How to Make Kombucha Tea at Home

Most people think that making Kombucha tea at home is challenging and not worth the effort. What they didn't know is that it's fun (and it feels like you are inside Dexter's Laboratory experimenting with ugly SCOBY) and it's totally easy! Not to mention you can save a lot of money from making your own, instead of buying.

So how do you make your own Kombucha Tea at home?

Makes 1 Gallon of Kombucha Tea. If you want to brew more, adjust the recipe as you see fit.

Ingredients:

1. Live Kombucha SCOBY/Kombucha Culture/Kombucha Mother
2. 6-8 green/black/white tea bags
3. 1 cup of sugar (either white or brown. organic is preferred)
4. 1 gallon of water
5. 1 cup starter tea

Equipment Needed:

1. A gallon jar
2. A clean piece of cloth or coffee filter
3. A rubber band
4. Stainless steel pot

Instructions:

(For first fermentation or 1F)

1. Place 4 cups of water to your pot and bring it to boil. (Tip: don't let the water boil completely. Once it starts showing bubbles, add the tea bags. This will help in keeping oxygen in the water and will help you get a nice fizz.)
2. Once it boils up, add your tea bags. (Don't stir!)
3. After 8-10 minutes, remove your tea bags and add 1 cup of sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
4. Mix your sweet tea to the rest of your water and pour it to your jar.
5. Add in the Kombucha starter tea to your sweet tea and mix.
6. Add in your Kombucha SCOBY to the mixture. 

   

   Kombucha SCOBY

7. Cover your jar with the cloth and secure it with a rubber band. Place it in a dry and warm place.
8. Wait for 3-7 days.
9. After 3 days, taste your kombucha tea. If the taste is tart and sweet to your liking, it's good to go! You can now drink it as it is or mix it with your favorite fruit juice or you can go on to second fermentation.

Bottled Kombucha Tea. Pineapple and orange flavor.

Note: Don't bottle all your Kombucha tea after first fermentation. Leave at least 1 cup. That will serve as your starter tea the next time you make a new batch.

Mango Kombucha Tea

Want to start brewing Kombucha tea? Find out where you can score a SCOBY and a starter tea here.