How to make Kombucha Tea

Making kombucha is fairly simple and is one of the easier "bugs" I have around my house and care for.  Due to the popularity of it in my circle of friends, I make a 4 gallon batch.  However, I will post a recipe for a smaller batch as well.

What you will need for a 1 gallon batch of kombucha tea:
-1 gallon glass container (food grade plastic is also ok, however it will need to be replaced every now and then)
-cloth (I use a kitchen towel)
-rubberband to secure cloth
-plastic or wooden spoon
-4 tea bags (black, white, green, or oolong tea)
-kombucha mushroom
-either 4 TBSP apple cider vinegar or 1 cup of kombucha tea from the previous batch
-1 cup of white sugar (organic is also ok, however, stay away from other forms of sweetener)

How to make a 1 gallon batch of Kombucha:
-Heat 1 gallon of filtered water to 190 degrees F (or tea temperature)
-Add 1 cup of white sugar and 4 tea bags
-Allow the tea bags to steep for 5-10 minutes and stir to dissolve sugar
-Cover with plastic wrap and cool to room temperature (no higher than 90 degrees)
-Once cooled, pour into glass container and add: kombucha mushroom and either 1 cup of kombucha tea from previous batch or 4 TBSP of apple cider vinegar.
-Cover with cloth and secure with rubber band
-Leave undisturbed for 7 days.  After 7 days try a little of the tea.  If it is still really sweet, leave it for a few more days.  If it is really sour, brew it for fewer days the next time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What you will need for a 4 gallon batch of kombucha tea:
-5 gallon glass container or a 5 gallon food grade plastic bucket
-For easy pouring, attach a spout on the bottom of the bucket (you can find them at almost any homebrew store)
-cloth (I use a kitchen towel)
-rubberband to secure cloth
-plastic or wooden spoon
-16 tea bags (black, white, green, or oolong tea)
-kombucha mushroom
-4 cups of kombucha tea from the previous batch
-4 cups of white sugar (organic is also ok, however, stay away from other forms of sweetener)


How to make 4 gallons of Kombucha: 
-Heat 1 1/2 gallons of filtered water to 190 degrees F.
-Add 16 tea bags (lately I've been doing 8 green tea and 8 black tea)
-Add 4 cups of white sugar and stir to dissolve sugar
-After letting the tea bags steep, remove the tea bags
-Add 2 1/2 gallons of filtered water (this should cool it down to below 85 degrees, if not wait until it is completely cool before moving on to the next step)
-Add tea to food grade bucket along with kombucha mushroom and leftover tea
Note: I use a food grade bucket I got from Home Depot.  
-Cover with a towel and secure with a rubberband
-Leave undisturbed for 7 days.  After 7 days try a little of the tea.  If it is still really sweet, leave it for a few more days.  If it is really sour, brew it for fewer days the next time.
Note: My kitchen is a little cool so my tea usually takes 14 days.  Ideally I'd like to keep my kombucha around 75-85 degrees and ferment for 7-10 days.

If your water isn't clean, you can boil it.   However, don't add the tea bags until it is around 190 degrees F.

My kombucha mushroom and some tea from the previous batch

My tea is now ready to ferment.  The kombucha mother will create a "baby" every time you brew and another batch.

Things to remember:
-Sanitize all pieces of equipment with white distilled vinegar and water
-Never place kombucha in hot tea. It will kill it.
-Don't use herbal tea (it doesn't have the necessary nutrients for the mushroom)
-Don't use tap water, the chlorine will kill the kombucha mushroom

Stay tuned on how to grow your own kombucha mushroom from a commercial bottle!