For Kombucha recipe, click on this link.

I have been making Kombucha at home using my Assam Black tea. I did not realize just how simple it is to make.

The only labour intensive part is waiting for the Scoby to form. After that it is fairly straight forward. You only make the scoby the first time. All you need is black tea, unrefined sugar and for the first batch of scoby, 1 cup plain unpasteurized Kombucha. I was unable to find a plain kombucha, so I bought a bottle with ginger flavour.

Scoby is the ‘mother’ of the kombucha, providing bacteria and yeast to ferment the sweet tea. It protects the tea from outside contaminants, and provides a loose seal to keep some of the carbonation in.

Scoby Ingredients

7 cups clean water 

½ cup (100 g) unrefined sugar 

1 Tbsp black tea (No decaf tea)

1 cup (235 mL) unpasteurized, unflavoured kombucha

*A large glass or ceramic jar (1.25 gallon glass jar)

*Note: You can use the same size ceramic jar to make your Kombucha later

Additionally, you will need a tightly woven cloth and rubber bands to seal the cloth over the top.

Directions: 

Boil water in a kettle. Add the sugar to a heat safe container. Remove the water from heat and dissolve the sugar into it. Next, add the tea and allow to steep while water cools to room temperature (3 to 6 hours). 

When the water is at room temperature, strain  sweetened tea into your jar, then add 1 cup kombucha in. Any Kombucha sediment found in the store bought bottles is great to add to your scoby starter.

Next cover with a few layers of the tightly woven cloth as this keeps out bugs and dust. Secure the cloth with a rubber band. Set somewhere dark and at room temperature, for 1 to 4 weeks, until a ¼ inch (½ cm) scoby has formed. 

Finally, keep your scoby in its original tea until you are ready to brew your first batch. The scoby should live and grow for years if treated with love. The tea you used to make the scoby, is very vinegary and must not be used to make your kombucha.  You can pour that out and store your scoby in unpasteurized Kombucha that you will make.

For Kombucha recipe, click on this link.