matt).
10. Your kombucha will be ready to drink depending on how you like it, 5-7 days for a milder kick, 7-14 days for something more punchy! Try it to find out your preference. A real SCOBY will of now formed on top.
How to restart:
When you’ve drunk down to about an inch of kombucha left, stop! You now have your own starter liquid and you’re ready to brew again. Let the remains sit for a couple more days in a really warm place to get a strong as possible. Then, with clean hands, carefully set aside the remaining liquid and if the SCOBY looks nice and clean set that aside with it. Clean all your equipment and prepare your ingredients: You'll need high quality organic sugar and loose leaf tea (the majority being green tea) and remember this time you have your own starter liquid ready from last time. Just follow the instructions again!
Other tips:
- Once your kombucha is at your desired taste/strength, you have the option to bottle it and put it in the fridge so it stays that way. You can also add flavourings at this stage, such as fresh fruit & herbs, let them infuse overnight for best results.
- If it looks mouldy, it might just be the SCOBY that needs carefully peeling off and discarding. If the liquid underneath if still smelling and tasting damp and yucky then I'm afraid you'll have to start again (the brew wasn't warm enough for those vital first 2-3 nights). Here is an alternative brewing method for those freezing winter months: In step 2. Only add 1300ml of cold filtered water (not 1800ml) and instead add that missing 500ml before step 7. This will help your brew start at a higher temperature, ideally around 23c.
- Why is my cloth lid a bit wonky or grubby? Everything in your brew kit is tried and testing ex-Holos brewery. That means the tea mix is the same blend we use, the liquid SCOBY is the same we use and even the lids once had a home on our fermentation vessels. It's all authentic, we know they work so that's why we send them to you!
- Check out the video on our Instagram Reels to watch it happen!
Buy your HOLOS Home Brew Kit now from the Holos Kombucha website: HERE