Lifetime Kombucha

This recipe took me months to work myself up to, and around 10 minutes to actually make. The only time consuming part of it is waiting for boiling water to cool!
If you have a water filter, you won't even need to do that.

You will need (to make 2 litres):
Kombucha Scoby x 1
Starter Liquid (200ml) That's the liquid from a previous batch, or where the scoby has been stored.
Boiling water (500ml)
De-chlorinated water (1.5 litres) - either filtered water, or boil tap water for 15 minutes and let cool to room temp.
Organic Sugar 160g
Organic Tea, 2-3 teabags or equivalent in loose tea (I used black breakfast tea, you can use black blended with many other variants!)

Plus..
Large 2.5-3L jar or vessel (I used a Kilner with a tap at the bottom) which has been cleaned and sterlised with VERY hot (not boiling) water.
500ml Jug (for the tea)
Thermometer (not essential, but helpful).
Piece of clean cloth to cover the large vessel
Elastic, or elastic band
1L Cliptop bottle if you want to flavour your kombucha afterwards

Directions:

1. Boil or filter your water to get rid of the chlorine (this is IMPORTANT) and let most of it cool to room temp (also important). You'll need 500ml to be still boiling.
2. Brew your teabags in the 500ml boiling water for 6-10 minutes. Add your sugar whilst it's nice and hot, and stir until dissolved. Remove the teabags, but do not squeeze them into the water.
3. Let the tea mixture cool for a while, until it's less than 35 degrees, so cooler than body temperature. (Don't put your finger in to check, touch the outside). Cover the liquids during this time to stop anything from falling into the mix.
4. Pour your 1.5L dechlorinated water into your sterilised XL vessel, and add the sweet tea too.
5. Make sure this mixture is less than 35 degrees celcius. Too warm, and it will harm the scoby.
6. Put the scoby and starter liquid to the jar, and cover with a piece of clean cloth and an elastic band. It needs to breathe but needs protecting from flies and dust etc.
7. There should be a minimum of 5cm at the top, to allow for fermentation and growth,
8. Label your jar - give it a name and birth date.
9. Leave to ferment for 6-9 days at room temperature or slightly above.

It doesn't like: direct sunlight, being too close to radiators, being in a cupboard (air circulation), or being cold. Keep it above 20deg (ideally 26-27°C).
Usually worksurfaces are fine. If you have known fruit flies, avoid these spaces as they can potentially lay eggs through the cloth.
10. You can sample the kombucha after 6 days. 9-10 days is ideal. The less sweet it is, the more bacteria is present. It's personal taste how you like to drink it, but for best health recommendations you want slightly fizzy and a little sour. It's worth tasting a good quality (unsweetened) kombucha before you commit to ending the process.

What now?
You can either drink the kombucha as it is, or flavour it in a second fermentation (below).
You will notice a new scoby forming, which is great news! When you do, you can save this scoby in a jar of its own liquid (aka starter liquid) and use it to make another jar's worth, or give it to a friend. It is useful to have backup scobys - aka a scoby hotel! We recommend using the same scoby 8 or 9 times, just repeat the process of adding sugary tea to feed it and make another few litres.

Want to flavour your kombucha in a secondary fermentation?
If so, you'll need to pour out some kombucha into a bottle via a funnel and sieve (ideally a flip top, so you can release some pressure), and add in around 5-10% flavouring of your choice. This will also make the kombucha fizzier! Make sure you leave 4 fingers of headspace to allow for gas build up.
Leave the flavourings in for a day at room temp, then transfer to the fridge to stop the bacteria from creating more acid.

Some ideas are:

• Any chopped fruits, especially frozen and defrosted berries and citrus
• Dried Fruit
• Herbs, milk spices, ginger, turmeric etc.
• Vegetables
• Petals, coffee, tamarind, cacao and maca

And that's it! Share your kombucha journies with us on Instagram at @PlentifulWholefoods!