The Best kombucha recipe on the internet

To DIY kombucha is easy. You don’t have to break the bank and spend hours of hard labor to make it. The great thing about making it yourself is that you can control what goes into your drink and you can experiment with many different flavors. So without further ado, here’s the complete guide on how to make kombucha tea.

Kombucha Tea Recipe

This kombucha recipe is for the first fermentation. After the first fermentation, you can start the second fermentation and add flavors to your kombucha tea.

Yield: 1 Gallon

Ingredients for Kombucha

• 1 Kombucha SCOBY
• 1 Cup Kombucha Tea (unflavored and plain. If you buy a kombucha starter kit, this will be the starter tea or liquid that comes in the kit)
• 1 cup sugar (regular granulated sugar works best, but you can also use raw sugar)
• 8 Teabags black, green, white, or a mix (or two tablespoons of loose leaf tea)
• 3 ½ liters water

Equipment

• Stock Pot
• 1 Gallon Jar
• A clean piece of cloth (or paper towels)
• Wooden spoon
• One elastic band

Instructions

1. Bring one liter of water to a boil. Once boiling, turn off the heat and add sugar. Stir in to dissolve the sugar completely.
2. Add the tea and let it steep for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the tea after.
3. Pour the remaining water into the clean glass jar. Then pour in the tea and sugar mixture.
4. Add SCOBY and starter liquid. Stir.
5. Cover the jar with a clean piece of cloth and secure it with an elastic band.
6. Place the jar in a dark, warm, and dry location, away from direct sunlight. Make sure there is enough airflow in the location. Wait for 5 to 7 days. Kombucha ferments faster when the weather is warm.
7. After five days, taste the kombucha. If it is tangy and a little sweet, it’s ready. If it’s more sweet than tangy let it continue fermenting. Once it is more tangy than sweet you can either consume the kombucha or continue to second fermentation.

Note: Always leave the SCOBY and at least 1 cup of the now-brewed kombucha in the jar when you harvest it.

Also, note that this is not a low sugar kombucha recipe.

You need to use 1 cup of sugar in kombucha to activate the yeast and bacteria.

But if you leave it to ferment longer the sugar content will be lower when it is very tangy. Since this is homemade, we will not know the sugar content of your kombucha.

Kombucha Tea Second Fermentation

After 5-7 days of fermenting, you have the option to continue to the second fermentation.

During second fermentation is when you can make your kombucha flavors.

To flavor your kombucha, you just need to add your favorite fruits, veggies, and herbs into it and let it sit for two or more days until the flavor has infused.

You can use any fruits, herbs, and even vegetables to flavor your kombucha tea.

You can also choose to add more sugar or sweetener at this point.

You can add fresh fruits, frozen, dried, or juiced. I juiced fresh fruits.

As a rule of thumb, the ratio should be 30% flavor and 70% kombucha. But it is still up to you. I encourage you to play with kombucha recipe flavors and find out what works best for your brew.

Below are two of my favorite flavored kombucha recipes.

Lemon Ginger Kombucha

Ingredients

• 2 liters Kombucha Tea
• 40 grams fresh ginger, chopped into strips
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• Two tablespoon honey, optional

Blueberry Kombucha

Ingredients

• 2 liters Kombucha Tea
• 100 grams blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 2 tablespoon honey, optional

Equipment

• Glass bottles with caps
• Funnel
• Big bowl
• Spoon

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix everything and place it in glass bottles.
2. Let ferment for 3 or more days or until you like the flavor. The carbonation will improve as it continues to ferment. Place in the fridge once you like the flavor.
3. Enjoy chilled or room temp.

Making kombucha at home is easy and fun. It is also so much better because you get to save money and play around with flavor combinations.