Unlike other teas and herbal teas, kombucha tea does not come as a dried product or in a bag for brewing. In order to enjoy it, you have to know How to make Kombucha Tea. It is not as easy as putting a tea bag in hot water. First you need to secure a kombucha mushroom or culture also known as a SCOBY. Second you need to prepare the environment for the culture in order to start producing kombucha tea. Kombucha tea is a tea that is produced through a fermentation process. This guide for how to make Kombucha tea will show you the process of preparing the culture and solution for the fermentation that will produce the drinkable kombucha tea.

Once the tea is ready it will have a sparkling naturally carbonated, acidic, apple cider like flavor in addition to the original sweet tea of your choice flavor. Kombucha tea can be flavored during the process or after the tea has been made and bottled.

If you maintain your SCOBY, you will have many years of production from it and you will find that it will multiply, i.e. have babies! These babies can be sold or given to your friends so they too can make their own kombucha tea.

Disclaimer: The content in this page is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please contact your doctor, herbalist, or Naturopathic Doctor before beginning or trying any product, service or information found on this page or the links

• The FDA and Kombucha:

The FDA only caution has to do with the sterile handling and brewing of the cultures. If not properly done this can pose potential hazards to your health. The FDA report does not regulate kombucha, it only points out the risks associate in the preparation and storage of kombucha products. The report contains information for proper container and preparations, emphasizing the important of the use of glass containers, and highlighting a few cases where improper storage has caused health problem. http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/TPMUSHRM.html

• If mold grows on top of the kombucha culture, it is best to discard the entire kombucha contents tea and culture both. It is not advisable to attempt to salvage the kombucha culture, as the contamination has begun and there is too great a chance of it reoccurring. Once discarded make sure to sterilize all containers and utensils.

• Get a SCOBY:

There are a number of reliable sources on the internet for getting a kombucha mushroom or SCOBY. Some offer it free, just pay the shipping cost, some charge a small fee. You may even be able to find a person locally that has a SCOBY for sale or free.

Continue reading to find out how to make your own kombucha tea at home.

You will find the seven steps to making and remaking Kombucha Tea below. Following these steps will supply you with a good batch of Kombucha Tea that you can flavor as you like.

Gather the necessary ingredients: Before you start make sure you have all of the following ingredients and utensils.http://islanddruid.shorturl.com/

• - A five liter stainless steel or tempered glass pot
• - Tea, it is best to use a good grade tea, preferred teas include: green tea, black tea and white tea. Other teas like herbal teas can be used as well.
• - 3 liters (3.1 quarts) of pure distilled water – Reverse-osmosis water is preferred
• - 1 cup sugar, note white sugar is the most commonly used, though other sugars can be used as well.Organic cane sugar can be used and you can also experiment with other fermentable sugars. Note that some natural sweeteners such as honey are by nature anti-bacterial and can damage or kill your SCOBY.
• - White distilled vinegar
• - Cotton cloth and a strong elastic band
• - 5 liter sterile glass jar – it is recommended you purchase a jar designed for the making of kombucha tea; they are available at many health food stores as well as online.
• - stainless steel strainer
• - Funnel
• - Glass bottles to contain your finished kombucha tea beverage in your preferred sizes to suit your serving portion needs
• - pH test strips
• - small baster/pipette or glass straw to be used in testing
• - Sample of 5 ounces of starter kombucha tea (this is not necessary as the vinegar will work alone)

This is absolutely the most important step in the preparation and continued preparation of Kombucha tea. Wash your hands before and often during the handling of equipment and ingredients and during the preparation of your tea. Make sure the area you will be working in and on is clean and sanitized. Make sure your clothes and hands are clean. Wear a hairnet if hair is long.

Follow these steps to make the tea:

1. Fill your stainless steel pot with 1 litre (1 quart) of water and bring to boil
2. Add tea, either tea bags or loose tea using 5-7 bags or 7 tablespoons of loose tea. Loose tea has less chance of contamination from tea bags that have been handled in packaging etc.
3. Turn off heat and allow steeping to an extra STRONG tea.
4. Add sugar to hot tea mixture and stir until completely dissolved.
5. Pour 2 liters (2 quarts) of room temperature or slightly chilled water into the 5 liter (5 quart) glass jar
6. Pour the prepared tea into the 5 litre glass jar. This will reduce the temperature of the tea for further preparation
7. When tea is at room temperature, 30ºC or 70ºF, pour in the 5 ounce sample of kombucha tea. If you do not have a tea sample then pour in ¼ cups of distilled vinegar. The vinegar will bring the mix to the proper pH balance of 4.6 pH. You can use the pH test strips to test the pH level by using the pipette or straw to remove a small sample of the mix and test it. Do not dip the pH test strip in the tea mix. Discard the test sample. If pH is not right add more vinegar to raise it or water to lower it, test.
8. Gently place your SCOBY in the tea mix. Do not worry if the SCOBY sinks to the bottom, or floats half way or on top. SCOBY location does not matter.
9. Cover the opening of the jar with the cotton cloth, and place the elastic band around to secure the cloth to the jar. This will ensure that the tea is kept free of foreign matter and fruit flies.

Pick a place to store your tea mix that is dark (out of the sun), secure and will remain at a constant temperature of between 21ºC to 30ºC (70ºF to 86ºF). The use of an adjustable warming pad can help to regulate the temperature. Lower temperature will prolong the fermentation process, while higher temperatures will increase the chance of unwanted organism growth. After one week, the tea should begin to have a vinegar scent to it; this is a good time to do a pH test as described above. You can also do a taste test of the sample you took out for the pH test, if it is still very sweet, and then it needs more time. Test periodically until a pH reading of 3.0 is achieved. Note: If after two weeks the pH is higher than 3 then it is probably best to prepare a new batch mix and transfer the SCOBY and babies to the new mix, and dispose of the tea. http://islanddruid.shorturl.com/

It is also advisable to place a fruit fly trap in the area that you store your tea. See How to build a Fruit Fly Trap.

When the kombucha tea is ready, gently remove the SCOBY and any babies, and make sure you have washed your hands. Place the SCOBY and babies on a clean plate with just enough tea to keep them wet and protected.

Using the funnel and strainer you can now fill your personal use glass bottles. Fill the bottles to the top, try to leave as little air as possible. Seal the bottles with sterilized sealable coated cap or a pressure stopper. Place the bottles in the refrigerator; they can be stored upwards of a month if kept refrigerated.

Always leave about 5 ounces of tea to be used for the next batch.http://islanddruid.shorturl.com/

Care of the SCOBY is critical and the SCOBY should be used to prepare a new batch immediately. If there is a baby, and there will be, it can be separated from the main SCOBY and placed in its own batch. The baby will now become a mother in its own batch. Note each mother will produce a baby from each fermentation cycle. This is probably why many are willing to give them away free. If you do not have use for all the babies that are produced, then first discard the older SCOBY and use the new SCOBY.http://islanddruid.shorturl.com/

During the bottling stage in Step 5, you can add your favorite juice(cranberry is nice), spice (cinnamon, allspice for example), herb or fruit puree. For herbal and flavored recipes please see Flavored Kombucha Tea Recipes page.