Drinked fermented liquids, such as kombucha, are important for maintaining a healthy balance of your good bacteria in your gut. And although you can buy kombucha, you can also make your own at home. To make it, you’ll need a SCOBY, which stands for a Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast, which you can buy at health food stores or online retailers like Amazon or Etsy. And then get brewing!
INGREDIENTS
- 4 bags black tea
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup kombucha starter
- 1 SCOBY
- water
DIRECTIONS
- Bring one quart of water to a boil. Remove from heat, add sugar and stir until dissolved. Add black tea and allow to steep while it cools.
- Let cool to room temperature. Transfer to half gallon fermentation jar and top with cool water. Add kombucha starter. Place SCOBY in jar, cover with cloth, and secure. Let it ferment for 7-10 days out of direct sunlight. Note: your SCOBY may not float but will create a new SCOBY layer at the surface over the course of fermentation. We also find that a new SCOBY takes closer to 10 days to ferment.
- When your kombucha has reached your desired levels of tartness it’s ready to drink. Remove SCOBY from kombucha, then transfer liquid to a clean jar. If you want to get started on another batch of kombucha, reserve 1/2 cup kombucha (this will be your starter) and the SCOBY and repeat.
- Your kombucha is ready to drink! We drink most of our kombucha straight, over ice. But if you prefer it fizzy you need to bottle your kombucha.
- To carbonate: bottle your kombucha (we like swing-top bottles), and allow to sit for 1-2 more days at room temperature before opening and drinking. Enjoy!