I am now onto my first big batch of kombucha. For those of you who are unfamiliar, kombucha is a probiotic tea made from healthy yeast and bacteria. It’s similar to having a sour dough starter on stand by. This delicious beverage can be made in endless ways and flavors.

My first batch was started from a store bought bottle which I fed additional “food” and let rest at room temperature with moderate ventilation. This part took patience. I let that baby sit to grow for almost three weeks.

The first four days I thought I for sure hadn’t done it right, I must have not added enough sugar or maybe the tea was still to warm and killed the delicious probiotic goodness within the tea. Then, day five brought hope; I saw some transparent blotches forming on the surface when I shined a light at the glass. Did I make the right kind of bacteria? Is this really going to become a scoby?

Things continued to progress until I had a nice sheet of scoby sitting ontop my delightful beverage. I stuck a plastic spoon under the scoby and snuck a sip. It was kombucha alright, I was ready to brew another batch of tea. I brewed it that night with a black vanilla tea and mixed in the sugar to dissolve completely. I let it cool for a day and a half just to be safe and moved my scoby to a plate so I could pour out the old liquid into a serving bottle which I added bits of lemon and orange wedges to and sealed up to build a bit of carbonation on the counter.

I sanitized the (scoby home) container with boiling hot water prior to reapplying the scoby and fresh brewed tea. When doing this do not use metal utensils and if you choose to do so with your hands make sure to wash with vinegar instead of soap as it can harm the precious yeasts and bacteria in your scoby. I then covered the glass jar with a tea towel fastened succurly by a rubber band. My scoby lives in my pantry where it can sit without being disturbed in a dark room temperature space. So far it seems happy there and I hold my breath waiting to try my next flavor.

It’s so fun to make your own probiotic tea. The flavors are endless. I was even delighted to find out I can make coffee kombucha which is great for this black liquid acid addicted lady!

Are you currently brewing your own kombucha? What’s your go to flavor?