Brewing Bamboo Cha

As the Raya season winds down, it was that time of the year again for Lemang! I do love Lemang.  Sticky rice cooked in natural bamboo dipped in rendang is worth its weight in gold. While I was enjoying a piece of Lemang, I had a brewer's Eureka moment. The bamboo husk which is usually thrown away is an excellent piece of natural vessel to brew kombucha.

Lemang Season

The idea got me all excited because I was really curious how does the natural taste of bamboo blend in with kombucha?  I went on to work straight away. Finishing my last piece of lemang, I took a good look at the remaining bamboo that still can store water.

Next I sanitized the bamboo with hot water. This step is vital because the inside of bamboo is very prone to mold growth. Cool it to room temperature and proceeded to brew using my preferred blend of oolong and black tea. As the surface area bamboo container small, I topped up the ratio of starter to 25% to reduce the risk of mold.

World's first ever Kombucha in Bamboo :)

7 days later…..
Harvesting Bamboo cha
Bamboo cha goes refreshing well with Lemang
       
The final brew from bamboo? The taste is very intriguing indeed. The infusion of bamboo and kombucha creates a kombucha with fresh bamboo notes covered with only soft hints of tea. If pure kombucha taste like apple cider, “bamboo bucha” taste very much like assam boi with hints of tea. Simply refreshing and unique.  So next time when you sample your lemang, don’t forget to add some "bamboo cha" into the menu.

Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.

Happy brewing!

Comments

  1. Unknown15 August 2016 at 04:48

    Sir,
    Is Kombucha considered an alcoholic drink ?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown31 August 2016 at 01:53

    Hi there Mr Boon,

    I am very keen to start brewing kombucha on my own. Would appreciate if you could kindly let me know when your next class will be held as I would like to attend.

    Thanks and regards,
    Sarah

    ReplyDelete
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