How to Brew Your Own Kombucha

I'm a huge fan of brewing my own kombucha, so this was a post that was bound to happen eventually. Being a homebrew kombucha evangelist means that I get a lot of questions about the process, so here, I'm writing it all down for you.

Let's start by talking about SCOBYs and where mine came from. Without a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast. YUM) fermentation doesn't take place, kombucha doesn't happen, and you're left with little more than a gallon of sweet tea. SCOBYs are important. They're also kind of gross-looking. Mine is named Velma (seriously). I love Velma, and I grew her all by myself, from a bottle of my favorite local kombucha brew. I simply made a scant batch of tea (more on that later), doubled the recommended amount of sugar and left Velma alone for a few weeks to grow.

...and she did! See below (Velma has also been separated into Velma AND Thelma, who also brews excellent kombucha)

Ingredients 
   1 gallon purified water (not unfiltered tap water)
   1 cup white sugar
   6 tea bags (I rotate between green, black and oolong teas--avoid artificially flavors)
   SCOBY + approximately 1 cup of leftover kombucha

Supplies
   1 gallon glass jar (not plastic)
   fabric to cover the jar's opening

Directions

1. Make sure that everything you are planning to use for this project is well-cleaned. 
2. Bring purified water to a boil in a pot or kettle, then pour into your large glass container. Add sugar and tea bags. Steep the tea between 5 to 15 minutes. Do not allow to steep too long. Allow your tea to cool to room temperature before continuing--failure to do so could kill your SCOBY *sadface*. Cooling a large volume of tea takes an exceptionally long time, usually overnight.
3. Once your tea is fully cooled, drop your SCOBY and left over kombucha into the tea mixture. Cover with fabric, and store somewhere warm. Forget about your kombucha for a week. 
4. After a week or so (longer if you're beginning the process from a bottle of kombucha. Be patient  check on your kombucha. If it smells like kombucha, you're ready to bottle. You can also taste the brew, but I find that simply sniffing works perfectly well to determine whether it's finished. 

I bottle my kombucha in clean mason jars. I simply ladle the brew into the jars, passing it through a small handheld mesh strainer to catch some of the wayward cultures (a funnel is also helpful). Make sure that you're leaving enough kombucha in your large container to keep your SCOBY covered; it can dry out and die otherwise. This is also the point at which you can add fruits or other flavors (my favorite is slices of fresh ginger). 

After I've bottled and put lids on, I leave my kombucha out overnight to get nice and fizzy. Kombucha is naturally carbonated, but it won't get super fizzy in the fridge. Once you've reached your desired level of bubbliness, store your brew in the fridge and enjoy! 

Having said all of that, feel free to ask any questions! I've been brewing for two (or more?) years now, so I have a fair amount of experience and am happy to help convert you to a kombucha homebrewer too!