Things/tools you will need:

a big glass jar, as your brewing vessel

* the recipe I follow makes 16 cups of kombucha per 1 cup of starter tea
* if your brewing vessel cannot contain 16 cups of liquid, it’s ok, just adjust the recipe
proportions

a piece of (preferably white) cotton cloth, to cover the mouth of the jar with

an elastic band, for sealing the cloth unto the jar

a funnel, for when you pour out the finished product from the jar

glass bottles with plastic caps, to store your kombucha tea in

* metal caps will rust because kombucha is acidic
* if you don’t have glass bottles on hand, you can buy here: https://unlipack.com/

OPTIONAL:
a thermometer
a pH meter

This is the recipe I follow:

INGREDIENTS:

16 cups of filtered (or boiled) water

12 tea bags or 24 grams loose tea leaves

* I use Lipton black tea
* you can also use green, oolong, or
white tea, but NOT herbal teas or tea
leaves mixed with oils such as Earl Grey

1.5 cups of white sugar

* you cannot substitute this with any
other type of sugar

From your starter kit:

125 ml starter tea

1 scoby disc

BREWING:

1. boil 8 cups of water, add tea bags, and steep for 10 minutes (off boil)
2. mix the tea water with another 8 cups of water then add 1.5 cups of white sugar

3. wait until the sweet tea mixture is 90◦F or until it doesn’t feel warm anymore (room temperature)
* too hot and you will kill the SCOBY

4. when the temperature is just right, slip the SCOBY in and add the starter tea
*shake the bottle of starter tea first so the yeast-y things at the bottom are mixed in

5. cover your brewing vessel with a piece of cotton cloth and seal with an elastic band
* make sure there’s no possibility of fruit flies wriggling their way in – they’re attracted to the vinegar-y
smell

6. if it moves you, set your intentions on the kombucha

7. store your brewing vessel in a dark place, away from sunlight, like in a kitchen cabinet but make sure
that it’s not musty in there, fermentation should be completed in 7 to 14 days
* you know it’s ready when it starts smelling vinegar-y, starting around Day 7; however, if the weather’s
been cool for a few days, the fermentation may take longer, up to 14 days
* at Day 6 or 7, you can start tasting your kombucha – personally, I prefer an acidic booch
* pH should be in the range of 2.7 to 3.5 (when it's ready)

HARVESTING:

1. take out the SCOBY disc (which may have floated at the top of the brewing vessel) and set aside in a
clean container

2. STIR the brew so that the yeast-y particles at the bottom get properly mixed in and set aside 1 cup –
this will be your starter tea for your next batch

3. using a funnel, pour the brew into clean glass bottles

* at this point, you have 2 options:

1. seal the bottles and store the brew in the refrigerator – drink within 3-4 months or else it will
become too sour

2. go through a second fermentation process where you can add fresh fruit juices and spices to
flavor and carbonate your booch so that it will be fizzy like soda!

SECOND FERMENTATION:

1. mix in fresh fruit juices in the brew – around 1/10 of the total volume, but really, it’s all up to you
* some that I’ve tried: mango, calamansi, lemon, ginger, apple, orange (you can also mix and match
them!)

2. with the bottles sealed tight, store in an enclosed dark place to ferment for another 2-4 days
* as the brew continues to ferment, it will also carbonate the liquid as gas gets trapped
* this hasn't happened to me but there are stories of glass bottles exploding because they've been left
out to ferment for too long (a week or more) and/or the place where they were stored in was too hot,
so as a precaution, keep the bottles in an enclosed space

3. after 2-4 days, transfer bottles to the refrigerator for storage

Tips & reminders:

* sterilize ALL equipment that you will use – after washing your tools, you can pour boiling water on
them and let them sit for a few minutes

* do not move your brewing vessel around so much or at all, allow it to sit undisturbed until it’s time to
check if it’s ready (like when you taste/check for acidity level and preferred tartness on eg. Day 6 and
onwards)

* leave around 2 inches between the cloth cover and the liquid in the brewing vessel to avoid possible
contamination