Unflavoured kombucha
This recipe (aka the first fermentation) will produce a batch of unflavoured kombucha. This can be drunk as it is or flavoured during a second fermentation.
Servings: 2 litres
Equipment
- 3 litre brewing vessel
- Cotton cloth
Ingredients
- 4 teabags black, green or white (see note 1)
- 2 litres water
- 150 grams white sugar caster or granulated is fine
- 200 millilitres starter tea either store bought or from a previous batch if doing the continuous brew method
- 1 SCOBY optional
Instructions
- Add your teabags to a jug and pour over 2 litres of boiling water.
- Let the tea steep for 5-10 minutes depending on how strong you want the final flavour of tea to be.
- Remove the tea bags and stir in the sugar.
- Keep stirring until all of the sugar has dissolved.
- Let the sweetened tea cool until it is roughly 20C (68F).
- Pour the sweetened tea into your brewing vessel before adding the starter tea and the SCOBY if you have one.
- Cover your brewing vessel with the cotton cloth and secure with a loose lid or a rubber band.
- Leave to ferment for at least 7 days before tasting - in this time a new SCOBY may begin to form over the top of the tea, this is perfectly normal.
- The kombucha is ready to bottle and/or flavour when the balance of sweet and sour is exactly to your liking! Depending on the time of year and the size of your SCOBY this can take between 1 week and 1 month.
- Decant into bottles and either flavour or refrigerate until ready to drink.
Notes
Note 1:
If you'd prefer to use loose-leaf tea that's fine, just make sure you remove all of the tea leaves before adding to the starter liquid and SCOBY.