Kombucha! Have you heard of it? Seen it in stores lately? Are all your friends talking about it? What’s the deal with this drink? There is a lot of curiosity around this new fad, but have no fear – we’re here to share what it’s all about and clear up that confusion! It’s a tangy fermented drink, full of probiotics and enzymes, and seems to be growing in popularity. The benefits to this drink are huge, but they can come at a high price when purchasing store-bought bottles. That’s another thing we’re here for!

If you’ve seen it in stores, it averages anywhere from $3-$5 in price, but to make it yourself at home it is much more cost efficient (which we are big fans of). We can give you a recipe that will make a gallon (around 8ish bottles) for a small price (when compared to the mainstream brands). While the process can be a little finicky – it is hard to ruin the batch (like seriously – its basically fool proof). As long as you follow the steps, your first bottle will be great!

So let’s get down to business – what you need before you start brewing:

• A glass container (this recipe will be tailored to a gallon of liquid, but if you want to make a smaller batch just adjust the steps accordingly)
• A SCOBY (the culture) *These can be store bought – usually branded as “Kombucha starter” or “Kombucha culture”; but if you have a friend who brews, you can ask for one of theirs!
• Cheese cloth (aka tight-weave cloth, you can also use a coffee filter if you don’t have a cheese cloth)
• Something to secure the cloth to the jar (i.e. rubber band)
• Organic Black Tea 
• Organic Cane Sugar 
• Un-fluoridated, Un-chlorinated Water (This is really important! If you use unfiltered water, it can harm your SCOBY and mess up the fermentation process)
• 1-2 cups of Starter tea (usually comes with a culture starter when store bought. If you’re getting a SCOBY from a friend, they should know to give you it as well)

Once you’ve gathered all the ingredients, here is the step-by-step process to making your delicious healthy drink:

1. Boil 1 gallon of water (around 14 cups) of water and brew the tea (8 tea bags)
2. After the tea is done steeping, remove the bags and mix 1 cup of sugar into the container and make sure it is all dissolved.
3. Let the tea cool to room temperature (This step is especially important because if you do not let the tea cool before adding your scoby in the mixture, the heat can hurt it ☹)
4. Add your SCOBY and starter tea, and cover the container with mesh cloth.
5. Let the mixture chill out on your counter (or in your cupboard) for 7-10 days (or to taste).
6. Once the mixture has been fermented, pour the kombucha into glass jars and store it in your fridge for consuming. You can flavour the Kombucha if you’d like, or drink it plain.
7. Make sure you save 1-2 cups of your batch for the next one (starter tea). You can leave your original SCOBY in the container with the starter tea until you are ready to make another batch.

With each batch you make, you will notice that your SCOBY produces a “baby SCOBY”. This will be a smaller SCOBY at the top of your container, and can be composted or given to a friend for them to make their own Kombucha (just remember to give the SCOBY with 1-2 cups of starter tea) ☺

Voila! You just made your first batch of Kombucha ☺ Enjoy!

Have any questions? Send us an email us and we would be happy to help!