How To Make Kombucha Tea At Home: Kombucha Tea Recipe From Scratch

Why To Make Kombucha Tea At Home?

Kombucha tea is a popular and traditional tea in China. Well, this tea is very beneficial as it helps to improve gut health by introducing good bacteria to our body. It is a valuable food for solving digestive issues and supporting the immune system with the help of probiotics and antioxidants.

Not only that, this vital tea is also helpful in the detoxification of the body thereby improving beauty. Also, people use this drink to improve their heart health and balance their pressure levels.

Also, it is expensive to buy this drink every time and with the collection of only a few ingredients at home, you can easily make this drink available anytime.

Considering all these benefits, it can be a thoughtful decision to include this tea in our regular diet. Similarly, making this tea at home is the best option to get effective recipe with continuous availability for a long time.

Basic Kombucha Brewing Method At Home

This is a simple and quite popular method to brew kombucha at home. This method is a simple and effective way to make kombucha with the basic ingredients available in the kitchen.

Ingredients

• Water- About 14 cups
• Tea- 8-10 bags (any tea: black, green, or mix)
• Sugar- 1 cup
• Starter Tea- 1 cup (tea from previous batch)
• SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) - 1 SCOBY (available in the market)

Tools

• Large Pot, Glass Jar, Measuring Cups
• Breathable cloth or paper towel
• Rubber band
• Wooden spoons
• Glass bottle (optional)

Instructions

After collecting all the above ingredients and tools, you should proceed as follows:

1. First of all, you should add 14 cups of water to a large pot and bring it to a rolling boil.
2. Now, you should take the pot out of heat and put 8-10 bags of tea on it. After adding tea, you can let the solution sit for around 10 minutes and then remove the tea bags.
3. Adding sugar to it, you should make sure it dissolves completely in the solution. Take the help of a wooden spoon to stir.
4. Then, you should cool the sweet solution at room temperature. This helps to reduce the risk of damaging the SCOBY.
5. Now, you need to cover the jar with a breathable cloth or paper towel using a rubber band. This allows air to pass inside the jar while preventing dust and insects.

The prepared jar should then be placed in a cold warm temperature of around 21 degrees Celsius for about 1-2 weeks. This fermentation step helps you get a tangier taste. After the fermentation process, you should remove the SCOBY from the jar and make sure you take out 1 cup for the next starter.

After all these steps, you can directly enjoy your kombucha or enjoy it after chilling in the refrigerator. Optionally, you can transfer the kombucha to glass bottles and add some herbs, fruits, and other foods to enhance the flavor.

Continuous Brewing Kombucha Method

Continuous brewing is also an effective method to make kombucha at home. In this method, fresh sweet tea is added continually while being fermented after you have consumed some portion. 

Ingredients

• Water- About 14 cups or 3.5 quarts
• Tea- 8-10 tea bags
• Sugar- 1 cup
• Starter- 1 cup unflavored kombucha
• SCOBY- 1 large SCOBY

Tools

• Large Glass or Ceramic Container with a Spigot - At least 2-gallon capacity, no metal spigot (for fermenting)
• Paper towel or breathable cloth
• large pot
• Rubber band
• Wooden Spoon

Instructions

After collecting the required ingredients and tools, follow the instructions below to make kombucha at home:

1. Boil 14 cups of water in a large pot and then dip tea around 8-10 tea bags. Now, remove them after 10 minutes of dipping and stir 1 cup of sugar. After the mixture has become sweet, you need to allow it to cool at the from temperature.
2. Now, pour that cooled solution into a ceramic container or glass and then add 1 cup of starter. Then, you need to add SCOBy on the top.

After fermenting for 7 to 14 days, you should tap off 25-50 % of the kombucha tea from the spigot. Again refill the container with fresh sweet tea solution. This makes the fermentation process continuous.

The Scoby will continuously convert the tea to kombucha. However, you should break the SCOBY into pieces if it grows very large during the process.

Second Fermentation Method

In this method, after the kombucha is ready, you can add herbs, spices, and fruits to it and let the mixture ferment for 2-3 days more. This unique method is termed second fermentation. You can easily use this method with the help of the instructions below:

Ingredients

• Finished Kombucha- unflavored starter
• Flavoring Agents- fruits, herbs, spices

Tools

• Glass bottles with tightly sealed lids
• Funnel
• Strainer
• Measuring cup
• Spoon or muddler
• Knife and cutting board

Instructions

1. While using herbs, fruits, and spices, you need to clean them and cut them into even sizes with the help of a knife and cutting board.
2. Now, it is time to use a funnel for pouring the kombucha from the first fermentation into the glass bottles. It is necessary to leave an inch of space at the top of the bottle for carbonation.
3. After that, you should kindly seal the bottle with a lid or cover. This helps to trap carbonation.
4. Then, you need the let the bottles in the room temperature for 2-5 days. Interestingly, as longer you keep the bottles the more tangier and carbonated they will become.

