How to Make Kumbucha Tea

Kombucha tea is a naturally fermented probiotic drink that has a myriad of benefits such as improved digestion and gut health, fighting candida overgrowth, mental clarity and mood stability, increased energy and an immune builder.

Ingredients:

For 3 quarts:

1 cup Sugar 4-5 Tea Bags of Black Tea 3 quarts Water 1 to 2 cups Kombucha Starter 1 Scoby

For a 2-Gallon Dispenser:



• 3 cups Sugar (Real sugar)
• 10 Tea Bags of Black Tea
• 6 to 7 quarts of water
• 3 to 4 cups Kumbucha starter
• 1 Scoby (AKA culture)


Materials:



• Gallon or 2 Gallon Glass
• Jar Linen or cloth napkin
• Rubber band (to go around the mouth of your gallon or 2 gallon jar)
• Glass jars or bottles (to hold the finished Kumbucha Tea)

Boil your water. Then add your sugar to the water when a rolling boil is reached. Boil water and sugar for five minutes. After five minutes turn off the heat and add your tea bags. Steep anywhere from 20 minutes or until the tea is completely cooled down.

(You need to make sure the tea is completely cooled off before continuing) Now pour the cooled tea into a Gallon sized or 2 gallon sized (depending on how much you are making) glass container. Add your Scoby, placing it so the smooth shiny surface lies facing up. Add your fermented Kombucha Tea Starter (which is just Kombucha Tea from a previous batch) Place a cloth over the opening of the jar and secure with a rubber band, this keeps dust, mold spores, and fruit flies out of the fermenting tea.

Place away from direct sunlight for 6-15 days. You will notice that a new scoby will begin to form on top. To make sure the tea is ready to harvest, pour off a couple of ounces for a taste test. When the weather is warm start taste testing within 5 days. When the weather is cold start taste testing on day 7. The tea ferments quicker when it is warm and takes longer when it is cool. In the summer, your batch can be ready as early as 5 days. In the winter, it can take as long as 10 or more days, depending on how cool your house is.

Taste Test

1. A taste test on a batch of Kombucha may taste like this



• 4-6 Days - Too sweet, not all sugar converted.
• 7-9 Days - Tastes like sparkling apple cider.
• 10+ Days - Vinegar taste becoming prominent.

When your tea is brewed to your taste, pour the tea into your glass bottle (or mason jars) and cap. Then place in the fridge. I think it tastes better cold. Always leave enough starter tea from your last batch in your 1 or 2 gallon jar to make another batch of tea. Your Scoby will grow another one on top of it. I started out with one and now have about 8 in four different jars. To start again just make another batch of tea with sugar and add this to your starter to start the process again.

If you need to take a break or go on vacation for longer than 7 days, just put your Scoby along with 2 to 4 cups of Kombucha starter in a glass jar in the refrigerator.

After a few batches, you will notice your Scoby getting thicker. You can peel off the bottom layer to share with a friend, (Be sure and give them some starter as well.) add it to your compost or throw it away.

It is normal for the Scoby to float or sink, have strings hanging off of it and have different shades of brown. If it develops black, green or orange spots, this is mold. You would need to throw away the Scoby and the tea and start again with a fresh Scoby and starter.

You can get a Scoby online or from a friend.

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