Turmeric tonic kombucha: a fizzy ferment brewed in two stages

Kombucha is fermented in two stages, and this version uses the second one to carry turmeric and ginger, so what you end up with is a golden, faintly fizzy tonic rather than a plain sour tea. It takes real patience, close to two weeks start to finish, but almost none of it is hands-on.

The sugar in the first stage is there to feed the culture through fermentation, not to sweeten the drink for you. By the time the tea has fermented for about 10 days, the scoby has consumed the large majority of it, which is the same reason kombucha reads as tart rather than sweet.

Turmeric carries curcumin, studied for its role in the body's inflammatory response, though a small number of people with autoimmune conditions find they are sensitive to it. Start with a small bottle and see how it sits with you before brewing a full batch.

Ingredients

To brew the base:

• 1 gallon filtered water
• 5 bags green tea
• 1 cup granulated sugar (not honey or agave; the scoby needs cane sugar specifically to ferment properly)
• 1 kombucha starter culture (scoby)
• 1 cup starter liquid, from the scoby or a previous batch
• 1-gallon glass container
• Cheesecloth or a clean, breathable dish towel
• A large rubber band

To bottle-ferment:

• Swing-top glass bottles or tightly lidded glass jars, enough to hold 1 gallon total
• 1 green apple, cut into matchsticks
• 2 tsp fresh turmeric, grated (or 1 tsp ground dried turmeric)
• 2 tsp fresh ginger, grated (or 1 tsp ground dried ginger)

Method

Brew the base: Steep the green tea bags in the filtered water until strong, then stir in the sugar until fully dissolved. Let the sweet tea cool completely to room temperature; the scoby cannot tolerate hot liquid.

Pour the cooled tea into the glass container, add the scoby and starter liquid, and cover the mouth with cheesecloth secured by the rubber band. Set it somewhere warm and out of direct light for about 10 days, tasting after day 7. It is ready when the tartness balances the sweetness to your liking.

Bottle-ferment: Divide the apple matchsticks, turmeric, and ginger between your bottles. Strain the brewed kombucha over them, leaving a little headspace, and seal tightly.

Leave the sealed bottles at room temperature 3 to 5 days to build carbonation, then refrigerate. Open carefully over a sink the first time; a well-carbonated batch can fizz over.

Storage

Refrigerator: several weeks, continuing to slowly ferment and sour over time.

*Adapted from autoimmunewellness.com by Mickey Trescott*