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Kombucha is a great way for you to get probiotics and boost your gut health. But it’s expensive – at least $3 a bottle expensive.

So instead of buying it from a store, just make your own. It’s incredibly easy to make and it’s a lot cheaper.

Obtain a SCOBY

Before you can even start, you need to obtain a SCOBY. It’s an acronym for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. You’ve seen it in your bottles of kombucha before. It’s that whitish stuff that’s floating in your bottle. Or maybe it’s settled on the bottom. Either way, that’s exactly what you need. But you need a lot more of it.

You can buy a SCOBY, ask your friend who already has one very nicely, or you can make your own. Just make sure your hands are clean throughout the process.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 2-quart glass jar
  • 6 cups water (no chlorine or fluoride)
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 4 bags of tea
  • 1 cup of raw, unflavored kombucha
  • Cheesecloth
  • Rubber band
  • Boil the water.
  • Dissolve the sugar in the water. This is food for your SCOBY. Most of it should be eaten by the end of the process.
  • Pour sugar water into your glass jar and add the tea bags so it can steep.
  • After it cools, add your favorite raw, unflavored kombucha. Hopefully you’ve got some a little bit of SCOBY in it already. If not, that’s OK too.
  • Cover your jar with a few layers of cheesecloth and rubber band it down around the jar.
  • Let it sit in a dark, warm place for anywhere from 1-4 weeks. The time depends on a lot of factors. But basically, you want your end product to be about a quarter of an inch thick. If at any time you notice mold (green or black) or if it starts to smell rancid, dispose of it and start again.

Now that you’ve got your SCOBY, you can actually make kombucha. By the way, be very careful of drinking the kombucha you just made with your SCOBY. It’s probably too powerful for you to just drink.

How to Make Kombucha

The hard part is over (and it wasn’t even that difficult. Just a lot of waiting). Now it’s time for some fun.

It even looks a lot like the first part. You’ll just be using a much larger SCOBY this time around.

What You’ll Need

  • 2-quart glass jar
  • 6 cups of water
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 4 bags of tea
  • 1 cup of kombucha or starter tea
  • SCOBY
  • Cheesecloth
  • Rubber band
  • Glass bottles with lids
  • Make tea.
  • Once it’s cool, add your starter tea or one cup of your favorite unflavored, raw kombucha. If you just made your SCOBY, you can use that. Once you’ve successfully made this batch of tea, you can take one cup of it for your next batch of kombucha.
  • Pour everything into your glass jar. Top it off with your SCOBY.
  • Cover the jar with your cheesecloth. Rubber band it down.
  • Let it sit in a warm, dark place for about a week. Give it a taste test. When it gets to where you like it, gently take your SCOBY out and put it in a shallow bowl (temporarily).
  • Bottle your fresh kombucha. Allow it to sit for a few days. It’ll carbonate, so make sure you leave some room in the top.
  • Start your next batch of kombucha.

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