1-½ litres boiling water
¾ cup Chelsea Organic Raw Sugar
4 bags of green or brown tea (or) 1 tablespoon of green or brown loose leaf tea
1x Scoby (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast) and 2 cups of pre-made kombucha

Special equipment
Jar (2 litre)
2x 750ml Clean glass bottles
Cheese cloth or paper towel
Rubber band

Pour boiling water over Chelsea Organic Raw Sugar and tea in the jar. Stir well to help dissolve the sugar. Let the sweet tea brew and cool. Once the tea is cold, strain to remove the tea leaves. At this stage, add the scoby and pre-made kombucha to the tea with clean hands.

Cover the mouth of the jar with a couple layers of cheese cloth or paper towel secured with a rubber band. Keep the fermenting kombucha at room temperature, out of direct sunlight where it won’t get disturbed. Leave to ferment for 7-10 days, checking periodically.

After 7 days, begin tasting the kombucha daily. When it reaches the balance of sweetness and tartness that is pleasing to you, the kombucha is ready to bottle.

With clean hands, gently lift the scoby out and pour off two cups of kombucha for your next batch and setaside.

2nd Ferment:
Strain the tea into a measuring pouring jug. (sometimes there are other bits and pieces in the tea). Pour into 750ml bottles about ¾ full. Add 1 teaspoon of finely grated ginger for each bottle. Place the lid on the bottles and store it away from direct sunlight (i.e. in a cupboard). Allow to ferment again for 1-3 days for the kombucha to carbonate. Once carbonated to your liking, strain the ginger out, re-bottle and place in fridge ready to enjoy. Kombucha will keep for several weeks in fridge.

Now that you know the basic recipe, you can experiment with different teas and different flavours. Try flavouring with berries or apple. Enjoy your Kombucha!

Recipe republished from realitybitesrangiora.co.nz