How to... brew your own kombucha
One of my most recent kitchen adventures has been brewing my own kombucha. I love all its great health properties but it was killing my weekly budget to buy it at the store (especially since I live on an island in the middle of the Pacific...). So I studied around and started up my own little process with a Scoby from a friend. I've been making it for about 6 months now and I'm loving it!
You will need to have your own Scoby from a fellow kombucha lover or somewhere online. If you are just starting out, you will only want to follow steps 1, 3, 4, 6, and 7. Then follow steps 1-7 every two weeks for your own home brewed kombucha!
These directions are for a 1/2 gallon jar so you might have to adjust based on your jar size. Here we go!
Supplies needed...
-Scoby
-large glass jar with wide mouth opening (1/2 gallon)
-coffee filter
-organic black tea bags
-sugar
-vinegar
-empty glass bottles (just save all your store-bought jars and wash em up!)
optional flavoring...
-fruit (frozen or fresh)
-fresh ginger (my personal favorite for every combination)
1) Brew black tea concentrate with 3 bags of black tea for 6-8 minutes. I like to start this brewing at the beginning so it has time to cool while I'm working on everything else.
2) Give everything a quick vinegar rinse- a plate (for your Scoby while you pour out your brew), a funnel, and your hands (*remember to remove any metal jewelry! Metal interacts with the growing process of the Scoby so stick with plastic tools too).
3) Prepare your glass bottles! I line mine up in the sink because otherwise, I would be cleaning up a kombucha disaster off my counter...
4) Remove your tea bags and dissolve 1/2 cup of sugar in your tea concentrate. You might have to keep stirring it occasionally to help it all dissolve.
4) Remove your beautiful Scoby from its jar, very carefully (and after a quick vinegar rinse over your hands).
5) Pour your brewed kombucha into your glass bottles. Make sure to leave space at the top for fruit and carbonation. If you fill it too full, you might end up with some explosions in a few days...
*Remember to save about a cup of your brew in the bottom of your brewing jar for your starter.
6) ...and back to our sugar tea! If it's not quite back to room temperature, add a few ice cubes to cool it off and then add it to the starter in your brewing jar.
7) Fill the rest of the jar up with drinking water and add your Scoby for 2 more weeks of brewing! Cover the mouth of your brewing jar with the coffee filter and secure with string (or a new hair tie).
You will need to have your own Scoby from a fellow kombucha lover or somewhere online. If you are just starting out, you will only want to follow steps 1, 3, 4, 6, and 7. Then follow steps 1-7 every two weeks for your own home brewed kombucha!
These directions are for a 1/2 gallon jar so you might have to adjust based on your jar size. Here we go!
Supplies needed...
-Scoby
-large glass jar with wide mouth opening (1/2 gallon)
-coffee filter
-organic black tea bags
-sugar
-vinegar
-empty glass bottles (just save all your store-bought jars and wash em up!)
optional flavoring...
-fruit (frozen or fresh)
-fresh ginger (my personal favorite for every combination)
1) Brew black tea concentrate with 3 bags of black tea for 6-8 minutes. I like to start this brewing at the beginning so it has time to cool while I'm working on everything else.
2) Give everything a quick vinegar rinse- a plate (for your Scoby while you pour out your brew), a funnel, and your hands (*remember to remove any metal jewelry! Metal interacts with the growing process of the Scoby so stick with plastic tools too).
3) Prepare your glass bottles! I line mine up in the sink because otherwise, I would be cleaning up a kombucha disaster off my counter...
4) Remove your tea bags and dissolve 1/2 cup of sugar in your tea concentrate. You might have to keep stirring it occasionally to help it all dissolve.
4) Remove your beautiful Scoby from its jar, very carefully (and after a quick vinegar rinse over your hands).
*Remember to save about a cup of your brew in the bottom of your brewing jar for your starter.
7) Fill the rest of the jar up with drinking water and add your Scoby for 2 more weeks of brewing! Cover the mouth of your brewing jar with the coffee filter and secure with string (or a new hair tie).
Optional flavoring: You can add thin slices of frozen or fresh fruit to each of your individual bottles for more brewing time and flavoring. I like to use thin slices of fresh ginger with all my fruit because it gives a nice carbonated flavor and pairs great with fruit (especially raspberry!).
8) Burp* your bottles once a day for 4-5 days to allow some of the pressure to release (maybe over the sink again, just in case). Move them to your fridge and enjoy the probiotic benefits!
*twist the lid to slightly open (like you're opening a bottle of pop) and then screw it back on again tightly, just to release some air
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