- Bring approximately 4 quarts of distilled water to a boil. Pull from heat and add the sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon until it has dissolved. Take the tea and put into the stock pot with the sugar and put the lid on to let steep until the liquid has cooled to room temperature.
- Once the tea’s cooled then add your SCOBY to the sterile gallon jar and add the tea to the gallon jar.
- Place a cheese cloth or coffee filter over the top of the gallon jar and seal with a rubber band. Keep it in a dark location at room temperature for 2-4 weeks. The first time you make this I would take a sample each 7 days to understand the difference in sweetness vs sourness. I tend to like mine right around the 14 day period. Label and date.
- After you achieve your desired bubbly, sour/sweetness, you will need to pour off the liquid into another gallon jar. You will want to leave a little bit of liquid (approx. 1 cup) in the original jar with the SCOBY. You can go ahead and start another batch of Kombucha or leave the SCOBY in a dark place for the next round. Close up the gallon jar with a lid that is not metal. The metal has a tendency to kill the SCOBY.
Make Your Own: Kombucha
Amanda FurbeeShare
If you have ever tried Kombucha your first response may have been, “What the heck was that!” This sour, but sweet bubbly concoction that is good for you often sends a look of confusion to people’s faces with the first sip. Kombucha is a fermented bubbly beverage that has living probiotics in it. For over 2000 years this strange botanical bacteria beverage has been used for gut health, soothing digestion, boosting energy levels, reducing stress and much more. The elders of the Ancient Chinese culture used it as a tonic for reducing inflammation and cancer.
Making Kombucha is a fun fermentation skill set to have under your belt. You really only need a few things to get started with your own batch of Kombucha. What you will need to get your first batch going is a SCOBY or mother culture, sugar and black tea. Eva’s Herbucha has a great starter kit! The nice thing about making Kombucha is that you can flavor it with most anything. Maybe you like lemon cayenne, fresh berries or if you want to spice it up for the Holidays, you could use our Open Heart Mulling Spice Blend. You can be as creative with the flavor as you would like.
Give the gift of health with a delicious bottle of homemade Kombucha! This is one of my favorite blends for the Holidays.
Here’s what you will need:
-Eva’s Kombucha Starter Kits
or
-1 SCOBY (Mother Culture)
-3 ½-4 quarts of Distilled Water
-8 bags of Black or Green Tea (make sure they are plain and not infused with anything else)
-1 cup Granulated or Raw Sugar
-Cheese Cloth
-Large Rubber Band
-2 Gallon Size Jar
-Stock Pot
-A plan for second infusion
*Several containers for putting the Kombucha in. (Approximately 1 gallon’s worth).
To Make Your Own: Kombucha