What You'll Need
- 14 cups of water
- 8-10 tea bags (preferably black tea)
- 2 cups of starter tea can be found here or unflavored store-bought kombucha
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ¾ tsp champagne yeast found here
- A scoby (more about them here), you can find them for purchase at this link
- Fruit, fruit juice or fruit puree (optional)
- A gallon-sized glass jar
- Sealable glass bottles found here
- A cloth to cover the jar
- Rubber bands
- A pot or tea kettle
You can find a video overview of the process as explained by TikToker @alyssa.loop (our recipe has a few minor differences):
Phase 1
- Boil the 14 cups of water (you may need to do two separate pots) and remove them from the heat source.
- First, add 1 cup of sugar to dissolve in the water - making a sugar-water mixture.
- Next, add your tea bags to steep. If you made separate pots, divide the recipe evenly as needed.
- When the tea is cooled down, remove the tea bags and add the tea to your gallon-sized jar.
- Add the starter tea or unflavored kombucha to the jar with the tea you brewed.
- Wash your hands thoroughly and gently place the scoby into your tea.
- Cover the jar with a cloth and secure it tightly with rubber bands.
- Leave in a dark, room-temperature location for 7-10 days.
Phase 2
- To make your kombucha boozy, add the other 1 cup of sugar to 1 cup of warm, filtered water.
- Once the water is cool, add 3/4 teaspoon of your champagne yeast.
- When the mixture is foamy, add it to the gallon of kombucha and stir well.
- Store the gallon back in a dark location for 7-10 days for another round of fermentation (this process makes it alcoholic).
Phase 3
- After letting the kombucha mixture sit for a week to a little over a week - you can add your flavors. Fruit purees, juices or fruits, the choice is yours.
- Carefully strain and move the kombucha mix to jars with sealable lids.
- Store the new flavored mixtures in a dark location (like last time) for 3 -10 days. This third part of the process will be the carbonation period.
- After 3 -10 days, store the kombucha in the fridge to slow the carbonation process down and cool it.
- Enjoy! You’ve successfully made boozy kombucha.
