DIY Kombucha

You will need:

• 1 wide mouth 4L jar

• 1 cup organic cane sugar

• 5 organic black or green tea bags (or 10g of loose leaf tea) *must be caffeinated tea

• 3.5L filtered water

• coffee filters

• elastic band

• 1/2 cup starter (can be from any kombucha)

• 1 scoby

• apple cider vinegar

• Large jar for Scoby hotel (storage)

To make:

1. Prepare you jar. Rinse with a splash of apple cider vinegar (pour in, swirl around on all sides/edges & dump). Set aside.

2. Bring 1.5L of filtered water to a boil in a large pot.

3. Once boiling, remove from heat and add sugar. Stir until completely dissolved.

4. Add tea bags, and let steep for 20 minutes (setting a timer is useful)

5. After steep time, remove tea bags. Pour into large, wide mouth jar. Add remaining 2L of filtered water and set aside until solution has reached room temperature (~1-2 hours)

6. Once liquid has reached room temperature, add 1/2 cup of starter.

7. Now add scoby. Cover with a coffee filter & secure in place with an elastic band.

8. Store jar in a well ventilated space, away from sunlight & where it wont be disturbed.

First fermentation:

1. After 7 days, remove coffee filter and check tea. If it the tea smells sweet or hardly vinegary, it is not ready. Leave for a few more days & test again.

2. When the tea smells slightly vinegary, using a spoon or straw, gently remove some of the tea and taste. The tea should be lightly bubbly and have a fermented bite/sweet taste. If the sample is too sweet, leave for another few days, testing daily. If the ferment is left too long, your kombucha will taste like vinegar.

3. When the kombucha has reached your desired taste, rinse hands with apple cider vinegar & remove scoby. **The reason why you rinse with vinegar is to prevent any transfer of bacteria that might harm your scoby.**Now, place your scoby into another large jar. With every brew, your scoby will have formed a new baby scoby. Gently separate these from each other after every brew - This is a good time to set up a "Scoby Hotel" to safely store your scobys - refer to google.

4. Pour 1/2 cup of the brew into another jar and set aside for your next batch.

5. With remaining liquid, pour into jars or bottles of your choice. Store away from direct sunlight. These are ready to drink immediately.

6. If you store at room temperature, the kombucha will continue to get bubbly. If you place in the fridge, it will stop.

Second fermentation:

1. After bottling your kombucha, you can further the flavour & bubbles by adding fruit.

2. Simply slice fruit or add dried flavourings during your bottling process.

3. Store for an additional few days at room temperature to enhance flavour.

4. Place in fridge to stop fermentation process

5. Note** This can often make the kombucha far more bubbly. Use caution when opening.