Making Kombucha with Dawn Donalson

How to Brew 1-Gallon of Kombucha

What is Kombucha?

So first off, let’s talk about what kombucha is. Kombucha is a fermented tea. Fermentation is one of the most antique methods of food preservation. It’s creating an environment for good bacteria to thrive. With veggies, the salt or whey does this.

With kombucha, the SCOBY is the key! SCOBY stands for Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast.

How to Brew 1-Gallon of Kombucha

1. Boil 6 cups of filtered, non-chlorinated water combined with 1 cup of sugar. Take the pot off of the heat and soak 3 tbsp. of black, loose-leaf tea in the hot water for 10+ minutes. Stir.

2. Strain the tea into a 1-gallon glass vessel. Add room temperature filtered, non-chlorinated water into your vessel until you reach its neck.

3. Add your SCOBY along with 1-2 cups of starter kombucha into your 1-gallon vessel. Never mix your SCOBY with hot or even warm tea; let it cool to room temperature or you will kill your SCOBY.

4. Cover your vessel with a breathable covering for 7-10 days (use non-dyed fabric; not cheesecloth, which will allow fruit flies in). Start tasting at 7 days. When it’s not too sweet, but not vinegary tasting, it’s ready! If it starts to get a little vinegary tasting, don’t wait… it will get very vinegary, very quickly (especially if it’s warm in the room).

5. When your kombucha is ready, remove the SCOBY into a bowl. If it’s nicely fermented, it will get nice and fizzy as you stir. Pour 1-2 cups of the fluid in with the SCOBY, for your next batch.

6. Pour the remaining kombucha into a glass pitcher or into glass bottles. Enjoy!

7. Repeat steps 1-6 for your next batch