DIY Kombucha

Ingredients

• 8 black tea bags

• 1 cup sugar

• 500ml brewed kombucha liquid from your last batch*

• 1 scoby*

• Flavourings, around 1 cup of fluid or 2-3 fruits, eg:

  • 1 cup berries (can add some sliced ginger)

  • 1 cup pure fruit juice eg. squeezed grapefruit, Homegrown apple or orange juice

  • 2 kiwifruit + 50ml lime juice

  • 1/2 cup orange juice + juice of one lemon + a few slices of ginger

• Glass container around 7-8L

• 1 tea towel

• 5 x 1L glass bottles

Instructions

Brewing

1. Grow a scoby (or find someone who’ll donate you one ). See note below for making your own.

2. Brew 8 bags of black tea in 500ml water (a plunger is handy for this).

3. Add 1 cup sugar and the tea to the large glass container and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Top up the container to around 5L with cold water. Add in 500ml kombucha liquid and 1 scoby. Cover with a tea towel and leave for 10 days.

Bottling

1. Remove the scoby and 500ml kombucha liquid for your next brew, from your large glass container.

2. Add desired flavourings to each 1L glass bottle, then top up to the bottom of the neck with the brewed kombucha liquid (from your large glass container).

3. Leave for 2-3 days on the bench to ferment, then place in the fridge to stall the fermentation and cool. To test that the bottle is ready for the fridge, open the top to hear how fizzy it is. If there is a loud and strong fizz, place in the fridge or if the fizz is slightly weaker then leave out for another day and then place in the fridge without releasing the top again.

4. Drink!

Makes 5x1L bottles.

*Making a scoby:

1. Place 2 black teabags in 2 cups boiling water. Brew for 15 minutes.

2. Take tea bags out. Stir in 1 cup sugar until it dissolves. Add in a couple of ice cubes to cool the liquid down, or leave to cool.

3. Add in one bottle of commercial kombucha. Transfer liquid into a glass container, cover with a tea towel and leave for 1-2 weeks in a warm place with no sunlight.

4. When the scoby has grown, remove from the container along with 500ml of the liquid to use in the brewing stage above.