Kombucha brewers, come on in!

[Anonymous]

Yes, I realize I'm late to the game, but I'd really like to learn to brew my own kombucha at home. Would love any and all advice on what supplies I should get and how to make it taste good so I don't have to spend $4 a bottle at Whole Foods.

[Anonymous]

It's easy peasy. There are a ton of resources online and on youtube to guide you, but here's the gist.

Start with very few supplies until you really get started and know you're going o continue.

Supplies:
- Brewing vessel: a one gallon jug of some sort should be enough to get you started. Does not need a lid. YOu can pick this up on amazon, target, any household supply store really.
- 2nd ferment bottles: If you drink kombucha regularly you can just keep those botthes and reuse until you discover you need/want more. If you do, 16oz swing top bottles work well (but are a bit tough to clean so I actually like to reuse GT bottles).

Process:
1. Take a bottle of original GT kombucha and pour it into your jar. Cover with a cloth to keep out bugs and dust. Leave at room temp (70-75 degrees) and let sit for 10-14 days to grow your 1st. scoby.
2. Remove your kombucha and scoby from brewing vessel and set aside in another clean bowl or jar. Wash vessel.
3. Brew your tea. I use loose leaf tea and use 4 tbs of organic black tea in 24 oz of boiling water for 10-15 min. Once your tea has steeped, add it to your brewing vessel.
4. While your tea is still hot add 1 c white sugar and stir to disolve.
5. Add about 10 cups of cold water to your brewing vessel and stir to combine
6. Once your tea has cooled to below 90 dgrees add back your scoby and the store bought kombucha.
7. Cover your brewing vessel and let sit at room temp 7 - 30 days, depending on how strong you like it. The longer it sits, the tangier it will be. Taste periodically and once it has the tang you like it's time for 2nd fermentation.
8. Decide on what flavors you want and add those to your individual jars (berries, lemon, ginger, fruits, spiece, etc). Individual jars should be airtight with lid. A good rule of thumb is about 1/5 flavor to 4/5 tea.
9. Let sit at room temp for 3-5 days. Gas will build up so you'll need to 'burp' them periodically (1-2x a day).
10. Once they are at the flavor strength you like, refrigerate and enjoy.