Kombucha tea has been around for about 2,000 years now. Chinese people refer to it as “the Immortal Health Elixir” because of the many health benefits it offers. Kombucha is made from sweetened tea; only it is fermented by a colony of bacteria and yeast.

The flavor of this tea is somewhat interesting. You’d be able to taste the original sweet tea flavor but the acidic, vinegar-like flavor definitely kicks in.

It is available at most health food stores but if you are interested in making kombucha tea at home, read the tips below:

1. Some people prefer using low-grade teas as they end up tasting better than more expensive teas. Do not use teas containing oils (E.g. bergamot oils in Earl Grey) because they can harm your bacterial host: the kombucha fungi. The kombucha culture is a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY). Some of the best teas to use are echinacea, green, black, oolong, red, white and herbal tea.
2. If you are sensitive to caffeine, you can use decaffeinated tea. You can also try this trick: let your regular tea steep in the cup of hot water for 60 seconds then discard the water. Use the teabags to make your kombucha tea. About 80% to 90% of the caffeine will be released by doing this method.
3. DO NOT wash your hands with an antibacterial soap before making kombucha tea. Doing so can destroy the good bacteria produced by the culture. Just wash your hands with hot water or use plain vinegar to wash your hands as well as the materials you’ll be using. You may want to use non-latex gloves when touching the culture directly.
4. For kombucha tea, refined white sugar works great but you can also use organic evaporated cane juice. Raw sugars are not recommended because they are difficult for the SCOBY to digest. Do not use raw honey either; its anti-microbial properties can kill the culture.
5. Use a big mason jar or any wide-mouthed glass jar as your brewing container. Most people like using a sun tea container. Stay away from plastic containers because they can leach into the kombucha. Metals are not good either because they can corrode or damage the SCOBY.
6. You don’t need to sterilize the jar. Just wash the container with dish soap, hot water and a little white vinegar or ACV. Don’t use bleach to clean your jars.
7. When adding culture to the tea, put the jar somewhere warm and dark. The temperature should be between 70F and 86F. Colder temperatures will make the culture grow slowly.
8. Kombucha tea is healthy for everyone in the family. Yes, even the kids can drink it! You can flavor the tea by adding strawberries, lemons, peaches, apple or pineapple or whatever fruit you prefer.

Recipe

Here is a recipe given to me by my dear friend, Nancy Linsley. She is an expert kombucha maker and hers tastes delicious. Better than any store bought you can find. I was fortunate as she has SCOBY that she has been using for many years and she shared her SCOBY with me so that I can make my own.

Place SCOBY in large jar and get to room temperature. Meanwhile, boil 16 cups of water. When it comes to a boil, take off the burner and add 1 cup sugar (not raw, brown or honey) add 4 bags of tea (she uses 2 green and 2 black). Stir and bring to room temperature.

Pour into jar with SCOBY and cover with cheesecloth or dish towel & rubber band.

Leave in pantry or cool place for 3 weeks- less for warmer temperatures.

At that time, take out the SCOBY and put it in the fridge with a little bit of liquid for the next batch.

Pour the kombucha into jars with flavor/fruit of your choice and place lids onto the jars.

Leave 5 days in the pantry, or whatever cool place you have available.

Then remove the thick layer from the top and place jars of kombucha in the fridge, ready to enjoy.

Let me know how yours turns out!

Where to buy SCOBY if you don’t have a friend like Nancy…

Fermentaholics: fermentaholics.com
Iherb: iherb.com
Amazon: look up scoby kombucha starter