Kombucha at Home

A recipe

Sweet tea, a living culture, and a week of patience. Plain how-to — nothing mystical, just fermentation.

You need

Black or green tea bags4White sugar1 cup (200 g)Filtered water3.5 litresA SCOBY with starter liquid1, plus 2 cupsA wide glass jar4 litreA cloth and a rubber band1 each

Do · 1 of 2

Boil a litre of the water, steep the tea for ten minutes, remove the bags, dissolve the sugar.

Add the rest of the water, cold, until the tea is room temperature. Warm tea kills the culture.

Pour into the jar. Add the starter liquid, then float the SCOBY on top. It may sink. That’s fine.

Do · 2 of 2

Cover with cloth, band it, and put it somewhere warm and out of direct sun. Leave it alone for seven days.

Taste from day seven with a clean straw. Tart enough? Bottle it. Too sweet? Give it two more days.

Save two cups and the SCOBY for the next batch. It grows a new layer each time.

Watch for

Fuzzy or coloured mould means throw everything out and start again. Brown stringy bits and a new white skin are normal. A vinegar smell is normal. Anything green, black, or fuzzy is not. If you are pregnant, immune-compromised, or unsure, ask a doctor before drinking home ferments.

Keep

In the fridge, bottled, up to a month. Burp the bottles if you added fruit — they build pressure.

Now

Cover it, and leave it be. The work is happening where you can’t see it.

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