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How to Brew Kombucha Tea

How to Brew Kombucha Tea
Kombucha is a fermented and carbonated tea.  Many people drink it for health benefits, but I like it because it's delicious! It's very easy to brew and can make as much as you want.
 
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Step 11: Supplies

1: Supplies
Starting supplies:
1) Large glass jar (not plastic!)
2) Mother culture, or scoby
3) Sugar (I use turbinated, but basic white sugar should work too)
4) Distilled cider vinegar
5) Unflavored black tea (green will work too, but avoid teas with flavorings or essential oils which will react badly with the culture)
6) (not shown) Clean piece of breathable fabric to cover the jar of the mouth
7) (not shown) Rubber bands to secure the fabric to the jar

The jar should have a wide mouth for putting in and taking out mother and daughter cultures, and should be large enough to contain the amount of liquid you want to end up with. The best way to get a kombucha mother is to find someone who's already brewing some!  Each batch of kombucha produces a new daughter culture, so people who brew regularly tend to have scobies to spare. You can also find them available online.
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15 comments
Jan 8, 2011. 6:15 AMjoshbierton says:
when you say "large glass jar" do you mean a large jam jar (1 pint sort of thing), or something larger (1/2-1 gallon)?
sorry to ask, but i couldn't really tell the scale from the images.
Dec 8, 2011. 12:10 AMReidAllenWilliamson says:
I stepped up my game by using a 1 gallon 'sun tea' jar like this - http://compare.ebay.com/like/300623047732?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar - which is easy to come by at a thrift store.

No more fishing out the mother or filtering debris while pouring.
Jul 20, 2011. 7:44 PMXenel says:
Head crab juice?
Mar 24, 2010. 10:00 AMabadfart says:
i think ill use old wine bottles for big batches  
Sep 2, 2010. 1:27 PMBad Maxx says:
Wondering how this worked for you? I can't understand how you are dealing with the culture (Mother or other!) If you did this with a wine bottle let us know how it is done please.
Sep 4, 2010. 12:13 PMabadfart says:
i just bottle it in them i use extra large pickle jars to brew in
Sep 26, 2010. 10:01 AMBad Maxx says:
Sorry for the late reply....
Thank you for clearing that up for me.
Jun 6, 2010. 1:00 PMhellstudios says:
JARATE!
Oct 23, 2009. 1:58 PMDon,t try this at home says:
What is a mother culture and were do you get it.
Oct 24, 2009. 8:04 PMStew2 says:
 When I first started brewing, I couldn't find any cultures around so I bought my first one on ebay... They have a couple of sellers on there and you only need to buy one, then they are self propgating... And then some :). 
Oct 24, 2009. 2:23 PMdatrukup says:
I found mine off of craigslist. People are very willing to share considering how fast the scoby reproduces.
Nov 29, 2009. 9:43 PMweaponscollector94 says:
lol i had my first glass of kombucha today and i love it I LOVE IT!!!! i am going to make the stuff at home and drink it everyday! thanks for the inctructable and the information!    take care       Levi
Oct 23, 2009. 1:35 PMhishealer says:

Carefully fermented foods like this can be really good for digestion.  I think I'll try to find a starter culture myself.


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