We've been making kombucha for quite some time now. I've been wanting to post about it for awhile, and I'm finally getting to it. What's that you say? What's Kombucha? I'm so glad you asked! It's a lightly effervescent fermented drink of sweetened black or green tea. It is produced by fermenting the tea using a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY). I know... yum, right? You can purchase kombucha at your local health food store, or even some grocery stores, but it's actually really easy to make, not to mention more economic. Why drink Kombucha? Does it taste good? Well, booch (as we like to call it around our house) has tremendous health benefits, such as:
- It alkalinizes the blood
- It's probiotic
- It detoxifies the liver
- It increases your metabolism
- It improves digestion
- It rebuilds connective tissue – helps with arthritis, gout, asthma, rheumatism
- It considered a cancer prevention
- It alleviates constipation
- It increases your energy
- Improves your mood
- Kills Candida (yeast)
- It helps nutrient assimilation
- Aids in weight loss
And, yes, it tastes good. There are ways to adjust the flavor to your own personal taste. I know a lot of people that drink a couple tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar a day just to stay healthy. I'm not saying that's bad, as a matter of fact, I was in that habit for a long time. And, if I feel a bug coming on, I will turn to ACV immediately. But, I will say, kombucha tastes waaaayyy better. I also really enjoy the effervescence of it. I love pop, or soda if your from the south, and obviously that is so bad for you. So booch is loaded with health benefits and it gives me that little fizzy craving I get.
So, how do you brew it? First, you'll need a few things. Starter tea (from your previous batch or the store, if you don't have either of those, distilled white vinegar works), black tea bags, sugar and a SCOBY. You can get a SCOBY online, but usually if you have any friends or family members that are into this, you can find one from them. Really, put it on Facebook, I bet you'll get a response. If you're local, I'm happy to share mine with you.
See on the left side of the jar that gel-ish looking thing? That's a SCOBY.
Start with a quart of water. Heat it up in a pan and add your 5 tea bags. You can use more or less depending on how strong you like it.
Let that sit for about 15 minutes or so. Remove the tea bags, and add a cup of sugar
Stir that around until the sugar dissolves
Now you need to get this to room temperature. We add a couple cups of ice and some cold water. Add enough water so it's almost a gallon. So, maybe 2 ½ quarts or so.
Once it reaches room temperature, place it in a one gallon glass jar, add starter and a SCOBY.
This needs to stay on your counter for 5-7 days undisturbed. You do need to cover it, but it still needs to breathe so the SCOBY can work it's magic. We use a coffee filter and a rubber band to cover ours. A piece of tightly woven cotton works well too.
After the week is up, you can either bottle it, with or without flavor, for a second fermentation, or you can start drinking it right away. You can also taste test it at this point. If it tastes too sweet to you, let it go a couple more days. We like to do the second fermentation because again, we like the effervescence. That is a fun word to say, try it "effervescence".
We also like to flavor ours.
Today's flavors: cherry, blueberry, and orange ginger.
Found some tart cherries in the freezer as we were re-arranging things. Love it when that happens, bonus! I know they don't look super appetizing here, but that's what happens when you pick your own and freeze them. But, I assure you, they taste great. So... for the flavoring and second fermentation of the kombucha:
Put your flavorings in the jars.
I love these bottles, so pretty! I found them full of all natural lemonade for my daughters birthday party last year. I bought them because of the bottles. I immediately thought... Kombucha bottles! It's important that you do not use metal tops to seal the bottles, so these work especially well.
Next you need to get the brew in your bottles. Don't let our fancy contraption discourage you. You can actually just use a funnel to get this into your jars. But, I do agree with my husband, using a siphon is much easier. This is his idea, because he's the one that makes the booch at our house. 🙂 We got our siphon at a beer supply store.
Once you have it bottled, it can sit for another 5-7 days. Then you can put it in the fridge to chill. Chilling is not necessary, but we like it cold.
The longer you let it set for the second fermentation the more fizz there will be. In addition, letting it sit longer will make it less sweet and more tart.
If you've never made kombucha before, and you try this recipe, let me know how it turns out! If you do make it, do you have anything to add to this recipe? What's your favorite flavor? Do you do a second fermentation? I would love your feedback in the comments!
Kombucha
Ingredients
- starter tea
- 8 tea bags
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 quarts water
- 1 SCOBY
Instructions
- Heat 1 quart water
- Add tea bags and let sit for 15 minutes
- Remove tea bags
- Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
- Add 2 cups of ice and 2 ½ quarts of cold water to bring the tea to room temp.
- Place in a gallon jar with starter and SCOBY.
- Cover with a coffee filter or a tightly woven cotton kitchen towel secured with a rubber band.
- Let sit 7-10 days
- pour tea into bottles and store in the refrigerator.
Optional Second Fermentation
- If flavoring, add fruit, fruit juice, or herbs (depending on how you want to flavor it) to bottles and pour tea in.
- Let sit another week.
- Chill and serve
Notes
Nutrition
phyllis
I've been booching for a few months now, I've read many articles, and many recipes, talked to a lot of people about kombucha, some encouraging and some not so encouraging. I did purchase a few different brands to test it to see if this was something that I would like. I liked it but I felt that if I wanted the full benefit of the kombucha tea I would have to brew my own, which is more economical and I know exactly what's in it. Your recipe is the first that I used. I do deviate from it now by mixing teas, depending on what I have available in the house, but your recipe now my base recipe that I start with. I decided to start booching because of the health benefits. I'm now having fun with it I love the second fermentation with fruits. Most of my second fermentation have lemon and ginger, I've even used coconut water in a second fermentation, I especially like fresh orange juice and most times I'll put orange wedges in because I like watching the wedges float to the top when you open the bottle and it fizzes. I have some rootbeer extract, so I'm going to try a batch for a second fermentation this week.
