Today, it is easier to grow kombucha yourself than to find it. And all you need for this activity is a simple set of products, a little patience and knowledge of the basic provisions of the procedure.
What is needed to grow a mushroom?
Everything you need to grow:
- can (the drink feels best in a three-liter bottle);
- strong brew of black tea;
- sugar.
How to grow kombucha
Recipe:
- Pour two teaspoons of tea leaves into a liter of boiling water.
- Strain the tea from the brew.
- Stir two to three tablespoons of sugar until it is completely dissolved.
- Pour over ready solution into a prepared jar. Cover it with a gauze cloth folded several times (four or three).
- Place in a warm (ideal temperature is 25°C) and dark (out of direct sunlight) place.
After three to five weeks, the fungus will have grown to the stage where it can convert the tea solution into a drink. During cultivation, there is no need to move and move the jar once again, so as not to interfere with the process of formation and growth. You can keep an eye on the mushroom so that nothing gets into the jar and no midges appear.
Rosehip Kombucha Recipe
Treat the thermos with boiling water. Pour washed rose hips into it at the rate of 10 pieces per 0.5 liter of water. Pour boiling water over it, tightly close the thermos with a lid and, having patience, do not open it for two months. But when you remove the lid of the thermos, you will see real kombucha, plump, but transparent and not yet dense enough. It is not yet quite ready to produce a tasty and healthy drink.
Rinse the mushroom with boiled cool water, transfer to three liter jar and pour cooled sweet tea. The concentration is as follows: for one liter of water you will need 2 teaspoons of tea leaves, and add sugar to taste. Next, cover the neck of the jar with gauze. The mushroom should be stored in a warm place. If it happens in the summer, then in three days the drink will be ready. If in winter, then in a week.
How to infuse kombucha
After the mushroom has infused, it should be washed with warm boiled water and placed in a clean jar with a new tea solution (the proportions are the same as for preparation).
At 25°C the drink will be ready in two to three days. If the temperature is lower, then it infuses longer. Ready-made tea kvass turns into vinegar over time, so it cannot be stored for a long time.
How to store kombucha?
- The main condition is that the mushroom must always be in solution, otherwise it will dry out.
- The vessel containing the body must breathe. It needs to be covered with gauze or a paper napkin.
- Choose a storage location that is warm and dark.
- At high temperature the body dies.
- You must be careful not to get sugar or tea leaves on the mushroom, this will damage the mushroom and may lead to its death.
- After preparing the mushroom, it must be washed periodically (every 3-4 days). Failure to do this will lead to fungal disease.
When the kombucha grows a lot, it can be divided. There is no need to cut, this mushroom is traumatic. The layers are very easy to separate from each other. Share them with your friends, don't throw them away.
Kombucha expiration date 
For the drink to be beneficial, its age should not exceed one month. Next it will be vinegar, harmful to the body. But even in this form it can be used for cosmetic and medicinal purposes. A drink that has stood for a week has a refreshing and even slightly alcoholic effect. In this state, half of the liquid should be drained, refrigerated and consumed gradually. And fill the jar with strained tea solution. In a few days, a new portion of tea kvass will be ready. You pour half again and replenish with fresh solution. And so on all the time.
Contraindications to drinking kombucha
It is better to avoid kombucha:
- Patients with diabetes.
- Those suffering from fungal diseases can only drink well-fermented tea kvass.
- At increased acidity stomach, drink the drink in limited quantities.
- It is advisable for drivers to consume only fresh infusion of kombucha.
- It is not recommended to drink tea kvass during or after meals. It is better to do this on an empty stomach or before bed.
Those who are not contraindicated can drink kombucha, but only with mandatory breaks to prevent stomach irritation.
Kombucha, popularly called jellyfish, comes from Japan. It has been known since ancient times for its healing effects on the human body. Is the best remedy in case of problems with the kidneys and gall bladder. If you want to always have a tasty and healthy drink at home, you can borrow part of a medusomycete from someone. In a nutrient medium, it begins to actively grow. Growing a full-fledged kombucha plant takes time and patience, as the full process takes at least 2 months.
