Make your own Kombucha recipe!

We love having kombucha in the house. It’s a great way to ensure good gut health and that you’re getting enough probiotics in each day. Since my surgery, it’s been a great way to get my gut flora back on track however we’re loving having the ability to grab a cold kombucha at the end of a warm day. This season, we’ve finally found our favourite tea flavours for this recipe and now I’m finding myself leaning towards a kombucha in the evening rather than reaching for a sugar-filled alternative.

​It’s a refreshing, bubbly and significantly healthier drink which is super easy to make at home too.

Click 'Read More' for the full recipe!

We were given our scoby from family friends down south and Morag managed to look after it on the entire drive home to Cambridge! However, I’ve seen them selling scoby online, local health food shops and you could even track one down on the Cambridge Grapevine or something similar in your area.

The process is super simple, but does require a little patience for your first batch to brew. Then, you’ll get into the habit of throwing together another batch each time and always having a batch on the go.

​You’ll Need:

• vinegar
• spray bottle
• large pot
• a healthy scoby
• 1 cup white sugar
• 4 black tea bags
• 4 tea bags of flavoured tea of your choice
• optional additions: lemon zest, grated ginger, or honey

1. The first and most essential step is understanding how to treat and look after your scoby. Scoby doesn’t like metal, so find a glass or plastic large jar to store your brewing kombucha in. Secondly, use vinegar to prepare yourself and your equipment for making kombucha. We like to keep some white vinegar in a spray bottle as this makes it significantly easier. To begin, spray everything with a light coating of vinegar: the pot, the large jar, the mixing spoon, your hands and any other equipment which may come in contact with the kombucha.
​2. On the stove top, prepare your pot with 1 cup of white sugar and 1 litre of water. On a medium heat, stir the sugar and water until it is slowly brought to the boil and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat. Add the remaining 4 litres of water, and the 4 tea bags of each type. Allow the tea bags to infused for a few minutes.

3. Pour the mixture into the large, prepared jar. Ensuring that your hands have been sprayed with vinegar, transfer your scoby into the jar. Typically, the scoby will sit at the top of the mixture, however don’t be alarmed if the scoby drops to the bottom - sometimes this is simply due to the weight of the infused tea.

4. Cover jar with a tea towel and place in a warm, dark cupboard for approx. one week.
5. To bottle off your kombucha, remove the scoby from the jar. Then pour kombucha into sealable bottles and store in the fridge.

Our current favourite flavoured tea to use is the Twinnings Christmas Tea. It has a lovely spicy taste which honestly makes the kombucha taste more like a sweet treat than a healthy concoction of probiotics. It’s not overly Christmas-like either, which is why we enjoy it all year round. One of our first batches we made was with a lemon and ginger green tea flavouring which was really delicious. Just be aware of the caffeine content of the green tea if you’re drinking your kombucha before bedtime.

Hope you all really love this recipe! We’ve found kombucha to be a game-changer just to have in the fridge when we’re craving a cool, sweet and bubbly drink. Be sure to share snaps of your creations by using our hashtag #livelivelynz

From our home to yours,