How To Make Kombucha
Kombucha is a fermented sweet tea that is full of probiotics. There are several ways to make kombucha, but this is my personal favorite. This recipe works with a single gallon jar. Once you successfully make a batch, you can hypothetically perpetuate your culture indefinitely.
Ingredients
3/4 Gallon of spring water
6 black tea bags
4 green tea bags
1 cup sugar
SCOBY – Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast
Healthy SCOBY floating in a jar of kombucha.
Other Items
Cheese cloth or cotton fabric
Twine or rubberband
Fliptop bottles
Straws
Funnel for flip-top bottles
Plain white vinegar
Method (essentially you are making sweet tea)
Pour 3/4 gallon of spring water into a pot and bring to a boil.
Take pot off heat. Steep 6 black tea bags and 4 green tea bags. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes.
Discard tea bags and add 1 cup of sugar to the tea. Stir until sugar dissolves
Allow pot to cool to room temperature. I’ll put the pot in the fridge and check on it in an hour.
Pour sweet tea into gallon jar and add the SCOBY + previous batch’s liquid.
Cover top with cheese cloth or cotton fabric to keep bugs out while allowing the kombucha to breathe and ferment. Tie twine snugly to keep critters from getting in. Put the jar in a dark cabinet.
Now wait patiently. It will take 1-3 weeks depending on temperature. The warmer it is, the faster the ferment will occur.
What to do while you wait?
–You can keep your kombucha on a heating pad or above the stove/refrigerator to maintain a warmer temperature.
–Periodically, stick a straw to the bottom of your jar, press your finger on to the exposed end of the straw and siphon out a sample of your kombucha.
–Taste and continue this process until the batch reaches your desired tanginess.
Congrats, you have made plain kombucha. You can enjoy your kombucha as is, or continue onto the 2nd ferment where we will add flavoring.
Assortment of future flavors. Ginger, peach, strawberry, kumquat.