Growing Kombucha
Kombucha in scientific terminology is called medusomycete, as it looks like a sea jellyfish. It is a thin film with a smooth mucous surface. At the bottom there are accumulations of microorganisms, including yeast and acetic acid bacteria. They are the ones who do the main work.
When in a nutrient medium (juice, tea), medusomycetes tend to grow to unlimited sizes. The liquid in which it floats turns into a carbonated drink.
Growing a mushroom from scratch step by step at home:
- 1. First you should prepare the nutrient medium. To do this, brew weak loose leaf tea (green or black, without artificial additives) and add sugar (at the rate of 2-3 tablespoons per 1 liter of liquid). Some people replace sweet sand with honey, but the taste of the finished drink will differ from the original. Tea bags and sweetener cannot be used.
- 2. The sweet solution is filtered and poured into a liter bottle glass jar until 2/3 of the volume is filled.
- 3. Close the lid and put it in a warm, dark place for a week. During this time, a thin film forms on top on its own - this means that the body of the fungus has successfully nucleated. The container with the composition is left in the same place for another 1.5-2 months.
- 4. After the allotted time, the jellyfish grows significantly, but is still weak in structure. Therefore, they carefully take it out so as not to damage it, wash it with warm water. boiled water and placed in a larger jar.
- 5. Fresh sweet tea is poured into it.
- 6. Cover the top with gauze folded in several layers and put it back in a warm place.
- 7. In summer, final preparation takes 3 days, in winter - at least a week.
Kombucha at an early stage of development
When the tea solution is properly prepared, the Chinese mushroom floats to the surface. If it went down, then a mistake was made at one of the stages. This should not be frustrating, since it is enough to rinse the body and immerse it in fresh tea leaves.
How to make a drink from rose hips
If you intend to use the drink not only to quench your thirst, but also to improve your health, then instead of a tea solution you should use an infusion of rose hips. This will be a good preventive measure during the cold season and winter, when the immune system is especially weakened.
The principle of growing mushrooms is almost the same, with the exception of some nuances:
- 1. Prepare an infusion of rose hips: both fresh and dried fruits, which are available in free pharmacy sales, are suitable. Pour 4 tbsp into a thermos. spoons and pour boiling water (500 ml). Cover with a lid and leave to infuse for 5 days.
- 2. After the specified period, they begin to directly grow the mushroom. To do this, first wash a three-liter glass jar into which the resulting rosehip infusion is poured. Add pre-prepared tea leaves: 1 tablespoon of black tea per glass of boiling water.
- 3. Add 5-6 tablespoons of granulated sugar, mix and place in a warm place for a day.
- 4. The next day, the liquid is passed through a gauze cloth and returned to the container. Cover with gauze folded in several layers and place in a warm place.
The process then develops according to standard technology(as in the previous version) - after about 2 weeks, a vinegar smell will appear, which quickly passes. The mushroom will be fully formed in 1.5-2 months.
Care for medusomycetes
Since the reserves of the drink produced by the mushroom are depleted quite quickly, they must be replenished periodically. As necessary, add fluid required for full growth and development. Even the remains of used tea leaves are suitable if you strain them first.
To prevent the mushroom from withering, certain care is required:
- The neck of the jar is covered with gauze and secured with an elastic band. This is important to take into account, since when using a sealed roof there will be no air access inside and the medusomycete will stop developing. In addition, it is more convenient to drain the finished drink with gauze - there is no need for subsequent filtration.
- Every 20 days, the mushroom is taken out and washed in cool boiled water. The tea solution is prepared fresh, where the washed mushroom is placed.
- If the drink becomes sour in taste and cloudy, it means it has been too old. Usually it is poured out and replaced with freshly prepared tea.