Once you have achieved your desired taste in kombucha, you can put the bottles in the refrigerator. This is done to slow down the fermentation process as keeping them at room temperature causes more carbonation and tanginess.

Finally, your kombucha bliss is ready. You can enjoy it chilled. However, you should carefully open the lid as there is a high chance that it will appear fizzy, and can create spills.

With this method, you can get the best flavored kombucha at home.

Green Tea Method

Besides above-mentioned methods, you can also go for other easy methods. These alternatives are easier and consume less time. One such method is the green tea method. In this method, green tea is used as a base for brewing instead of common black tea.

Well, the use of green tea definitely makes your kombucha healthy and refreshing.

Ingredients

• Water (14 cups)
• Green Tea- 8-10 bags
• Sugar 1 cup
• Starter tea 1 cup
• SCOBY

Tools

• Large pot
• Glass jar
• Bottles
• Rubber bands
• Paper towels or breathable towels

Instructions

1. To start this method, first of all, you should take a large pot and bring 14 cups of water to a boil. Then, remove the heat and add 8-10 bags of green tea to that pot.
2. After that, you should let the mixture be for about 10 minutes and after that remove the tea bags. Also, you need to add a cup of sugar and stir the mixture well.
3. Just like in earlier methods, you should let the mixture cool at room temperature to prevent the possible damage of scoby.
4. then, you should pour the mixture in a glass jar or container, and use whatever you have.
5. Finally, it's time to add a starter (1 cup from previous fermentation). Then, put Scoby on the top of the jar.
6. After doing that, you should move to the next step which is putting a breathable cloth or paper towel on the jar using a rubber band.

Now, you need to place the jar in a warm dark place in a temperature range of 21-24 degrees Celsius for about 7-14 days. Check the taste of kombucha, if it is tangy and looks fermented properly, you need to take 1 cup for a starter and then pour the other in the safe bottle. You can immediately enjoy that or enjoy it after chilling in the refrigerator. To enhance the flavor, you can add herbs, spices, and fruits. If you are doing so then let the kombucha and added things properly ferment for 2-3 days.

Black Tea Method

The black tea kombucha method is a common, simple, and effective method that you can try at home from scratch. When we talk about kombucha, actually we have been talking about this method. Using black tea is very common in kombucha and it works as a brewing base.

Ingredients

• Water 14 cups
• Sugar 1 cup
• 1 cup starter
• Black tea 8-10 bags
• SCOBY

Tools Required

• Large pot
• Glass jar
• Breathable cloth or paper towel
• wooden spoon
• Bottles

Instructions

1. First, you should take a large pot and pour 14 cups of water into it. Boil it until it gets a rolling boil and remove the heat.
2. Then, you need to add black tea bags and let them leave color for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, kindly remove the bags.
3. Now, add 1 cup of sugar and stir with a wooden spoon until sugar dissolves completely in the solution. Then, you need to cool down the sweet solution at room temperature. 
4. After that, you should pour the mixture into a glass jar. Also, you need to be careful if you are using a clean and soap-free jar to avoid fermentation spoilage. 
5. Then, add 1 cup of starter and place SCOBY on the top of the jar. Gently cover the jar with a paper towel or breathable cloth. 

Finally, it is time to start the fermentation process. For that place the jar in a cool dark place and let it be there for 7-14 days. The longer you keep it in fermentation the tangier the kombucha becomes. Enjoy your kombucha chilled and fresh.

How Long Does It Take To Make Kombucha At Home?

There are many ways to perfectly make kombucha at home and people can use any method as per their comfort. Normally, it takes 7-30 days when you try to make this drink at home. Actually, the duration varies according to the method you choose and the flavor you desire.

The time duration required for each process is mentioned below:

• First Fermentation: The actual time required for the first fermentation is 7-14 days. During it's time, the drink becomes slightly tangy and fizzy.
• Second Fermentation: It is done for about 2-5 days only after adding the herbs, fruits, and spices of your choice to enhance the flavor.
• Refrigeration: After your kombucha is ready, you can enjoy this immediately but for the chilled experience, you can keep it in the refrigerator for several hours to 1 day.
• Storage: Storing kombucha is a brilliant way to enjoy this anytime in the future. You can deep freeze this and can use it for up to 8 months.

Additional Tips

Kombucha tea can be made at home following any method described above. However, the following useful tips help you get the best result, have a look:

• To make your kombucha last long and give effective results, you should use mineral water or fresh water instead of chlorinated water. Chlorine often spoils the Scoby.
• While choosing ingredients such as tea bags, herbs, and fruits, make sure you pick quality ingredients.
• You may not know this, the hot water solution can kill scoby, so it is necessary to cool the sweet water before placing it on the glass jar.
• Always pick the strong Scooby and starter to get an effective result. 
• It is necessary to use clean utensils, jars, and bottles. If you use soapy utensils, there is a high chance the Scoby and soap chemicals react and form something undesired.
• It is also necessary that you have the patience and let the fermentation happen properly. Checking the taste every day may hamper the taste as well as there is a high chance that insects and bacteria can enter the jar.