I used to think that only hippies made their own kombucha. If you enjoy drinking kombucha, learning to brew your own is just the project for you! Sure, sourdough gets all the hype, but making your own kombucha is good for your wallet and your gut. A single store-bought bottle can cost upwards of $4. At home, you can create nearly a gallon for just the cost of a few tea bags and a cup of sugar. 

To start the kombucha process, you’ll need to make your own scoby or get a discarded bit from a kombucha-brewing friend. What’s a scoby, you ask? It stands for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast. This little critter is what turns your sweet tea into delicious effervescent kombucha. Does it look incredibly unappetizing and reminiscent of raw chicken? Yes. Is it majestic and fascinating? Also yes! A scoby is sometimes called mother and for good reason. This hardworking mama transforms ordinary tea into beautiful kombucha. The scoby accumulates more healthy bacteria and yeast with each batch. To make from scratch, it takes about a month, but then you’re ready to brew.

Don’t you need special equipment? No! There are many kits and products on the market, but the only necessary item for brewing is a glass gallon jar. You don’t need a special airlock top. I cover the top of my glass jar with a clean tea cloth and a large rubber band. However, It is imperative that you use fermentation grade glass to bottle your kombucha because they can actually burst. I have found that the safest way to determine this is to reuse store-bought kombucha bottles with twist-on plastic tops. After drinking the contents, the bottles get washed and sanitized in the dishwasher. After you create your scoby, you’re ready to brew your first batch in the gallon jar. This only takes a week. The brew gets bottled (secondary fermentation) for a few days to build up its delightful carbonation and transferred to the fridge. Once chilled, it’s ready to drink!

Ginger Kombucha

Scoby Ingredients:

7 cups water

4 black tea bags

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup plain or ginger kombucha (store-bought)

Ginger Kombucha Ingredients:

14 cups boiling water

8 black tea bags

1 cup sugar

Secondary Fermentation (bottling)

6 tablespoons sugar

3-inch piece of fresh ginger 

1 cup water

Scoby Instructions (you only need to do this step once):

1. Boil 7 cups water. Add 4 black tea bags and 1/2 cup sugar. Allow to steep for 5 minutes. Discard tea bags.
2. Stir and allow to cool completely.
3. In the gallon glass jar, add the tea and 1 cup store-bought kombucha (I used gingerade).
4. Cover with a clean cloth and rubber band around the top very tightly.
5. Sit for 3-4 weeks at room temperature out of sunlight. Over time, it will develop and form a thin layer. If you see any mold or smell anything other than a light vinegar smell, throw it out and start over.

Ginger Kombucha Instructions (skip to this step if you already have a scoby):

1. Boil 14 cups of water. Add 8 black tea bags and 1 cup sugar. Stir, steep for 5 minutes. Discard tea. Allow to cool completely. Take the scoby out onto a clean plate. Clean the gallon jar. Return the scoby, the fresh sweet tea and 2 cups of store bought kombucha to the jar. Next time, you will reserve 2 cups of the last batch of kombucha called starter tea. You don’t want to use the scoby creating liquid this time because it fermented for 4 weeks instead of the usual 1 week. 
2. Cover with towel and rubber band. Allow to sit at room temperature for exactly 7 days.  After 7 days, it’s time to bottle the kombucha with the flavoring. In a small blender, add 1 cup water, whole ginger and 6 tablespoons sugar. Blend well. Strain, discarding the solids. Add the ginger syrup to the jar of full completed kombucha. Stir, using a large pourable container, fill all the jars: 6 16-ounce bottles or 2 48-oz. Seal the lids tight. Let sit at room temperature for exactly 3 days, then move to the refrigerator. Drink when cold.
3. Make a new batch of tea – just as you did before, to start the cycle again. Allow to cool, add the reserved starter tea and scoby back to the clean gallon jar. Repeat cycle!
4. If you ever see mold or if an unpleasant smell occurs, repeat process and start again. You can experiment with different flavors and juices, but this is the formula for this amount of sugar. Be careful when opening bottles of kombucha and always use fermentation grade bottles. I’ve had them fizz all over the kitchen floor before.