Go Back
Print Recipe

Homemade Kombucha

Step by step start guide to making one gallon of Kombucha at home.
The Kombucha making is divided in to Brewing / 1st Fermentation and Decanting / 2nd Fermentation.
We are going to share with you The Basic Sweet Tea Recipe for The Batch Brew Method and brewing equipment and supplies you need.
Prep Time30 mins
Cook Time1 hr
Fermentation Time7 d
Total Time7 d 1 hr 30 mins
Course: Drinks
Keyword: Kombucha Brewing

Equipment

  • 1 Gallon Glass Jar *Food safe
  • 1 Kettle or Pot
  • 1 Long Handled Spoon
  • 1 Cloth Cover or coffee filter *No Cheesecloth
  • 1 Thermometer strip *Not required
  • 1 Funnel *Not required
  • Ph strips or Ph meter *Not required

Ingredients

  • 4-6 Bags Black Tea or spoons of loose leaf black tea
  • 1 Gallon Water cool, chlorine-free
  • 1 Cup Sugar cane sugar
  • 1-2 Cups Starter Liquid Mature Kombucha no flavor
  • 1 Full size Scoby *See Note 1

Instructions

Brewing / 1st Fermentation

  • Place the tea in a pot, bowl or other heatproof container.
  • Heat 4 cups of the water to just boiling and pour it over the tea. Let steep for 10 to 15 minutes, and then remove the spent tea leaves or bags.
  • Add the sugar in to the hot tea and stir until completely dissolved: then add the remaining water.
  • With clean hands, place the Scoby in the sweet tea. Pour the starter liquid on top of the Scoby.
  • Cover the Glass vessel with the breathable cloth or filter.
  • Allow the sweet tea to ferment for 7 to 21 days.After 5 days, it's okay to begin tasting one a day. To taste remove the cloth cover, and insert a straw and take some past the Scoby in to the brew.
  • Once the brew reaches the flavor you like is ready to harvest. You can use the Ph strips to determine the acidity of the tea. Take notes and find out which times and Ph labels work for your specific palette.

Temperature and Placement

  • The brew prefers warm temperature around 75 to 85ºF (24-29ºC)
  • Airflow
  • No exposure to sunlight
  • Convenience, we keep ours in the pantry at thekitchen.

DECANT / 2nd Fermentation

  • Before bottling or flavoring, collect at least 1-2 cups of starter liquid for the next batch from the top of the brew.
  • Remove the scoby to another clean bowl add thestarter liquid, cover with a clean towel and set aside.
  • Start Decanting. The rest of the kombucha is ready for drinking; you can drink it directly from the bottle or bottling with or without flavors.
  • We love to cold press fresh fruits, add the juice to the bottles and fill the rest with the fermented tea. *Note 2
  • To start the next batch, use one or both of the Scoby's, either the original or the new one form the previous batch with the starter liquid. The culture may be used to start another batch or placed in a Scoby Hotel. *Note 3
  • Enjoy the first batch while the second brew is in progress!

Notes

Note 1: If you starting from scratch you just need a Raw unflavored Kombucha, it will form the Scoby it just take longer to harvest the fermented tea the first times.
Note 2: The flavor is absolutely free to choose from cold press juiced fruit *Like us! or box juice! You can use frozen fruits, herbs, you can make so many diferent combinations and flavors that really the sky is the limit.
Note 3: There is no mistake with Kombucha! The only thing that can happen is that the sweet tea will become vinegar, we can also use that vinegar to make home made cleaning products, or salad dressings! And you can start over again. The scoby hotels are containers with old kombucha scoby's that remain together they produce the most delicious vinegar, and it very low maintenance. Also of course you can give one scoby to a friend or loved one and they can start there own Kombucha brewing!
Share the Love, I always say that the mother kombucha gives a lot of baby kombucha so you can share the benefits to others.