Basic Kombucha

Method

Brew the tea with the boiling water (see variations below for guidance on which tea to use). Steep for 30 minutes, or until the tea has cooled. Strain, whisk in the sugar until dissolved.

Add your kombucha SCOBY to the tea. Pour in 2 tablespoons kombucha from a previous brew or apple cider vinegar - this helps kickstart fermentation; add more if you want to speed up the brewing process.

Cover with a clean cloth and leave to brew at room temperature (18-22°C) for anywhere from 10 days to 2 weeks. In the summer, unless your house is air conditioned or unusually cold, your kombucha will brew much faster, and in the winter, much slower.

Once you have your base brew, you can then add additional flavours (see below). Once flavoured, bottle, seal and ferment at room temperature for a day before placing in the fridge. For best flavour, drink within one month – after this time, the sugar will have been fermented out and the drink might have become too tangy.

Variations

Hugh’s Verbena Lemonade

Brew the tea for your kombucha base as above but use 8 bags of chamomile tea and 2 tablespoons dried lemon verbena for 1 litre of boiling water. Strain out the tea bags and dried leaves once the tea is cool and add the sugar and your kombucha SCOBY. Brew at room temperature for 10 days to 2 weeks, as above, bottle and add 4 sprigs fresh lemon verbena to the bottle. Seal and continue to ferment at room temperature for 1-2 days, over which time the kombucha will develop carbonation and be further imbued with the lemon verbena flavour.