My least favourite thing about finding a recipe online is a huge pre-amble about how awesome it is and what they did that morning and last week. So let’s just get to the point, shall we?
Ingredients/Supplies
Gallon Size Brew:
- 1 Gallon glass jar – no lid required
- Paper towel, or dishcloth & rubber band
- 2TB loose tea or 6-8 tea bags (black or green – better results with unflavoured tea (i.e. don’t use early grey, stick with basic orange pekoe if black)
- 1 cup sugar
- 13-14cup water (however much fits with some headroom inside your jar)
- 1 cup kombucha tea starter liquid
- 1 SCOBY
Instructions:
- Combine hot water and sugar in a glass jar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. The water should be hot enough to steep the tea but does not have to be boiling.
- Place the tea or tea bags in the sugar water to steep. (can use a metal tea ball for loose tea, but remove before adding the SCOBY)
- Cool the mixture to 68-85ºF. The tea may be left in the liquid as it cools or removed after the first 10-15 minutes. The longer the tea is left in the liquid, the stronger the tea will be.
- Remove the tea bags or completely strain the loose tea leaves from the liquid.
- Add starter tea from a previous batch to the liquid.
- Add an active kombucha SCOBY.
- Cover the jar with a tight-weave towel or paper towel and secure with a rubber band.
- Allow the mixture to sit undisturbed at 68-85°F, out of direct sunlight, for 7-30 days, or to taste. The longer the kombucha ferments, the less sweet and more vinegary it will taste. You can start tasting after day 7 to check in on sweetness/fermentation.
To Bottle:
- Pour kombucha off the top of the jar for consuming. Bottle in glass jars. Best if they have a secure swing top! (I re-use sea cider bottles)
- Retain the SCOBY and enough liquid from the bottom of the jar to use as starter tea for the next batch. Can be kept in a mason jar in the fridge until next brew.
- Optional: second fermentation to create more fizz! Let the bottled kombucha sit on your counter for a 1-2 days before storing in the fridge.
- The finished kombucha can be flavoured or enjoyed plain. Flavouring should be added after bottling & before the second fermentation.
Flavouring Options I’ve enjoyed:
- raspberry – 5 frozen raspberries per bottle
- ginger & anise – 2 tablespoons of grated ginger + 1 star anise pod
- pineapple – leftover juice from a can of pineapple rings (or about 1/2 cup pineapple juice)
- strawberry basil – 3 quartered strawberries, 1 stem of basil
- flavouring options are endless… get creative
Enjoy!
-S
Sarah, thanks for simplifying!! Sounds delicious!!
No problem. I hope that second brew turns out better for you!