Homemade Kombucha

Makes one gallon

 What You Need:

• 1 gallon filtered water
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 bags caffeinated tea, or equivalent loose tea
• Optional add-ins: herbal teas, lavender, rosemary, orange peel, fennel, lemon balm, etc.
• 1 kombucha mother
• 1/4 cup kombucha from last batch (this will be the liquid your mother is floating in if this is your first batch—if you don’t have any liquid, you can used a raw non-pasteurized apple cider vinegar, such as Bragg’s)

What You Do:

1. In a large stockpot over high heat, boil water. Add sugar, and stir until absorbed. Remove pot from heat and add tea and optional add-ins. Let steep for approximately 15 minutes. Strain tea into glass jar or ceramic pot, and then let cool completely. Add kombucha mother and the 1/4 cup of previously brewed kombucha. Cover jar with a tightly woven cloth secured in place with an elastic band. Place jar in a warm spot.
2. After about six days, taste the kombucha. It should taste fizzy and slightly acidic. Allow kombucha to ferment until the sugars have broken down to your preference, which can take anywhere from 6 to 12 days. When the kombucha is brewed to your preference, bottle and let ferment at room temperature for a few more days (this will result in a fizzier finished product), or strain out the mother and move the brew directly to the fridge.

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