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How to Make Kombucha

Everything you need to know about how to make kombucha
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Kombucha is very easy to make at home. All you need is a SCOBY (see section above for more information) to make this delicious and probiotic beverage.

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 green or black tea bag or 1 tsp loose leaf tea (it can be decaffeinated)
  • 1/4 cup of sugar (white, coconut palm, or raw sugar)
  • 3 cups of filtered water
  • 1 piece of kombucha pellicle (see above for details)
  • 1/2 cup of leftover kombucha

Instructions

  1. Boil 1 cup of water. In a quart-sized jar, make a sweet tea with boiling water, tea, and sugar. Steep the tea and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
  2. Stir in the remaining 2 cups of water to the jar to cool the tea down to room temperature.
  3. Add the kombucha pellicle and leftover kombucha.
  4. Cover the jar with a piece of cloth, paper towel, or coffee filter. Use a rubber band or a jar ring to keep the cover in place.
  5. Leave the jar to ferment in a warm location for 3-7 days. The exact timing will depend on the room temperature.
  6. To determine if the kombucha is finished, pour off a little of the liquid to taste it. It is finished when it has reached the desired level of sourness. It starts sweet and becomes sour over time.
  7. When you like the flavor, strain the liquid into a plastic pop bottle or a swing-top beer bottle for the second ferment. Reserve a 1/2 cup of brewed kombucha for the next batch.
  8. Add any additional flavors that you want to the bottle. At this point, the kombucha can be flavored by adding some fresh fruit, vanilla bean, or 1/2 cup of juice. Here’s a whole post on how to flavor kombucha.
  9. Keep the bottled kombucha caped and allow it to ferment for a further 1-5 days until it has carbonated.
  10. Refrigerate to stop the fermentation and enjoy within 2-3 weeks.

Notes

  • Kombucha is good at carbonating, so be sure to use a bottle that can handle the build-up of pressure. No one wants an explosion!
  • If you really get into homemade pop, I recommend using single-serving-sized bottles so that the kombucha doesn’t lose all its carbonation from being popped open multiple times.
  • It is possible to brew kombucha with honey or herbal tea but it does require some extra care.

Find it online: https://www.fermentingforfoodies.com/how-to-make-kombucha/