Kombucha is a fermented tea with a sweet tangy flavor that is safe for the entire family to enjoy. It’s easy to customize with fruit juice and kick it up a notch to make fizzy and sweeter. The art of making kombucha has been around for thousands of years but recently has become popular and available at grocery stores. Bottles of kombucha can range from $3 to $6 dollars a serving, but you can make your very own at home for pennies on the dollar! You’ve trusted Mamavation to bring you topics like how to make your own shampoo, how to make your own lotion, & how to make your own deodorant, now join us as we teach you how to make your own homemade kombucha tea.
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Benefits of Homemade Kombucha
I was a very young girl the first time I laid eyes on kombucha. My mother’s best friend brought it over to show us and just like any other nine-year-old girl, I freaked out when I saw the SCOBY calling it an “alien from out of space!” But I liked the beverage so I drank it. I didn’t know it then, but kombucha was incredibly healthy for me as well.
Kombucha is a Good Source of Antioxidants, Probiotics & B-Vitamins
Because kombucha is a fermented food, it’s full of good bacteria. In fact, there are about 1 billion bacterial organisms in just 8 fluid ounces of homemade kombucha. But it’s also a good source of B-vitamins like B1, B2, B3, B6, & B12. And it’s also full of lactic acid and glucuronic acid, which are beneficial acids.
Kombucha Has Less Sugar Than Soda
There is about one cup of sugar for every gallon of kombucha, but during the process of fermenting, the sugar is eaten away by the bacteria and becomes less problematic to blood sugar spikes. In fact, if you are a soda drinker, kombucha would be an incredibly healthier beverage to switch to! And you also get more B-vitamins and beneficial enzymes which aren’t present in soda at all.
Kombucha is Easy to Make at Home
Once you see how easy it is to make kombucha, you’ll be doing it all the time. You do need to keep the fermentation vessel clean between batches to keep mold from growing, but other than that, it’s pretty easy and straight forward to make.
Kombucha is Incredibly Customizable
Once you brew the kombucha, the second fermentation process is where you can customize the taste to just about anything you want or have handy in the house. Do you like vanilla flavor? Add vanilla beans. Are you wanting something sweet, add some additional fruit juice. Want to ward off sickness, add some lemon and ginger. There are several options that you can experiment with.
Making Kombucha at Home Saves Money
Store-bought kombucha ranges from $3 to $6 for a serving. But you can make an entire gallon at home for what you would pay for a single serving. The supplies you’ll need may be an investment, but after that, you only really need sugar, filtered water, the SCOBY and tea bags to keep producing your own brew.
How to Purchase a SCOBY
SCOBY stands for “symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast” and it transforms the kombucha tea into a fermented drink. The easiest way to get your hands on a SCOBY to start making kombucha is to pick one up at Kombucha Kamp, which is the best place to get kombucha supplies.
You can also make your own SCOBY, although that is a bit more effort than purchasing. To do that you make the tea and basically let it go for weeks and the SCOBY forms. But if this is your first time, I’d highly recommend you purchase one instead.
Equipment & Ingredients to Make Homemade Kombucha
If you are planning on making homemade kombucha tea for pennies on the dollar you’ll first need some supplies.
- SCOBY “symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast”— Pick up a SCOBY at Kombucha Kamp or make your own
- Gallon-sized glass jar to hold kombucha – make sure this vessel is very clean and recently washed over with white vinegar
- Sweet tea that has just been brewed – you can use regular black tea or green tea.
- Liquid from the previous batch of kombucha OR store-bought kombucha unpasteurized
- Fermentation cover– should be made of cloth. Cheesecloth may not work because if you have fruit flies, they can get inside.
- Rubberband— you’ll need a rubber band if you don’t have a fermentation cover with elastic
- Filtered water free of contaminants like fluoride
- 16-ounce bottles to do the second ferment of your kombucha for flavor
Mamavation Recipe On How to Make Homemade Kombucha Tea
Homemade Kombucha Tea
Making homemade kombucha tea is easy and saves you pennies on the dollar!
- 1 Kombucha SCOBY
- 3.5 quarts filtered water
- 1 cup organic cane sugar
- 8 tea bags of black or green tea
- 2 cups Kombucha starter tea from last batch OR store-bought unpasteurized kombucha
- 5 16 oz Bottles
- 1 Gallon sized glass jar
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First you start to make the tea by bringing water to a boil and adding the organic sugar until it’s dissolved.
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Add in the 8 tea bags and let sit until cool.
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Once the tea is cool, remove the tea bags and add the starter kombucha. This prevents unfriendly bacteria from taking residence for the first few days.
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Pour mixture into a gallon jar and add the SCOBY to the mix.
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Cover the mouth of the jar with cloth and place rubber band to tighten.
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Ferment at room temperature for 7-10 days. Please make sure to keep out of direct sunlight.
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Remove the SCOBY. Pour the kombucha tea into 16 oz bottles for a second ferment. Add any juice, herbs, or fruit you may want to use as flavoring. Leave one inch at the top and close. (You can add the SCOBY to your next batch.)
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Store the bottles at room temperature between 1-3 days based on your preference for the flavor
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Meat Certifications: Organic, Grass-fed, Kosher & Halal
Yes, I started making Kombucha recently again. It is very easy to do, and so much more economical. I bought several bottled kombucha from store at first, and saved the dark brown bottles to do the second brew in
Oh my gosh! I’m so excited to try. Love komucha and would be so much better to make myself.
Kombucha is easy to customize with fruit juice