Kombucha
- Total Time
- 1½ hours, plus fermenting
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 3½quarts water
- 1cup granulated sugar
- 8bags black tea or 2 tablespoons loose black tea leaves
- 2cups unpasteurized, unflavored store-bought kombucha or kombucha from a previous homemade batch
- 1Scoby
- 1gallon fermented kombucha
- 2 to 4tablespoons orange or apple juice
- 13-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced lengthwise into 4 slivers
For the First Fermentation
For the Second Fermentation
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Preparation
- Step 1
Bring the water to a boil in a pot, then remove from heat, and whisk in the sugar until dissolved.
- Step 2
Add the tea, and allow it to steep on the countertop until the sweetened tea is almost room temperature, at least an hour. Discard the tea bags.
- Step 3
Strain the sweetened tea into a very clean 1-gallon glass or ceramic jar (or 2 half-gallon jars), followed by the kombucha (divided equally if using 2 jars).
- Step 4
Using very, very clean hands, gently place the Scoby into the jar (if you’re using half-gallon jars, you can cut your Scoby in two with scissors or a knife that has been thoroughly cleaned and rinsed in hot water). Cover with a clean dish towel, and secure with a rubber band or a length of string.
- Step 5
Set the jar or jars somewhere dark and cool, and allow to ferment 8 to 14 days, tasting occasionally after 1 week. The longer the tea ferments, the more sugar will be eaten by the Scoby and the less sweet it will be. Aim for a light fermentation and a slightly vinegary taste.
- Step 6
Using very, very clean hands, transfer the Scoby to a jar, then pour 2 cups of the fermented kombucha on top. (You can save this mixture for the first fermentation process of another batch. You could also peel off the newer second layer from the Scoby, separating the “child” from the mother to double your production of kombucha, give it to a friend or discard it, as you like.) Strain the remaining fermented kombucha through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a large bowl for use in the second fermentation.
- Step 7
Strain kombucha again, and whisk in the juice. Pour it through a funnel into 4 very clean quart-size fermentation bottles with swing-top caps.
- Step 8
Add 1 piece of peeled ginger to each bottle, and seal tight.
- Step 9
Let sit somewhere dark and cool for 3 to 7 days, checking after 3 to taste how bubbly the kombucha has become, then place in the refrigerator until ready to drink, to stall fermentation.
Private Notes
Comments
You can make your own SCOBY. Prepare one-half the basic tea and sugar recipe. Add a bottle or two of high quality store-bought kombucha and ferment as directed in the basic recipe. You will start to see the SCOBY form on the top. Add more tea and sugar in the correct proportion as the SCOBY develops. Once the SCOBY is large enough to remove from the top of the brew, use it to make the first batch of Kombucha.
I believe you omitted the need to remove/strain the tea leaves before adding the sweet tea to the SCOBY jar. The sweet tea should be completely free of any organic material during the first stage of fermentation. (For years I have used a mixture of 2/3 green tea to 1/3 black, removing the black tea bag after the first five minutes of steeping, allowing the green to remain until the mixture cools. This creates a less bitter, clearer tea.)
Please don't confuse this kombucha, though it has a Japanese name, with real kombucha as I did. In Japan, kombu or kobu is an edible kelp which is boiled and flavored with salt and sometimes sour pickled plum, and enjoyed as tea or soup stock. According to Japanese Wikipedia, the completely different probiotic drink became popular in Russia and Europe, and at some point, an English speaker confused it with kombu, and hence, the name stuck. I learned something today! Thanks for this article.
You do not need to burp. This is a myth and I have never burped mine. You let go of the precious carbon when you burp, which is what it gives it that bubbly goodness! Also someplace warm and dark will have better effects for the carbon build also… cheers
People actually do all this work at home?
jun is a cousin of kombucha in that instead of black tea, substitute green tea and instead of sugar use honey. i go organic with both. it ferments more quickly and has a lighter taste. jun scobys are available online. it was love at first sip for me. the minimal prep time is so worth it compared with buying bottles that end up needing recycling. yummy and so good for tummy!
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