Kombucha (SCOBY)

Ingredients

• 14 cups filtered water
• 1 cup sugar (I use brown)
• 6 standard size black teabags (3 pitcher size) or 6 tsp loose leaf
• 2 cups starter culture
• 1 Starter SCOBY
• Equipment
• 1 Gallon jar
• 1 standard drip coffee filter
• 1 rubber band

Directions

1. Primary Fermentation
2. 1 - Boil 2 cups of the filtered water
3. 2 - Place teabags into pot and allow to steep 5 to 10 minutes
4. 3 - Add sugar and mix until fully dissolved
5. 4 - Add sweetened tea mixture to jar and fill with filtered water leaving enough room for your starter culture
6. 5 - Ensure temp is not above 85 degrees F and then stir in starter culture
7. 6 - Place SCOBY into jar
8. 7 - Secure coffee filter ono top of jar with rubber band (this keeps the fruit flies out)
9. 8 - Place jar in warm area (75-85 degrees F works best) to ferment
10. 9 - After about 7 days, check for good fermentation and to see if it is done to your liking (tart enough)… This can take up to 21 days
11. Secondary Fermentation
12. 1 - With clean hands, remove SCOBY and place it in a clean container (I use a zip top bag with some kombucha for the next batch)
13. 2 - Using clean thick bottles (beer bottles with flip-top lids work perfect), add flavoring you would like (fruits, herbs, spices, etc.)
14. 3 - Now, using a funnel, fill bottles to within 1-2 inches of the top with you kombucha
15. 4 - Leave bottles at room temperature for one to three days. CO2 will build up inside and carbonate the drink. Be sure to pop the top and let out excess CO2 each day so your bottles don’t explode
16. 5 - Once the carbonation is to your liking, put the bottles in the fridge and enjoy!