Black Witches Brew Kombucha Recipe

The Black Witches Brew Kombucha Recipe originates in the USA, where key ingredients such as Sarsaparilla Root and Liquorice Root have been used in fermentation for years. It’s worth noting however that while Liquorice Root has a number of health benefits, it can also be quite toxic when consumed in large amounts or for long periods of time. The toxic nature of this drink gives rise to its name. In moderation though, it has many possible health benefits. We recommend you don’t drink more than 500ml per day of Black Witches Brew Kombucha and drink it for no more than 10 days at a time. 

We have been working on our take of the popular Black Witches Brew Kombucha Recipe for a little while now. Trying to find the right balance of ingredients has taken several months. Early batches were very over powering on the taste buds and we struggled at first to get the carbonation right. Eventually we had the idea of adding brown sugar to the ingredients which is slowly fermented by the Komucha allowing for the carbonation we had been looking for.  It also adds a little sweetness to the over taste of the brew which we think really improves it. Our version offers subtle flavours of aniseed and liquorice similar to that of a root beer,  If you can get the carbonation just right and drink it chilled, it’s a fantastic take on Kombcuha.

Black Witches Brew Kombucha Ingredients (Makes 5 litres):

• 4 Litres of Kombucha
• 1 Litre of non chlorinated water
• 4 Tablespoons of ground Liquorice Root
• 4 Tablespoons of ground Star Anise
• 1 Tablespoon of ground Sarsaparilla Root
• 100g Brown Sugar
• 10 Whole Star Anise.

Black Witches Brew Kombucha Recipe:

• Black Witches Brew Kombucha is a second fermentation of Kombucha, We recommend that you ferment the Kombucha for 5 days.
• Take 1 litre if non chlorinated water, stir in the 100g of brown sugar, cover the pan and begin to let it boil.
• Grind up your Liquorice Root, Sarsaparilla Root and Star Anise (remember to put aside 10 whole star anise for later) in a food processor or grinder. You want to roughly break these up but NOT grind them fully into a powder. This allows you to strain the majority out of the final mixture. Powder tends to pass through even the best straining tools.
• Place the ground ingredients into the pan and stir well. Cover the pan and allow it to boil. Once the water has boiled let it simmer for 30 minutes, still with the cover over the pan. Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool back to room temperature, Usually we make ours in the evening and start the next step in the morning.
• Take a large pan or bowel that can hold at least 5 litres of water. Strain the mixture into it trying to remove as much of the Liquorice Root, Sarsaparilla Root and Star Anise as possible. Add your 4 litres of Kombucha and stir the mixture well.
• Take 10 x 500ml bottles and decant the liquid into them. Break up and add 1 star anise to each bottle. We find leaving some star anise inside the bottles for the rest of the fermentation really adds to the overall flavour. Leave the bottles at room temperature for 2-3 days, until good carbonation has been achieved. Check the bottles each day by gently shaking them. Good carbonation is crucial to the overall taste of Black Witches Brew Kombucha. Be careful with the carbonation. Black Witches Brew Kombucha can get very explosive, always open the bottles with care.

Once ready, chill the bottles in the fridge. You will need to strain each bottle into a glass before drinking to remove the star anise.