Sweet black or green tea fermented with a scoby, then bottled with fruit for a fizzy second fermentation.
Ingredients
1activated Kombucha and Scoby starter culture
12cupsof filtered water
6black or green tea bags
1cupof cane sugar
1TBSPwhite vinegar (only if the pH is not below 4.5)
Supplies: gallon jar; coffee filter and rubber band; pH test; heating pad (kombucha-specific or regular); bottles for second fermentation
Mango strawberry flavor (optional): 5 to 6 (16 oz) bottles; ½ mangos; ¼ cup strawberries
Directions
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and take it off the heat.
Drop in the tea bags, steep for 10 minutes, and lift them out.
Stir in the sugar until it dissolves.
Pour the sweet tea into the gallon jar and top up with the remaining water, leaving 4 inches of headspace.
Add the starter culture and the Scoby, and stir well.
Test the pH; it should read below 4.5. If it doesn't, stir in 1 TBSP white vinegar and test again.
Cover the jar with a coffee filter held on by a rubber band.
Ferment for 7 to 10 days at 75 to 85°F, using a heating pad set to high and left on the whole time. Ferment for at least 7 days and up to 21 days, until the flavor is right.
Test the pH once more; it should be less than 4.5.
Set aside 2 cups of the kombucha along with the Scoby to start the next batch.
Pour the remainder into bottles, leaving 1 to 2 inches of headspace, and add flavorings, fruit, and spices. (For mango strawberry, blend the fruit and share it among the bottles, leaving 3 inches of headspace.)
Let the bottles ferment for 1 to 3 days, opening each lid once a day to let the carbon dioxide pressure out.
When the fizz and flavor are where you want them, chill and serve.
Notes
Refrigerate once fizz and flavor are right. Flavor ideas: honey lavender, raspberry lemon, blueberry vanilla, peach, strawberry, pineapple, hibiscus, mango ginger. Safety: pH must be below 4.5 at the start and before bottling; burp bottles daily during second fermentation (pressure can burst bottles). Discard if the scoby grows fuzzy or colored mold.