Kombucha is a great fermented drink, that not only quenches the thirst but does wonders for your gut health, offering pre and probiotics to help balance and maintain your intestinal flora. It helps with digestion, immunity, inflammation and avoiding all sorts of disease.

Other than that, it’s pretty easy to make at home. Here’s our favorite recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 gallon of filtered water
• 1 cup sugar (preferably organic cane sugar)*
• 8 bags black tea, green tea, or a mix (or 2 tablespoons loose tea)
• 2 cups starter tea from last batch of kombucha or store-bought kombucha (unpasteurized, neutral-flavored)
• 1 SCOBY per fermentation jar

Equipment

• Large stock pot
• 1-gallon glass jar or two 2-quart glass jars
• Tightly woven cloth (like clean napkins or tea towels), coffee filters, or paper towels, to cover the jar
• Small funnel
• Heavy-duty rubber bands
• 6 12. 0zSealable glass bottles

The Process

• Make your tea. Take the gallon of water, add it to the large stock pot with the teabags and let it heat to a very low boil. Turn the burner off and let the tea steep until the water is cooled. This may take several hours.
• Add your starter tea or store-bought kombucha. Stir it into the mix.
• Put the mixture into the glass jar(s).
• Gently put the SCOBY into the jars.
• Cover the jars with several layers of cloth and seal it with a rubber band.
• Let the mixture ferment for 7-10 days. Leave it out of the sun and at room temperature.
• After a week or so, have a little taste. If you like it, go to the next step. If it’s too mild for you, let it go another day and try again.
• Gently remove the SCOBY from the jars.
• Put the kombucha in sealable glass bottles. You can leave the bottles at room temperature for 1-3 days to add natural carbonation as well.
• Enjoy!

*Fermentation turns sugar into lactic acid, CO2 and alcohol. Don’t worry about the sugar content in these recipes!