Kombucha

I like to brew kombucha using two large jars, rather than one. First, it makes handling easier, as a gallon of liquid in a glass jar is rather unwieldy. Second, because the level of the kombucha is lower in each jar, it increases the size of the scoby, which I have found makes it more productive. The mouth of my jars is about half the diameter of the jar itself, so that doesn’t leave a lot of room for oxygen exposure if I fill them closer to the brim, and brewing takes much longer. Third, I always have a backup scoby to share or if I want to do some experimentation, like changing teas or sweetener, without risking having to grow a new one.

Prep:

Ingredients:

1 liter water (not tap), plus 11 cups fresh, cold water

2/3 cup sugar, divided

8 black or green tea bags. Plain, unflavored, tea is the only way to begin. Flavor can be added after the first brewing.

4 cups plain kombucha (homemade or store bought, unflavored or original only)

1 or 2 scobys - one large scoby can be split in half, or use one for each jar

Tools:

2 glass 1-gallon jars

Fine-mesh sieve (if you like your kombucha filtered)

2 chopsticks (if your teabags have strings, makes removal easier)

Wooden or stainless steel spoon

Freshly cleaned fine-weave fabric, like t-shirt or linen. Cheesecloth holes are too large.

Rubber bands

Kettle

Process:

• Wash the jars, sieve, and any other utensils you plan to use in hot, soapy, water and dry with a clean towel. Or run them through the dishwasher and proceed.

• Boil the liter of water in a kettle or saucepan and divide between both jars. I eyeball it, it doesn’t have to be exactly equal.

• Dissolve 1/3 cup sugar in each jar of hot water, using a wooden spoon or by swirling the jar until the sugar dissolves.

• Place 4 tea bags in each jar. If your tea bags have string, remove any paper tags first, and you can tie the string to a chopstick for easier removal after brewing. If not, just use a large spoon.

• Steep tea for 5 minutes, and remove bags.

• Add 5 1/2 cups cold water to each jar.

• Add 2 cups kombucha to each jar.

• Place a scoby (or piece of one, at least 4-ish inches in diameter) in each jar.

• Cover the mouth of both jars with fabric, securing with a rubber band.

• Brew on the counter from 7-14 days. Use a clean spoon to taste a sample from each jar at 7, 10, and 14 days.

Ready to Brew:

• After a week or two, the kombucha will be ready to bottle when bubbles are active in the jar. They may be tiny, you can shine a flashlight (thanks iPhone) through the jar and see them traveling upward toward the scoby to be sure it’s doing what it should. The time for bottling will depend on your climate, the strength and size of your scoby, and the strength of your kombucha.

• Kombucha may be bottled into clean, glass, bale-top bottles (1 liter and 16 oz. are my favorite sizes, IKEA has the best prices, Amazon is also a good source).