Homemade Kombucha

• Place the loose-leaf tea or tea bags in a large teapot and pour the 6 cups of boiling water over the tea leaves or bags.
• Steep the tea for about 20 minutes, then stir in the sugar until dissolved.
• Allow the tea to cool to room temperature. Remove the tea bags or pour the tea through a sieve to remove the leaves.
• Pour the tea into a half-gallon jar, then place the scoby in the tea. (It’s okay if the scoby sinks; it will typically float up in a couple of days.) Add the 1/2 cup of kombucha from a previous batch to the jar (this helps the culture get going quicker). Top with room-temperature filtered water until just before the jar narrows at the top.
• Cover with cheesecloth, a tea towel, or a paper towel and secure with a rubber band. Allow to ferment at room temperature and out of direct sunlight for 14 to 17 days
• With clean hands, remove the scoby from the jar and start a new culture by following the directions above (remembering to add 1/2 cup of this batch to the new batch of kombucha). Stir the remaining kombucha, pour into bottles or jars and place in the refrigerator (or follow the directions below for an optional second fermentation).

Optional Second Fermentation – to flavor your kombucha or to increase the fizziness of unflavored kombucha.

• If making flavored kombucha, place up to 3 tablespoons of a flavoring liquid such as lemon or other fruit juice or ginger juice in each 12 to 16 ounce bottle. Slice fresh ginger and fruits and whole spices like cinnamon bark or cloves can be added to the bottles as well. Otherwise have empty bottles on hand for unflavored kombucha.
• Pour the stirred kombucha into the bottles. Tighten the caps on the bottles and allow to ferment at room temperature and out of direct sunlight for 3 to 5 days.
• Store the flavored kombucha in the refrigerator until you are ready to enjoy it.