Kombucha

Author: Stephanie

Fill a kettle with water and bring it to a boil.
Put 1 cup of cane sugar in a gallon size jar and pour the boiling water over it. It doesn't need to fill the whole jar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Place the 6 tea bags into the jar and let the tea brew for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes remove the tea bags from the jar and fill the gallon jar the remainder of the way with room temperature water.
The next step is to make sure your sweet tea is back to body temperature before pouring it into a gallon Anchor Hocking jar (or any wide mouthed gallon jar) with your SCOBY and starter. Every scoby should come with a little starter liquid for your first batch of kombucha. After that you will use some of your homemade kombucha with the scoby to start new batches.
Cover with a cloth and rubber band and let it ferment on the counter for 7-10 days.
After 7-10 days, make sure you have clean hands and remove the SCOBY with 2 ladles of kombucha to start a new batch. Pour the rest of the plain kombucha in a container to keep in the fridge to drink or do a second fermentation process with fruit juice or just fruit.
To do a second ferment, add juice or fruit to your kombucha in half gallon or gallon jars. Place a lid and ring on your jar so it is airtight and let sit on your counter for 2 more days. You may have to "burp" your jar, by crack the lid and then screwing it back down, every once in a while if the gases get too built up. Strain any fruit or particles and place in fridge to chill.