Kombucha tea seems to be all the craze lately. This healthy beverage is sold in a variety of flavors in stores and people have also taken to making their own at home. Learning your own kombucha recipe will save you trips to the store and will give you the liberty to brew a batch your way; you can make your tea with an assortment of flavors and can tweak the sweetness according to your tastes. Kombucha tea not only keeps you healthy but allows you to be your very own tea brewmaster.
How To Make Kombucha Tea
This simple kombucha recipe requires more waiting than ingredients, but the end of the fermentation process will leave you with a delicious, healthy beverage.
What You'll Need
- 8 green tea bags OR 2 tablespoons of loose leaf green tea
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 gallon of clean water
- 1 SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast)
- 1 cup of starter tea OR vinegar
- A clean gallon-size glass jar
- Wooden spoon
- Cheesecloth
Steps
- Boil the water. Remove from heat and then mix the hot water and sugar into the glass jar. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Place the tea bags into the jar and leave it to steep until the water cools completely.
- Once the tea has cooled, remove the bags or strain all the loose leaf tea from the jar.
- Add the cup of starter tea or vinegar.
- Add your SCOBY to the mixture with your wooden spoon. You can also carefully use your hands so long as they're thoroughly clean.
- Cover your jar with the cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band.
- Let your mixture ferment for 7 - 10 days out of direct sunlight.
- After the fermentation process, pour the kombucha out into a bottle with an airtight lid.
Additional Ingredients
You can always alter your kombucha recipe however you like with desired flavorings. You can add a piece of peppermint candy to your tea or you can add ginger for added taste. Some people enjoy using slices of orange or sweetening their tea with some honey. Depending on your personal tastes, you may also add some other fruits to your tea for various flavors.
If you're not a fan of green tea you can also use tea bags of white, black or oolong tea.
Altering a kombucha recipe to best fit your personal preferences is a terrific way to brew your own special brand of tea. After just one week, you'll be able to sip on your new favorite drink and it's one that you will have created yourself!