I have shared my love for kombucha before, but I'll repeat myself. I LOOOOOOVE kombucha!!! It is so spectacular. It makes me feel great and it tastes so good!!! What I don't love is that it costs so much! It's tea! Why does it cost $4 a bottle?! So I did some research and figured out how I can make my own. And then I made it! And now I don't have to pay $4 a bottle and I have fresh, homemade kombucha in my fridge all the time!!
In case you haven't heard about the magical heavenly beverage, I'll give you a tiny little summary. Kombucha is a fermented tea. It is slightly, naturally carbonated and a little vinegary from the fermentation process. It is really detoxifying for your body and the natural bacteria in it are probiotics and good for your digestion. It contains glucaric acid that researchers have found can prevent and fight cancer.
So here's how I did it. It's a two-part process. The first part is growing the SCOBY and it takes about 6 weeks. The SCOBY is a Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast. It is what ferments the sugar to create the unique flavor and benefits of kombucha. You can buy one online or get one from a friend (I'll have an extra every week for anyone that wants one!). The second part is just brewing the tea, and that just takes a week, so I have a new batch of about 8 bottles each week.
Growing the SCOBY:
This takes a long time, but it's not a hard process. It just takes a couple ingredients and a little equipment and a lot of patience.
You'll need:
6 green or black tea bags
1/3 cup regular sugar, don't use sugar substitutes, or any other sweeteners. This is what feeds the bacteria.
1 quart of filtered water
2 bottles unflavored kombucha
1 gallon glass jar
cheesecloth or paper towels
a rubber band
In a stainless steel pot, boil the water. Add the tea and let it steep for 15 minutes. With a wooden spoon, stir in the sugar and dissolve it. Let it cool to room temperature. Let the kombucha sit out so it can come to room temperature too. Make sure the jar is really clean. Pour the tea and the kombucha into the jar and cover the jar with the cheesecloth or paper towel and secure it with the rubber band. Let this sit in a warm, dark place for 5-7 weeks. When it's colder, it takes longer, but you should be able to see the SCOBY growing on the surface. When it's done, it will smell really vinegary. Make sure there's no mold or anything else growing on it. It looks like a white, rubbery disk when it's done.
Brewing the Kombucha:
After you have a SCOBY, you're ready to make the actual kombucha!!! This only takes about a week.
You'll need:
A SCOBY plus 2 cups of the liquid it grew in (starter liquid)
1 gallon filtered water
8 green or black tea bags (I used half of each)
1/2 cup sugar
Jar, cheesecloth, and rubberband
Boil the water in a stainless steel pot and add the tea bags. Steep for 15 minutes. Stir in the sugar with a wooden spoon. Let this cool to room temperature. Pour this into the jar. Pour in the starter liquid. With very clean hands, place the SCOBY in the jar. Cover with the cloth and the rubber band and let it sit in a warm, dark place for a week. Then you just pour the kombucha into glass bottles and refrigerate. I saved the bottles from the store bought kombucha and used those. If you want to flavor it, this is when you do that. I added some fresh grated ginger to mine. It made 8 bottles! Now I have some everyday!!
Each time you brew a batch of kombucha, a new baby SCOBY grows so you have 2 at the end. I'll have an extra to give away every week now, so if you want one just let me know!!
