KOMBUCHA
Ingredients:
5.5 cups water
3 tea bags (black)
1/3 cup sugar (white or organic cane)
2/3 cup starter kombucha
scoby
What to do:
Make the tea. Boil water in a large pot. Add sugar, and whisk to dissolve. Add tea bags, cover, and let steep overnight (or over the course of the day). Once cooled completely, remove the tea bags.
First fermentation. In a large glass vessel, combine your steeped tea and starter kombucha. This can be either store-bought kombucha, or the liquid you've stored your scoby in. With clean hands, transfer the scoby into the jar. Cover jar with a dishcloth, seal with an elastic band, and set aside for the first round of fermentation (7-10 days, depending on how warm your house is).
Bottling and second fermentation. After 7-10 days, using clean hands, gently remove the scoby. You can either use it immediately in another batch of kombucha, or store it in the fridge, in a small glass jar with enough kombucha liquid to keep it covered. Transfer your kombucha into smaller bottles, and add any second fermentation add-ins (see below). Seal the bottles, and set them aside for the second round of fermentation (3 days).
After 3 days, move the bottles to the fridge and enjoy!
Second Fermentation Add-ins
ginger-maple//
Blend on a high speed a 2" piece of ginger, 1/4 cup water and 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Split evenly between the bottles.
cherry//
add 1-2 Tbsp ready made cherry juice to each bottle; alternatively, blend pitted cherries and a bit of water on high speed. Strain through a fine mesh sieve before adding to bottles.