Brew Your Own Kombucha

Looking to learn how to brew your own delicious, nutritious Kombucha at home?! Youve come to the right place. I am going to break it down step-by-step, its super EASY and requires no fancy tools or equipment.

Kombucha is probiotic rich fermented tea, good.. no, GREAT for your guts. You can easily brew it at home for a fraction of the cost of buying it in the store

Kombucha brewing happens in (2) Two Phases

1) First Fermentation (F1) - The first ferment usually takes between 7-14 days, although depending on the temperature in your home and flavor preference it can take longer. During the first ferment, sweet tea is aerobically (needs oxygen) fermented to create the Kombucha you're going to be drinking!

2) Second Fermentation (F2) - The second ferment takes 2-4 days. This is where you will flavor your kombucha, and build up the carbonation - fizzy-ness. Once your first ferment in done, you will transfer the Kombucha to pressure safe bottles, add the fruit of your choice and allow to continue to ferment in a warm place, out of direct sunlight.

Lets Get Brewing!!

First Fermentation

Things You Will Need:

• SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast)

• Gallon Jar

• 2 Cups Starter Tea (Brewed Kombucha from previous batch or Store Bought)

• 2 TBSP Loose Leaf Black Tea, Green Tea or Combination (My Fav)

• Approx - 14 Cups Filtered Water (Chlorine Free)

• 1 Cup Organic Cane Sugar

• Warming Mat (Optional- I use this one in the winter or when the house temp isn't optimal < 21)

Instructions:

1) Make Sweet Tea - boil 4 cups of water in a pot on the stove, remove from heat and add sugar, stir to dissolve. Add 2 TBSP of tea in steeper mesh or 8 tea bags and allow to steep for minimum 20 mins or until it has cooled to room temperature

2) Mix Sweet Tea and Water - In your gallon jar add remaining 10 cups of filtered water and combine with steeped sweet tea. Double check to ensure your tea is cooled completely before moving on to the next step. With a straw or a spoon take a small amount of tea and test the temperature. Alternatively you can use an Instant Read Thermometer to test the temp of your brew - room temperature is around 18 Degrees Celsius or cooler. If your tea is hot it WILL KILL your SCOBY!!

3) Add SCOBY and Starter Tea - Once your sweet tea mixture is completely cooled it is time to add your SCOBY, and your starter tea. Now, if you Grew Your Own SCOBY you can use 2 cups of the liquid your grew your SCOBY in, and discard the rest. You can also use 2 cups of Kombucha from a previous batch or Store Bought Raw, Unflavored Kombucha

4) Cover - Cover your jar with a tightly woven cloth, like cotton and secure with a rubber band or string

5) Ferment - Set the jar somewhere warm and out of direct sunlight and allow to ferment for 7 - 14 days. Ideal fermentation temperature for Kombucha is 21-24 Degrees C, or 70-75 F - if your home is cooler than this I would suggest fermenting your brew on a warming mat, you can also wrap it around the jar.

Test your Kombucha around day 7, use a clean ladle and ladle a small amount in to a cup to taste. The Kombucha should have a slight vinegar tang, but still me mildly sweet. The longer it ferments the more sugar will be eaten up and the less sweet the brew will be. Depending on your flavor preference either re-cover and allow the Kombucha to further ferment, or if it is to your liking it is time for the second ferment!

6) Time for Second Ferment - Remove your SCOBY and 2 cups of starter tea to brew your next batch!

Second Fermentation

Time to get Fizzzzyyyyy

Things You Will Need:

• Homemade Kombucha from First Fermentation

• 1/4 Cup Fresh or Frozen Fruit of Choice; OR 2 TBSP Fruit Juice or Sugar

• Flip Top Fermentation Bottles

Instructions:

1) Bottle - Using a sterile funnel add your Fruit, Juice or Sugar to the Flip Top Bottle. Fill bottle with Kombucha leaving about 2 1/2" room at the top.

2) Close and Carbonate - Close your bottles and let ferment somewhere warm for 2-4 days until nice and bubbly.

3) Serve & Enjoy - Before opening to enjoy your brew, place it in the fridge to slow the carbonation and chill the kombucha. Once chilled, pop the top and ENJOY!!

Things To Note:

• Kombucha will ferment more quickly when the temperature where it is fermenting is warmer! If it is cooler, it will take longer. For this reason it is important to check in on your brew

• It is IMPORTANT to ensure the bottles you flavor and second ferment your kombucha in are pressure safe as they can explode if too much carbonation builds. You can burp your bottles during the second ferment by gently popping the top and letting some of the carbonation escape

• Each batch of Kombucha will produce a baby SCOBY, usually it will appear as a thin layer on the SCOBY you used for your batch. You can just leave this little guy attached to its mother! Once your SCBOY gets thick you can peel a few layers off and use as another SCOBY or discard

Cant wait for you to get brewing!! I love fermentation -- its really fascinating !!

As always, please let me know how it goes in the comments below!!

Questions? I got you!!

Thank you for being here,

With Love,

Katie

***Check back for our coming articles -- How to Store SCOBYS & How to grow your own SCOBY*** I will link them here for you when they're Published

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