1. Bring 1 gallon of water to a boil, then remove it from the heat.

2. Stir in 1 cup of sugar until dissolved.

3. Add 8 bags of black tea (or 8 teaspoons of black loose-leaf tea tied in chees
ecloth).
4. Let the tea steep until the liquid is at room temperature (approximately 70-7
5F).
5. Remove the tea bags or bundle of loose tea leaves.
6. Pour the cooled sweet tea mixture into your clean one-gallon fermenting jar.

===
However, your SCOBY also needs to stay warm, so make sure the jar is in a warm p
lace. The best temperature for your SCOBY while the kombucha is fermenting is be
tween 68-82F so try for a steady temperature of around 75F. If the temperature i
s between 60-68F, fermentation will be steady but slower. For tips on how to kee
p your culture warm enough, read this article. (http://kombuchahome.com/cool-wea
ther-scoby-care/)
Finally, choose a location for your jar that is out of your way. It s important th
at the jar isn t moved or jostled while the mother SCOBY is giving birth to the baby
. Find a corner of your kitchen counter that you won t need, or put the jar on top
of the refrigerator.
When to taste your brew. If you re keeping your fermentation jar at about 75F, sta
rt tasting the brew on the 5th day. By this point, much of the sugar has been co
nverted into acid, giving the brew the kombucha flavor you know and love. Depend
ing on how sweet or tart you like your brew, you ll want to stop this primary ferm
entation between the 7th and the 30th day. How fast your kombucha brews depends
on the temperature in the room, SCOBY strength, your ratio of tea, sugar, and sc
oby, the width of your jar opening (wider jar openings = more exposure to air =
faster brewing time), so keep in mind the time of your brew is variable.
How to sample your brew. Take a clean plastic straw and slip it carefully under
the edge of the SCOBY until it is about halfway into the liquid. Use your thumb
to cover the top of the straw, and carefully pull it back out without moving the
SCOBY.
How to judge your brew. Taste the brew is it too sweet? Then you need to let the
SCOBY keep working. Is it too tart? Then you ve let the SCOBY convert too much of
the sugar into acid. You probably won t find that it s too tart until after the 14t
h day of fermentation, though in a warm environment this might happen after the
7th day. That s why you need to taste and judge for yourself, every day.
Store your SCOBY for later. If you don t want to start a new batch of kombucha rig
ht away, put the SCOBYs in a clean glass jar, and pour in enough of the freshly-
brewed kombucha to cover them (use at least 2 cups). Put a clean cloth over the
jar, secure it with a rubber band or elastic, and put the jar in a dark or dim l
ocation, at room temperature or slightly cooler.

At this point (after removing the SCOBY from the mix and adding it + 1 cup of st
arter into another jar with sweat tea) you can simply put your Kombucha brew int
o the fridge and drink it.
But if you want to add more flavors, more fizz, and more carbonation, you can do
a secondary fermentation. Go to Step 7.
If you don t want to do a second ferment, but want your kombucha to have a bit mor
e fizz, go to step 6 and stop there.
Before you put your brew in your fridge, you have three options:
1. Add flavoring to your finished kombucha brew (juice, fruit, syrup, etc)then r
efrigerate see earlier section Adding Flavor After Brewing
2. Bottle your Komucha then refridgerate
3. Doing a second ferment for 2-14 days (see last section of this guide)
Note though, doing a second fermentation BEFORE you bottle your kombucha will in
crease the fizz / carbonation even more (not to mention you can add secondary fl
avorings to it if you do a second ferment).
It s important to note that you do need SOME sugar in the kombucha to pull off a s
econd fermentation. Your Kombucha either needs to be somewhat sweet (it won t work
so well if you ve left your first fermentation so long that the kombucha is mostl
y tart and vinegary and not sweet) or you need to add some sugar source fruit, f
ruit juice, or more sugar. We recommend fruit juice or sliced fruit as this suga
r source as it adds more flavor into the kombucha while also providing fuel for
the second fermentation.
Note: Never add fruit or herbs to first ferment. You don t want to add fruit or fr
uit juice or anything else but tea and sugar to the first fermentation as fruit
sugar is not ideal fuel for the SCOBY and herbs may interfere with the friendly-
environment the SCOBY needs.