Classic Kombucha

Pour 500ml of boiled water into the jar (1/4 of your total brew).

Mix the tea bags for about 10 minutes.

Remove the tea bags or loose-leaf tea with a clean utensil.

Add the sugar to your tea.

Mix until dissolved.

Top up your sweet tea mixture with extra filtered water to bring the liquid to a total of 2 litres.

Make sure your tea is cool, it must be below 29°C, before adding your S.C.O.B.Y and starter liquid to the jar.

Cover with the cloth and place in a warm space (ideally between 23 and 27°C) for 10 – 14 days.

Once your Kombucha has finished brewing (it tastes as you would like it to after 10 – 21 days of fermenting) you can add fruit or fruit juice for flavouring + fizz: you can use fresh fruit or fruit juice and we recommend making it 5% – 10% of the total liquid content, although some flavours, like ginger or turmeric, require less.

To add it, you’ll need some reusable glass bottles with caps capable of withstanding pressure (our large empty Jarr Kombucha bottles are perfect).

Fill the bottle or bottles about 3/4 of the way with your finished original Kombucha, then add the chopped up fruit or juice to the 3/4th filled bottles of original Kombucha and put the cap back on.

You will want to leave the bottle at room temperature for at least 3 days, each morning “burping” the bottle to remove pressure (opening the cap, letting out C02 and putting the cap back on.)

After 3 days you can taste the Kombucha and see if it is fizzy enough for you, the longer you leave it, the fizzier it will get until it’s just right for your tastes.

Kombucha will actually last indefinitely as it’s acidic enough to protect it from outside contaminants – so as long as it’s kept refrigerated it can be enjoyed for as long as you’d like! We find our Kombucha is best enjoyed within 5 days of opening a bottle so that it keeps its fizziness and consistency but it’s entirely up to you.

Never store your Kombucha in direct sunlight, UV rays can damage the bacteria content and disrupt the fermentation. Never ferment above 30 degrees – the yeast in the Kombucha will go crazy and create funky flavours, alcohol and will become unbalanced. Make sure to keep your Kombucha away from smoke – cigarettes, BBQ, cooking, etc. should be kept away from your brewing vessel. Keep your brewing vessel away from flowering plants – they can cross pollinate with your brew if stored too close by. Always cool down your tea before adding your starter liquid – water above 35 degrees will kill the bacteria.