- Maintenance conditions are no less important: the optimal air temperature is 20–26 °C. In the cold and in the sun the substance dies. Already at 17 degrees, the body of the fungus begins to peel off greatly, growth is inhibited and an algal coating forms on the surface.
- It is recommended to constantly pour the finished drink into a separate jar and store it in the refrigerator. In summer this is done once every 72 hours, in winter - every five days. Then add a new portion of sweet tea to 2/3 of the jar's volume.
- The thickness of the mushroom should not exceed 4–5 cm. The top is regularly removed and transferred to a separate container. The lower layers are not touched, as they are the most valuable.
To enrich the taste of the drink, it is permissible to add all kinds of herbs: blackberries, plantain, nettle, rose hips, strawberries.
The drink infused for a month has the greatest healing power. Keeping it longer is not rational and is harmful to health: the liquid turns into vinegar and is not suitable for consumption.
This product can be used in cosmetics and medicinal purposes. After a week of aging in a warm place, fungal kvass begins to ferment and acquires an alcoholic aftertaste. Then the part is cast and put in the cold for drinking, and fresh tea solution is added to the container.
How to properly divide a mushroom
Few people grow their own kombucha from scratch. Usually a part is separated from an adult whose thickness has exceeded permissible limits. A characteristic feature readiness for division is the stratification of the structure visible along the rim.
It is better not to touch the young thin substance so as not to injure it. Even minor pinching is unacceptable, since at the growth stage the integrity must not be violated.
When placed in a beneficial environment, a fragment of the fungus successfully begins to grow and takes on the shape of the container in which it is located. At the right approach During division, the risk of death of the medusomycete is minimized.
How to properly divide a mushroom:
- 1. At the point of delamination, carefully separate the body into plates, which should move freely from each other. If you have to make an effort, then you need to postpone the procedure for 1-2 days until the mushroom is completely ripe. You cannot tear the original body. There are often cases when the mother mushroom divides on its own: it sinks to the bottom, and a daughter thin film floats to the surface.
- 2. Each layer is washed warm water and placed in a separate jar with freshly prepared tea solution. Since the film is very thin, it must be handled with extreme care so as not to tear. For the first 2-3 days it may lie flat below or take a vertical position, but eventually it will float up.
You can get tea kvass immediately using another method, which takes more time. In fact, this is also division, only by growing it in the finished drink. Pour the drink, which has been prepared for 5-6 days, into a clean glass container and cover with gauze. It is removed away from sun exposure for several days. As a result, a thin film is discovered on top, which is a new mushroom.
The first time the mushroom needs to be poured with strong tea (without tea leaves) with sugar, not hot, maybe in a lukewarm room. temperature, approximately 0.5 liters. As the mushroom grows, liquid should also be added.
If you took a wide thermos, but the jar where you put the mushroom and where it will live is narrow, then after 2 weeks you can drink it. And if the thermos is thin and the jar is large and the mushroom has not grown much in diameter and thickness in the thermos, wait until it grows in the jar, because the drink will be of no use due to the discrepancy between the proportions of the size of the mushroom and the liquid poured into it. It is important. It's just a matter of proportions.
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CARE OF TEA MUSHROOM
Growing kombucha at home from scratch is only half the battle. The second equally important half is proper care of the mushroom. Otherwise, you risk getting something that resembles vinegar rather than a tasty drink. Or even worse - the kombucha grown with such care will simply die.
By the way, there is an excellent indicator of the health of kombucha - it should always be on the surface of the water. If your mushroom sank to the bottom, or refuses to float up again after adding tea leaves, there is a very high probability that it has become ill. If your kombucha gets sick, you made a mistake in caring for it. This means that it must be treated, and in all cases, without exception, the treatment is the same - cleanliness and proper care.
Liquid volume
As you remember, initially the jar contains a small amount of liquid - approximately 0.5 liters. But when the mushroom has already grown, there should be much more liquid - about three liters. It goes without saying that your kombucha is not a piece of decoration and you will drink it. This means that don’t forget to add fluid regularly.
