Basic Kombucha Recipe

Makes 1 gallon (scale recipe up or down depending on the size of your vessel)
Ingredients:
– Kombucha SCOBY
– Starter liquid (brewed kombucha reserved from a previously brewed batch)
– Glass or lead-free ceramic container
– Organic Black or Green loose-leaf tea or tea bags. Use unflavored tea, as essential oils and flavorings can adversely affect the culture. Favorites for black tea varieties include English Breakfast, Assam, Ceylon, Darjeeling, and Ancient Forest. Excellent green options include Green Sencha, White Peony, Silver Needles, and Oolong.
– Organic cane sugar, if possible. In a pinch, regular sugar will work
– Distilled, spring, or well water. Chlorinated or treated water can harm the kombucha culture.
– A clean piece of cloth, towel, or a handkerchief, (fine weave best) and a rubber band to cover the container. I also double protect mine with a coffee filter.
Directions:
1. Bring ¾ of a gallon of water to a boil, then turn off the heat and immediately add 4 TBSP of loose-leaf tea (or 4 tea bags) and 1 cup of organic sugar. Cover pot with a lid, and cool to room temperature.
2. Strain out the tea leaves, and pour the liquid into your glass or ceramic container.
3. Add your scoby and 1-2 cups of kombucha starter liquid. Wipe down outside of container.
4. Cover the container with a clean cloth, kitchen towel, or handkerchief, coffee filter and a rubber band. Place it in a dark area out of direct sunlight, where it won’t be disturbed or moved. Make sure that the cloth or towel is breathable, yet that the weave is tight enough to keep fruit flies, gnats, and other undesirables and contaminants out.
5. Your scoby may sink or float on the top, both are okay. In 2-3 days, you may see a translucent jelly-like mass floating on the top of your tea. This is a new scoby beginning to form. Leave it undisturbed so that the baby can grow properly.
6. Taste your kombucha periodically by dipping a straw into the liquid, pass the scoby, depending on the temperature of your home and how sweet or sour you’d like it to be. Most batches will be ready in 7-14 days. Ideally, the kombucha should have a slightly sharp and acidic bite.
7. When your kombucha is ready, carefully remove the scoby, then pour the liquid through a filter and into bottles. Remember to reserve 1-2 cups for the starter liquid for your next batch.
8. Separate the new baby scoby from your original one (now a mother), and keep whichever one looks healthier. You can give the new baby to a friend or start a “kombucha hotel” in a separate glass jar. Simply include some kombucha starter liquid to cover the scobies. Each time that you brew a batch of kombucha, a new baby will grow to join your kombucha family.
9. Place the scoby and 1-2 cups of starter tea back into your container, brew a new batch of tea, and start all over again!
10. You may leave the kombucha unflavored or include any number of tasty additions or do a second ferment. Experiment with fresh or dried fruit, berries, herbs, and spices for whatever flavor suits your mood. For a second ferment, use a new container and place just the liquid on top of your favorite berry or flavor, then ferment for two-5 days. Filter the liquid and bottle as normal. Reserve the fermented fruit or flavor to use later in smoothies or another recipe.
11. Kombucha will naturally have a slight fizziness. To increase the carbonation and level of tartness, leave the bottled kombucha on a countertop for several days after bottling. Keep bottles stored in a refrigerator once finished fermenting.
Important notes:
– Always clean your hands, utensils, and anything that might touch your kombucha with hot water and distilled vinegar. Do not use soap, (especially antibacterial soap) as it may harm or kill the kombucha culture. Your kombucha is alive! Make sure to handle it with care.
– Only use lead-free glass and ceramic for fermenting. Kombucha will absorb toxins out of the container that it’s brewed in (much like how it pulls toxins out of our bodies).
– Kombucha scobies have an unusual appearance, scent, and feel, but don’t let this discourage you! You’ll quickly grow accustomed to their odd appearance and will get used to handling them.
– Store your kombucha away from your stove and other cooking appliances. The aroma, smoke, and flavor can all impart into your culture. Bacon kombucha? No thanks!
– The easiest place to get a scoby is from a friend or co-worker with extra babies. Most kombucha brewers have several scobies waiting for a new home. If you can’t find a scoby locally, you can purchase one online or grow a scoby from a bottle of store-bought kombucha.
– If the kombucha scoby grows mold, throw the liquid and scoby into the compost and begin with fresh materials. Mold on a scoby will usually be white and fuzzy. Scobys have other white spots sometime or get bubbles, but this is normal.
– Have fun and experiment! Kombucha is an acquired taste, and everyone likes it a little different. There are hundreds of recipes available, each one with its own ingredients and techniques.