Kombucha from a SCOBY

Equipment

• Large pot or kettle
• Clean 1-gallon glass brewing jar
• Clean tightly woven cloth and rubber band
• Food-safe pH meter
• Pressure-rated flip-top bottles

Instructions

1. 1

   Bring 4 cups of the water to a boil. Remove from the heat, add the tea bags, and steep for 10 minutes. Remove the tea, stir in the sugar until dissolved, then add the remaining water.

   ⏱ 15 min

2. 2

   Cool the sweet tea completely to room temperature. Hot tea can damage the culture. Pour it into the clean brewing jar, then add the starter kombucha and SCOBY with clean hands.

   ⏱ 60 min

3. 3

   Cover the jar with tightly woven cloth secured by a rubber band. Ferment out of direct sunlight at 64 to 79 F for 7 to 14 days, tasting with a clean utensil after day 7.

   ⏱ 10080 min

4. 4

   A new SCOBY may look like a smooth pale film. Fuzzy blue, gray, green, brown, or black patches are mold. If any mold appears, discard the SCOBY and all liquid without tasting and thoroughly clean the vessel.

   ⏱ 2 min

5. 5

   When the kombucha is pleasantly tart, verify that its pH is below 4.5. If it remains at or above 4.5, do not bottle or drink it. Continue fermenting and retest, or discard it if acidity does not develop normally.

   ⏱ 5 min

6. 6

   Reserve the SCOBY and 2 cups kombucha for the next batch. For a second ferment, divide the remaining kombucha among pressure-rated bottles, add up to 2 tablespoons pasteurized juice per 16-ounce bottle, and leave 1 to 2 inches of headspace.

   ⏱ 10 min

7. 7

   Close the bottles and leave them at room temperature for only 1 to 3 days. Open each bottle carefully once a day over a sink to release carbon dioxide. Longer warm storage can build enough pressure to burst a bottle.

   ⏱ 1440 min

8. 8

   Refrigerate the bottles as soon as the carbonation is sufficient. Keep them cold, open them slowly while pointed away from people, and never give kombucha to anyone who should avoid trace alcohol or unpasteurized fermented drinks.

   ⏱ 2 min