To do this, you can use already dried tea leaves - pour boiling water over it, cool and add sugar, then pour it into a jar. There should not be too much sugar - no more than two tablespoons per liter of liquid. If necessary, it is better to add sugar to the cup of drink.
Many people do not strain the tea leaves - they simply add it. There is no harm in this for the mushroom, it just won’t be very convenient for you to drink the drink later. But there will be no harm only if all the sugar is completely dissolved - grains of sugar should under no circumstances come into contact with the surface of the mushroom.
Bath day
Once every two to three weeks, be sure to give your kombucha a bath day. Very carefully remove the mushroom itself from the jar and place it on a wide plate, being careful not to deform it too much. Thoroughly strain the liquid in which the mushroom was located using a gauze cloth and pour into a clean three-liter jar.
Place the plate with the mushroom in the sink and carefully rinse with warm (but not hot) water, leave in the air for a couple of minutes. Then also carefully transfer the kombucha into a jar and cover with gauze. That’s it, the “brainwash” of kombucha is over. It would seem like a completely simple procedure, which is very easy to do, and it is thanks to it that your kombucha will be healthy.
Otherwise, the mushroom will begin to hurt - first it will acquire a brown tint, and then it will begin to separate completely. It is very difficult to save such a mushroom, and in most cases it is easier to grow a new one. And drinking a drink from such kombucha is generally not recommended, because it not only loses its benefits, but moreover, it becomes dangerous to health. Remember that the kombucha infusion should always be extremely clear.
Storing Kombucha
Another necessary condition health of kombucha - its proper storage. Firstly, the temperature – it should only be high enough when growing kombucha. Then the optimal temperature should not exceed 18 degrees. Secondly - illumination. For the normal functioning of kombucha, light is simply necessary, and the daylight hours should be at least 8 hours. But straight sun rays must be avoided, so don't make the very common mistake of placing a jar of kombucha on the windowsill.
Benefits of Kombucha
It is impossible not to mention at least briefly beneficial properties oh kombucha - after all, it’s not for nothing that you bother with it?
» Metabolism and immune system
The first thing worth mentioning is vitamins. Kombucha drink contains much more useful substances than in the most expensive vitamin and mineral complex. Vitamins, minerals, carbonic, lactic and other acids, minerals, enzymes - this is not a complete list. Therefore, it is not surprising that a drink made from kombucha has a very positive effect on the functioning of the immune system and normalizes metabolism.
» Digestive tract
Gastritis, colitis, peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, dysbacteriosis.
Just one glass of kombucha drink, drunk on an empty stomach, can improve the situation in just a week. And its regular use promotes complete recovery. By the way, the drink eliminates even the most severe heartburn very well.
As you can see, there is nothing complicated in growing and caring for kombucha. Therefore, if you set out to grow this miracle mushroom yourself, go for it, because the benefits are obvious!
Kombucha is also known by other names: Japanese mushroom, Japanese sponge, Japanese uterus, tea kvass, tea jellyfish, kombucha, Manchurian mushroom, Fango, kam-bu-ha. From a biological point of view, this is a community of several microorganisms - acetic acid bacteria and yeast fungi. The scientific name of kombucha is “medusomycete,” and this is not surprising, because it looks like a jellyfish.
Growing kombucha from scratch is not difficult, the main thing is to be patient and follow the following recommendations: pour boiling water over a three-liter jar, pour half a liter of strong sweet tea, cover the neck with gauze, secure with an elastic band and leave in a warm place, protected from direct sunlight, for 2 months. The mushroom is not yet strong enough, so very carefully transfer it to a deep plate with cool boiled water, lightly wash it with your hand on both sides. Meanwhile, pour cooled sweet tea into a three-liter jar: 2 tsp per 1 liter of water. tea leaves and sugar to taste. We transfer the kombucha here, cover the neck with gauze, and put it in a warm place again. In summer, the drink is prepared for 3 days, in winter – a week.
