Ingredients
Scale
- 14 cups boiling water
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 8 black tea bags (I use classic lipton)
- 1 scoby
- 2 cups plain flavored kombucha
Instructions
- Boil 14 cups of water and pour into gallon jar. Add 8 black tea bags (once you get the process down, you can branch out to other kinds of tea) and 1 cup of white granulated sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then let cool completely. If you want to speed up the process, place in your fridge.
- Once the tea has completely cooled, remove the tea bags, add your scoby (if you add your scoby and the tea is still warm, you risk the chance of killing your scoby) and 2 cups of already brewed kombucha. If this is your first batch, you can add store-bought plain kombucha, then once you’ve brewed your first batch, you can reserve 2 cups to use in your next batch.
- Cover your kombucha with a few layers of paper towels, coffee filters, or very tightly woven cloth. Make sure covering is tight, then secure with a rubber band. Set jar somewhere out of the way, out of direct sunlight, and in a spot that will maintain an even temperature.
- When your tea has been sitting for 7 days, taste a little bit of the kombucha by sticking a straw down past the scoby, and taking a few sips. From this point on, your tea will be ready, but you can continue to let it sit longer, depending on how vinegary tasting you would like it to be.
- When your kombucha has reached your desired taste, remove the scoby from your jar along with 2 cups of kombucha for your next brew, and set aside. Pour the remaining kombucha into glass swing top bottles or other glass jars or bottles you may have sitting around. The bottles must be tightly sealed, which is why the swing top seem to work the best.
- If you would like to add any flavoring (fruit juice, herbs, spices, etc.,), add them into your bottles at this point. Store the bottled kombucha out of direct sunlight for 1-3 days to carbonate. Before you are familiar with how long this process takes, I would recommend opening a bottle at 1, 2, and 3 days, to see how the carbonation level is. When you feel it’s adequately fizzy, place the bottles in the fridge to stop carbonation.