Simple Guide To Make Kombucha Tea at Home

Here’s a simple guide to making Kombucha tea at home. The best you’ve ever tasted.

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE SALES LINKS. PLEASE SEE OUR FULL DISCLOSURE POLICY FOR DETAILS

Tart, sweet, and full of healthy probiotics, Kombucha seems to be ever-growing in popularity lately. Frankly speaking, at $3 to $4 a bottle, it’s pretty expensive for something that only requires a few ingredients, most of which you probably already have in your pantry.

So stay with us, because below is a simple guide to making Kombucha tea at home (probably much tastier than store-bought). Jump in!

Simple Guide to Make Kombucha Tea at Home

Ingredients

  • 8 tea bags of black or green tea (*Avoid decaffeinated as well as herbal ones, they just don’t go well together and will spoil the taste of the beverage.)
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 4 quarts of water
  • 2 cups of starter tea (*You can use a previous batch of kombucha or buy a new one from the store, the important thing is that it is non-flavored.)
  • 1 Symbiotic Culture Of Yeast (henceforth: SCOBY)
  • About 2 cups of ice

 Equipment

  • Large glass jar
  • Coffee filter
  • Rubber band
  • Ladle and funnel 

A step-by-step guide to making kombucha tea at home

First Fermentation

Step No. 1: Heat one quart of water on the stove, the water should reach the maximum temperature, but it should not boil. After turning it off, add the tea bags and let it brew for a while in the water. 15 minutes turned out to be perfect for us.

Step No. 2: Remove the tea bags and add sugar to the drink. It is very important to stir for a while, i.e. until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Step No. 3: Add ice, about 2 cups, and then 2 1/2 quarts of cold water. This will help bring the beverage back to room temperature in a much shorter period of time than letting it cool on its own.

Step No. 4: Pour the starter (from the previous batch of kombucha or the purchased one) and SCOBY into the jar. Add the previously prepared beverage to it as well.

Step No. 5: Cover the jar with a coffee filter and secure it firmly with a rubber band. In case you don’t have a filter, a woven cotton kitchen towel will also serve the purpose.

That would be it, the tea should stand at room temperature, out of direct sunlight for about 7-10 days. You may notice that some ingredients have stuck to the bottom, and some may advise you to shake your kombucha, but you want to skip that step.

After the expiration of the period, it is necessary to give it a taste. If you don’t like the taste because the drink is too sweet, let it sit for a few more days. After that, your kombucha tea should be perfectly fine.

If you did everything as you wanted from the first attempt and you like the taste, feel free to bottle it, chill it and enjoy.

Second Fermentation

If you want your drink to take on a fizzy taste, then you have to do the second fermentation process. It’s very simple, don’t be discouraged.

All you have to do is, once it reaches the desired sweetness, pour the kombucha tea into bottles and let it sit at room temperature for another 3-7 days. To make the pouring process easier, don’t hesitate to use a funnel and a ladle, they work really great.

The longer you keep the tea sealed, the fuzzier it will get. Also, be careful as it can fizz up and bubble over once opened.

Lastly

Once you see how simple the process is, trust us, you will be doing it all the time. We tried countless times and we all agree on one thing, it’s pretty easy and straightforward to make.

In the end, we hope that this simple guide to making Kombucha tea at home will be useful to you.

If you have any questions or hesitations related to this topic, don’t hesitate to let us know. Our team would be happy to help you.

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Simple Guide To Make Kombucha Tea at Home

Ingredients

Scale
  • 8 tea bags of black or green tea (*Avoid decaffeinated as well as herbal ones, they just don’t go well together and will spoil the taste of the beverage.)
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 4 quarts of water
  • 2 cups of starter tea (*You can use a previous batch of kombucha or buy a new one from the store, the important thing is that it is non-flavored.)
  • 1 Symbiotic Culture Of Yeast (henceforth: SCOBY)
  • About 2 cups of ice

Equipment

  • Large glass jar
  • Coffee filter
  • Rubber band
  • Ladle and funnel 

Instructions

  1. Heat one quart of water on the stove, the water should reach the maximum temperature, but it should not boil. After turning it off, add the tea bags and let it brew for a while in the water. 15 minutes turned out to be perfect for us.
  2. Remove the tea bags and add sugar to the drink. It is very important to stir for a while, i.e. until the sugar is completely dissolved.
  3. Add ice, about 2 cups, and then 2 1/2 quarts of cold water. This will help bring the beverage back to room temperature in a much shorter period of time than letting it cool on its own.
  4. Pour the starter (from the previous batch of kombucha or the purchased one) and SCOBY into the jar. Add the previously prepared beverage to it as well.
  5. Cover the jar with a coffee filter and secure it firmly with a rubber band. In case you don’t have a filter, a woven cotton kitchen towel will also serve the purpose.
  6. The tea should stand at room temperature, out of direct sunlight for about 7-10 days. You may notice that some ingredients have stuck to the bottom, and some may advise you to shake your kombucha, but you want to skip that step.
  7. After the expiration of the period, it is necessary to give it a taste. If you don’t like the taste because the drink is too sweet, let it sit for a few more days. After that, your kombucha tea should be perfectly fine.
  8. If you did everything as you wanted from the first attempt and you like the taste, feel free to bottle it, chill it and enjoy.

Notes

Second Fermentation

  • If you want your drink to take on a fizzy taste, then you have to do the second fermentation process. It’s very simple, don’t be discouraged.
  • All you have to do is, once it reaches the desired sweetness, pour the kombucha tea into bottles and let it sit at room temperature for another 3-7 days. To make the pouring process easier, don’t hesitate to use a funnel and a ladle, they work really great.
  • The longer you keep the tea sealed, the fuzzier it will get. Also, be careful as it can fizz up and bubble over once opened.

Author’s bio

Karen Rutherford is the founder and editor-in-chief at Cake Decorist. You will often find her in the kitchen trying out some new recipes. As a pâtissière and baking enthusiast, Karen has decided to share her knowledge with the internet audience and provide the best tips and recipes for baking and decorating your favorite sweets.

Save this recipe on Pinterest

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star