Brew Your Own Kombucha

Brew your own Kombucha and save money! It’s super easy! This recipe goes over how to do a continuous brew.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure Policy HERE

The Benefits of Kombucha:

Kombucha is one of the healthiest drinks you can consume. It’s a great replacement for soda as it has a yummy carbonation without all those bad ingredients and sugars. Kombucha is a fermented tea packed with probiotics, as a result it help with digestion and adds in healthy bacteria to your digestive track. It does contain some caffeine but as someone who is sensitive to caffeine like myself I find this very mild. It does give me a bit of an energy boost which is so helpful on those tiring days of farm work. You can also add fruits for a second fermentation to add a little flavor and more carbonation. You of course can buy kombucha at the grocery store but its’ expensive! We love kombucha on those hot summer days. It’s the perfect amount of bubbly we crave when you are parched and want something more exciting then water.

FAQ:

Is Brewing your own Kombucha worth it?

Absolutely! You will save money and you can add your own flavors when making a second fermentation

How much Kombucha should I drink?

If you are new to drinking kombucha it is a good idea to take it slow. Start with a small glass then work your way up to more. We don’t drink it everyday, but also listen to your body and how it responds.

It is safe to brew Kombucha?

Yes it is very safe to brew at home. The process of fermenting protects the beverage.

Items Needed to Brew Your Own Kombucha:

Scoby

To Brew your own kombucha the first thing and most important is your kombucha Scoby. The Scoby is where all the magic happens. It’s a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. It is what consumes the sugar and causes the fermentation. It grows every time you make kombucha so you will have many baby scobies growing. You can give to friends and family to start their own kombucha, feed to your chickens, compost or even feed to your plants!

You can purchase one HERE, which comes with a scoby and starter tea or learn make your own HERE

Tools to Brew your own Kombucha:

• Glass Brewing Jar with Spigot
• Bottles to store your finished kombucha
• Stock Pot
• Wooden Spoon for stirring
• White Vinegar for sanitizing
• Brewing Siphon to bottle Kombucha
• Towels to cover top and brewing jar

Tips to Brew Your Own Kombucha

• Make sure you wash your containers and your hands with white vinegar before touching your scoby and bottling the kombucha. Soap residue will kill the bacteria and yeast that helps make your kombucha.
• We use a brewing siphon because the spigots on the glass brewers are not great to bottle with as they take forever! However the spigots are great for being able to taste your kombucha to see if it is done brewing. You can watch how to use a brewing siphon HERE
• Make sure you only use wooden spoons and glass when you are brewing. The metal will kill the good bacteria. Using the metal stock pot to boil your tea will be fine, you just don’t want your scoby and fermented tea to come in contact with metals.

Ingredients:

• 16 Cups of Spring/Filtered Water
• 1 cup of Organic Cane Sugar
• 8 bags of Organic Black Tea
• 1 bottle of GTS Original Kombucha (You can get this at almost any grocery store or health food store. This is what will get your tea started since it already has the fermentation cultures and bacteria. Make sure it is the unflavored. If you made your own scoby you can use 16 fl oz of tea from that!) The kit linked above also has a starter tea that comes with the scoby.

Instructions:

Bring water to a boil in a large pot

Once boiling, remove from heat and add your tea bags and sugar.

Stir and let sit for 10-15 mins

Remove tea bags and let the tea cool to room temperature. This is important as hot tea will kill your scoby.

Pour bottle of GTS Original Kombucha into brewing jar. Pour cooled tea into your brewing jar and add scoby.

Cover with thin cloth and put a rubber band around the top to keep dust and fruit flies at bay.

Cover jar with a dark towel or put into a cabinet. Let sit in a warm 70-75 degree, dark place for 10-14 days.

Once it’s done, was your hands then rinse with white vinegar. Make sure your storage bottles are clean and rinse them out with white vinegar.

Remove the scoby and put on a clean and white vinegar rinsed plate.

Clean your brewing siphon with white vinegar. Stir Kombucha with wooden spoon before bottling

Use your brewing siphon to transfer into bottles.

Store in the fridge and enjoy!

Other Considerations to Brew your own Kombucha

• Depending on your kitchen or pantry temp the fermentation time will vary. I like to taste my kombucha in about 5 days. It will all depend on how sweet you like yours to be or how acidic. The longer you let it ferment the more acidic it will be.
• Once you bottle your kombucha, leave 20% of the tea in the jar as your starter tea. Repeat the steps above.
• You can also do a second fermentation with any kind of pureed/juice of fruits or herbs. I love using lemon balm in the summer. Oranges, blueberries and strawberries are all great to use as well. Don’t be afraid to play around with it though! You can also use fruit juices but make sure they are 100% juice and no added ingredients or sugars.

Second Fermentation:

Bottle your already made kombucha just to the base of the neck of the bottle

Add pureed fruit or juice and pieces of fresh herbs like mint, basil or lemon balm if you would like.

Let sit in a warm dark place for 2 days.

Refrigerate and Enjoy!

Continuous brews are a great way to keep the kombucha going so you never run out. I find it a lot easier than doing smaller batches. Brew your own kombucha and have fun! Enjoy!

What second fermentation have you tried?

Let me know in the comments below!