Kombucha – Make your own at home for a fraction of the price!
Servings 12±6 liters
Author Sonia! The Healthy Foodie
Ingredients
12bagspellets or teaspoons pure, unflavored tea of your choice
5½liters22 cups cold water (preferably filtered or bottled)
1½cupssugarregular white works best
1½ - 2cupscups unflavored starter Kombucha tea
1SCOBY
Instructions
Bring 2 cups of water to a simmer. Remove from heat and add the tea. Let steep for about 5-6 minutes then remove the teabags or strain the leaves. Add sugar and stir until completely dissolved; Let cool to room temperature.
Add about 20 cups of cold water to a 1½ gallon glass jar. Pour the cool sweet tea right in then add your SCOBY and starter tea.
Cover the jar with coffee filters and secure them with rubber bands. You could also use a clean tea towel if you don't have any coffee filters on hand. Make sure that you use something that lets air through but that is woven tightly enough to keep bugs and dust out of your brew bucket.
Place your jar in a warm, well ventilated and well lit area, but away from direct sunlight. You don't want to hide your kombucha in a cupboard or closet, completely away from light as your SCOBY does need light in order to feed. The kitchen counter works perfectly well for me.
Now for the hard part... leave that brew alone for the next 2 to 3 weeks, testing it for taste from time to time, but leaving it undisturbed for the most part. You don't want to be moving that jar around. Total fermenting times can vary greatly depending on many factors, such as ambient temperature, light, ingredients used, as well as your own personal preference. The longer you allow your "buch" to ferment, the more acidic it will become. The less time you give it, the sweeter it will remain. Start taste testing after 10 days or so. That's where the beverage dispenser comes in handy, all you need to do is open up the valve and let a little bit out. If you don't have a beverage dispenser, you can use a straw. Ideally, you want to plunge it as far as you can, block the hole with your thumb and take it out, which will remove a little bit of liquid.
When your kombucha is to your liking, you can transfer it to glass bottles or jars and store it in the refrigerator. It is very important that you keep the finished kombucha in the refrigerator; otherwise it would continue to ferment even though the SCOBY has been removed.
If you wanted to add a little bit of flavor, as well as a tad more fizz to your already delicious brew, this is the time to do it.
Simply add a few pieces of fruit or a little bit of natural fruit juice, a little bit more sugar or maple syrup or honey and a few herbs and spices right into a flip top bottle, fill with your unflavored kombucha (leave about 1½ inch of head space) and leave the bottles on the counter for another 4-5 days, or up to a week, to ferment for a second time.
After the second fermentation is done, transfer the bottles to the refrigerator and allow the tea to chill completely before attempting to open the bottle. Failure to do that may result in a Kombucha volcano erupting in your kitchen! Even after refrigerating, always be extra careful when opening the bottles. It’s not a bad idea to cover them with a clean dish towel just in case…
Once you got that bottle opened, just pour yourself a glass, sit back and ENJOY! Oh, and start thinking about your next flavor combination. Don’t be afraid to experiment with that. The sky is pretty much the limit!