Chellie Schmitz
Thank you for taking the time to leave your comment! I love making kombucha and there are so many ways to customize it. Different teas, flavors, etc. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. I love the flavors you mentioned, ginger especially is one of my favorites. I've always wanted to do a rootbeer, but I haven't yet. How did your rootbeer turn out?
Dana
I've been making Booch for many years now. My timing is a little different. I do first ferment for two weeks and second for about 2 or 3 days, depending on whether it is summer or winter, (ambient temperature.) I've had some big messes opening a much too carbonated bottle. I've found that certain fruits make much more carbonation. I've gotten to the point where I just buy organic juice and flavor with that. We've made root beer, ginger, and a multitude of flavors. One of my favorites is chili- ginger- lime. If I use organic grape juice, my grandkids think it tastes like grape soda. Possibilities are endless.
Chellie Schmitz
The possibilities are endless, and I love your suggestions! Thanks for sharing your tips with us. What do you use for rootbeer?
Dana
There are a lot of recipes for root beer but it's basically sarsaparilla, sassafras, wintergreen and vanilla but you can also use rootbeer extract.
Abby
Hello! I am excited to make this recipe but am stuck on how much starter kombucha I should put in. Is there an amount you would recommend?
Chellie Schmitz
Hi! I'd recommend 2 cups of starter tea if you're making the gallon batch. π
VTMom
I tried a second ferment in super thick glass bottles (thicker glass than Grolsch). Bottled two around 9:00pm and woke up at 6:30am to one completely exploded bottle, but the other was barely fizzy at all. They were from the same batch. Thoughts?
Chellie Schmitz
That is so strange! A bottle can explode, and it usually has something to do with the temperature of the room being too warm, then the yeast becomes too active and eating the sugar too fast, which produces a lot of CO2. But I understand in your case one did and one didn't. I'm sorry I'm not much help, but if you figure it out, please stop back and let me know.
Lynn Spencer
I've been intimidated by making my own Kombucha, but your post makes it seem doable! Thanks for the detailed recipe and instructions! You (and your hubby) rock!
Hugs,
Lynn
Kathleen
You just convinced me to give this a try, I've been wanting to make my own!
Chellie Schmitz
Oh good! Let me know how it goes.
Frankie
Honestly, I've never tasted kombucha before! I can't wait to try this! I wonder what this tastes like. Thank you for sharing!
chellie
I'm a fan for sure! I find people either love it or hate it. But making it from scratch you have a a lot of options. The second fermentation adds more bubbles, but if you let it go a few days extra, you'll get even more carbonation. We still try new flavors too. I'm sure you'll like it, but if you don't love it the first time, don't get discouraged. It just needs tweaking for your taste.
Deborah Tasker
Why am I getting mold with my ghost scoby? How doe you know when your scoby is bad? And can I just drain off the mold? Can you make your own SCoby?
chellie
First of all, I haven't heard it referred to as "ghost scoby", so I'm not 100 percent sure on what you mean by that, but as far as the mold goes, are you sure it is mold?
People often think it's mold when there is a new scoby growing on top. It's cloudy and looks weird. If it's actually mold, you can leave it and it will look green and powdery, like bread mold. Touch it, if it transfers it's powdery spores to your finger, then it's mold, if it's not on your finger, then it's probably not mold.
Other causes-- not THOROUGHLY cleaning/sterilizing your jars/utensils/bowls, etc. Not covering your scoby jar properly. Don't use cheesecloth but something with a finer weave like fabric. Or, storing or fermenting your tea in a cupboard where mold is present in it. Like is there onions or something else that got moldy and possibly it somehow got into your tea.
I hope that helps you trouble shoot a little bit. I know I've thought before that I was getting mold on a scoby, but it was just a new one growing on top, it seemed discolored when it was a baby size, but grew to look normal.
As long as our scobies are still good, we use them and they are fine. We keep them in a jar with some tea on them and they just multiply. We call it the scoby hotel. π
I've never made my own Scoby, but here's a great article that tells you how.
https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-your-own-kombucha-scoby-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-202596
Kate
I'm switching from a batch process to a CB how much of the original batch do put in my CB? Do I put in all the Scooby along with all the sediment from the bottom or do I strain this. Anxious to get this process going.
chellie
We do one cup of the previous brew and the whole scoby until it becomes too big, because it will grow. When it's too large, we just split it and either store it or you can start another brew. As for the sediment, it's really optional. π Enjoy!!
Sophie
Love the simple instructions.
One question I noticed you said don't use metal tops.
I used mason jars....with lids.
Is that ok
chellie
Metal can damage the scoby, that's why you should brew and bottle with a top that is rubber or plastic. As long as there is no metal on the inside of your kombucha jar. We usually brew in a large jar with a coffee filter rubberbanded around the top, and then use the bottles with the rubber stops for the 2nd brew. I hope that helps!
Angela Zahringer
Question: When doing the second fermentation, do you put the lids on the bottles or leave them off? It seems that the fermenting would cause carbonation to possibly blow the tops off of the bottles?
chellie
Yes, we do put the lids on. We've never had a top blow off, but we do open them slowly. We've had a couple spill over, so we just do it in the sink.
sheeva
Great post for someone (me) who has been apprehensive about making kombucha at home!
chellie
I totally get it Sheeva, that was me. What I've learned over time, is you really can't mess it up. π
Ashley Tukiainen
I so wish I liked kombucha. I've tried several different kinds and the yeasty/vinegar taste gets me every time. I do ACV pills, that way I can't taste the vinegar π
Holly
This looks so good! I will have to try this. Doesn't look as hard as I thought it would be.
Adreanna
I have never heard of this!! It sounds so interesting. I love tea so maybe i'll have to give it a try