By following these rules, we get incredibly useful, delicious drink, which not only perfectly quenches thirst, but also helps get rid of many ailments.
Kombucha: cooking at home, care
Kombucha (medusomycete, kombucha) is an ancient Chinese “elixir of health,” as it was nicknamed in the East. The first mention of it dates back to the 221st century BC, when China was ruled by the Qing dynasty. The drink has an interesting taste, somewhere between playful apple cider and strong kvass. Making kombucha at home is accessible to everyone, because the ingredients for its creation are simple. Classic kombucha is made from tea leaves, yeast and sugar. However, you can use other recipes: with rose hips, apple juice, kvass, green tea and even beer.
Growing from scratch
To grow kombucha from scratch you will need dry tea leaves, sugar and a jar (preferably a 3-liter one). Growing by standard scheme takes 1.5–2 months.
Growing procedure:
- Pour boiling water over the jar to kill germs. If the glass is not disinfected, the fungus will become moldy.
- Brew strong tea in a separate container (put 2-3 tablespoons of dry tea leaves per liter of boiling water). Infuse the tea solution for at least 20 minutes.
- Strain the finished tea and pour into a three-liter jar, add 4 tbsp. spoons of sugar and stir until completely dissolved. The result will be a sweet and rich tea solution.
- Tie the neck of the tea jar with gauze, folded in four, to provide air access for fermentation and protect the contents from dust.
- Place the jar in a warm place for 1.5-2 months. After this period, a dense, durable film 1–2 mm thick will appear on the surface of the liquid. This is kombucha that has grown during the fermentation of the drink.
- The finished mushroom resembles a jellyfish. It is carefully removed and washed under water. Now he is ready to give you delicious and healthy drinks.
To prepare the drink, the mushroom is washed under water and placed in a jar of sweet tea. After 5-7 days under the influence beneficial bacteria ordinary tea will turn into a slightly carbonated drink, which in the East is called kombucha. It is better to drink it chilled. During hot periods, kombucha replaces kvass.
You need to know this!
How to grow kombucha from a piece
Kombucha is constantly growing and multiplying. Once you take a small thin piece, after a while you will grow an adult and large mushroom.
The piece is not cut off, but carefully separated by hand. Kombucha is a multi-layered product that is constantly growing. Ask for a layer to be separated for you rather than having a piece cut off with a knife.
Having received a piece, you can immediately start preparing the drink, and it will grow in the process. If the piece is small, do not immediately take a large jar - just use a two-liter container.
- Rinse the piece of mushroom you took.
- Prepare medium strength tea, strain and add 2-3 tablespoons of sugar.
- Pour the cooled tea into a prepared jar and place the mushroom in it. Tie the top of the jar with gauze.
- Place the container somewhere warm. You can put it in the corner of the table, making sure that the jar is not exposed to direct rays of the sun.
- After 5-10 days, the drink is ready to drink, and the kombucha will have grown a little.
- After draining the liquid, you can add a new portion. This way, the kombucha will gradually grow and at the same time give you a delicious drink.
Advice! A young mushroom adapts to new conditions faster if you add a little drink from the container where it previously grew to the jar. 
Recipes for making kombucha at home
In addition to tea leaves, you can use other products and infusions to prepare the drink: rose hips, apple juice, beer. With the addition of new ingredients, the taste and chemical composition drink
From rosehip
Kombucha grown using this method is an excellent means of resisting colds and flu. Indispensable for vitamin deficiency, enriches the drink with vitamins and microelements. You will need rose hips, tea leaves and sugar.
Recipe:
- Rinse the rose hips and throw them into a thermos, pour 0.5 liters of boiling water (10-12 berries are enough for this amount of water). Screw the lid on the thermos and put it away for 5 minutes.
- After 5 days, pour 0.5 liters of strong strained tea into a clean jar, add 100 grams of sugar and pour the rosehip infusion separated from the berries into it. Stir and cover with gauze.
