Nettle Kombucha: A Celebration of Nature’s Superfood
Honestly, the idea of eating nettles is a scary thought for many. No one wants a stung tongue! But would you have known it’s a defense mechanism for a plant that’s supercharged with nutrients?
Packed full of A, B and C vitamins, as well as essential minerals, nettles (Urtica Dioica) are one of the most nutritious plants available to us, and have developed their sting to ensure they aren’t all eaten by other species…clever huh!
Thankfully for us, cooking or boiling the nettles destroys the stinging hairs and makes the nettles safe for us to eat! That being said, it’s natural woody and slightly umami flavour makes it an ideal herb with which to brew some kombucha!
A few weeks ago in late spring, we stepped out of the brewery and into the nearby crisp woodlands in search of the abundant green plants. The secret to picking nettles is to pick only the tops – the part which is the youngest – before it begins to flower (I would still recommend wearing gloves!).
Once we had picked our fill, we returned to the brewery and got to work steeping the nettles with our organic sail cargo panela sugar (Panela sugar is completely unrefined cane sugar that’s collected after the sugarcane juice has boiled and evaporated, leaving lots of molasses and minerals!).
Our panela sugar is shipped over by Kent Sail Cargo, as part of a a collaborative project between several CIC’s that ship cargo around the world purely using wind, making it emission free! (find out more about sail cargo here…)
After finishing the Nettle brew we added our happy starter culture, then transferred it to small glass jars for the fermentation process, which usually lasts around a week.
When the kombucha fermentation has finished we then bottle it up and send it out to all of our faithful kombucha drinkers and suppliers – you lucky lot!
The Nettle kombucha has been a labor of love, and three years in the making! Previously, things hadn’t quite gone according to plan and we unfortunately didn’t end up with a final recipe that I was happy to share with you guys.
The first year, the steeped nettle didn’t ferment. We had so so many nettle tops collected and were so excited to brew, but our hearts sank when the main event just didn’t happen. My best guess is that the polyphenols in the nettles were too high, meaning the brew was too anti-microbial and wouldn’t allow it to ferment.
The second year (last year), the complete opposite happened! Again we had an abundance of nettles at our disposal, super excited to brew…and it fermented too aggressively. The fermented brew ended up tasting like a swamp, and although I’m sure Shrek would have loved it…we did not!
Third time lucky though, and the brew has been perfected. The Nettle kombucha has wonderfully refreshing tasting notes of cucumber and mint, with a hint of caramel and a lovely rounded earthiness.
As always, this glorious seasonal will be included in all mixed case orders, whilst stocks last!
Don’t forget, you can stay even more up to date with our flavours as we make them by following our socials! You can find us on Instagram and Facebook, as well as by signing up to our mailing list to be the first ones to know about the new flavours!
Please note, the information above is not medical advice, and please do your own further research when foraging! Nettles may not be suitable for everyone, including those pregnant or breastfeeding, and can potentially produce an allergic reaction, so please consult your GP for advice before consuming!
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