Features

Buzzed booch: Make your own infused kombucha

Published on April 18, 2019 by Jenny Neufeld

Photo: the oz.

For those who are looking to enjoy the benefits of cannabis but are not keen on smoking because of the effects on the lungs, kombucha is great alternative delivery system.

Kombucha and cannabis may seem like an odd pairing but they are quite complementary as both are known to be good for the gut.

I was interested to find that making cannabis kombucha is actually a simple process.

To get started I used a recipe I found online that required infusing a simple syrup with cannabis, which you then add to your kombucha.

The original recipe was for a lot more cannabis syrup than I was prepared to make so I used the following amounts:

• 4 grams cannabis — you can use any type and this is a great place to make use of any trim or other less desirable buds you may have
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup organic sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable glycerin

To get the most from your cannabis and unlock its effects you need to decarboxylate it.

Decarbing is not difficult and takes little effort. Break up the buds into smaller bits, spread them out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and slow roast them in the oven at 225 F for 45 minutes. I used an oven thermometer to independently verify the temperature to ensure the cannabis wouldn’t scorch.

When your cannabis is ready to go, bring the water to a boil in a saucepan, add the sugar and dissolve, then gently stir in the cannabis. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.

Incorporate the vegetable glycerin and cook for 10 more minutes, then remove the pot from the heat and allow the mixture to cool.

The next step is to strain out the cannabis remnants. I used cheesecloth, that I tied into a type of bag, hanging it over a bowl in the sink to accomplish this. I let it sit for at least 30 minutes and squeezed the cloth out after that to ensure every last drop made it out.

I thought that a citrus flavour would compliment the cannabis syrup well so I created what I came to call Citrus Sunset Kombucha using the following ingredients:

• 12oz plain booch
• 2 1/2 teaspoons cannabis syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon orange juice

Pour into the container you use for your second ferment (I have had the most success with large flip top bottles) and allow to sit until the flavour is to your liking. I left my batch to flavour for three days and it was perfect, sweet and citrusy with a calming quality.

Spotlight on the syrup

The cannabis syrup we made using the featured recipe is versatile.

For this batch, we used three grams of San Rafael ’71 Tangerine Dream sativa (15% THC) and one gram of Spectrum Cannabis high-CBD Blue (8% THC/8% CBD).

The deep red colour was definitely a surprise.

In the future, we plan to play around with different strains to get a sense of flavours and different amounts to get a better sense of effects.

Using other strains, like Mango Haze or chocolate fondue, could be perfect for your DYI ideas.