- After a day, filter the liquid again through a sieve, pour into a clean glass container, and cover with gauze. Place in a warm, dark place. After a couple of weeks, a sour smell reminiscent of vinegar will come from the jar. This has begun fermentation.
- The mushroom will grow in 1.5–2 months. You will see a dense film on the surface of the jar, as with classical way preparations from tea leaves.
Drinks from it are prepared according to the same principle - pour the washed mushroom with a sweet solution of tea and rosehip (50/50) and wait 5-10 days until it is completely ready. Then drain and drink chilled. 
From apple juice
Place natural apple juice in a warm place for 60 days, covered with gauze. During this time, a compacted formation will form on the surface of the drink - this is a mushroom.
Place the finished product in a glass container with weakly sweetened tea and leave to brew for several days. The drink is ready to drink.
A culture grown from apple juice can be infused with regular sweetened tea. It will give the drink a light apple-sour aroma.
On beer
To 100 ml of live, non-powdered beer, add 10 ml of wine vinegar, add 5 grams of granulated sugar and mix. Cover the jar with the product with gauze and put it in a warm place until a dense film 1–2 mm thick forms on the surface of the liquid. This film is placed in a jar of sweet tea. After 5–10 days the drink can be drunk.
Beer kombucha suppresses the development of pathogenic fungi and has a beneficial effect on the functioning of digestive system, relieves constipation. 
From green tea
Pour the mushroom or its fragment with a strong infusion of green leaf tea, add sugar at the rate of 100 g. per liter of liquid. Leave under gauze for 5-10 days in a warm place.
The drink has powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and has a high caffeine content.
On herbs
The preparation of such solutions is based on a single scheme. Pour 200 grams of the mixture into 3 liters of boiling water. Leave the mixture overnight, then add a few tablespoons of honey. Place a mushroom in this potion. Ready drink Recommended for use within a week.
The components of the herb collection are selected according to the diseases:
- For a sore throat and runny nose, you can use eucalyptus, St. John's wort, calendula and honey.
- Patients with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and atherosclerosis benefit from a drink based on cudweed, mulberry and blueberry leaves, parsley roots, dill seeds, and bean leaves.
- For the treatment of female diseases, a collection with oregano, lemon balm, yellow sweet clover, fireweed, and peony root is suitable.
On the hibiscus
You can also make kombucha using dried Sudanese rose flowers. Half a glass of dry hibiscus tea is placed in a 3-liter jar and filled with cold water overnight.
Advice! It is better to take chilled, boiled or bottled water.
The next morning there is liquid in the jar ruby color. Add 5-6 large spoons of sugar to it, add the washed mushroom. Place the container covered with a gauze bandage in a warm place. After 5-6 days the drink is ready.
A drink made from kombucha with hibiscus has a positive effect on the immune system, helps with spring vitamin deficiency, cleanses the body of toxins, and stimulates metabolic processes. 
Possible problems during cultivation
What to do if kombucha:
Caring for kombucha at home
Rules of care:
- Only transparent glass containers are suitable for storing and propagating the fungus. Plastic, metal and enamel cookware are not suitable.
- It is better to place the jar in a warm place, but so that it is not exposed to direct rays of the sun. Optimal temperature+25 degrees.
- The mushroom can only be placed in cooled tea with sugar already dissolved in it. If you pour sugar directly onto the mushroom, it will cause burns. It is also prohibited to pour hot tea, the culture will die.
- To prevent the mushroom from molding, rinse it under water at least once every 2 weeks.
- Once every 2-3 days, add a sweetened tea solution to the jar.
- If the product has grown to big size, then you can propagate it by carefully separating the top layers, but without cutting off the pieces.
- If necessary, leave for long time, the jar is put in the refrigerator. The functioning of the fungus will slow down, but as soon as it enters again favorable environment, it will return to normal.
Making kombucha at home from scratch or from a piece – great way get a drink that quenches your thirst and has a whole range of beneficial properties. When organizing proper care, it will retain all valuable qualities.