Drinks

Liz shows you how to make kombucha

15 minutes prep, plus fermenting time (5–18 days)
1 litre
Print Recipe

Kombucha – brewed from fermented green or black tea – is a gut-friendly probiotic drink that can support our gut health.Wondering how to make your own kombucha at home? Look no further than this easy how-to with Liz Earle.

Liz says…

I’ve been making my own kombucha (fermented green or black tea) brew for well over twenty years. In fact, one of my first television shows was to introduce the delights of kombucha brewing in my cupboard to the unsuspecting actress Lesley Joseph!

This is still one of my favourite probiotic drinks to make and I always have a ferment on the go. It’s an acquired taste – slightly vinegary, but you’ll find it becomes healthily addictive. When I want to curb my alcohol drinking, I simply pour this ferment into a wine glass and slowly sip with dinner. Perfect.

Finding your starter culture

If you have kombucha-keen friends, you may be lucky enough to be donated a starter culture (or SCOBY). Don’t worry if not as you can buy starter cultures online. We like this one from Freshly Fermented.

Discover more from Liz Earle Wellbeing

Ingredients

  • 3 green or black teabags (it must have a base of ‘real’ tea)
  • 80g granulated sugar (don’t panic – the microbes digest this)
  • 900ml boiling water
  • Kombucha culture (also called a kombucha ‘scoby’)

Equipment

  • 1.5-litre glass jar
  • 1 muslin cloth

Method

  1. Put the teabags in the glass jar, add the sugar and pour in boiling water almost to the top (make sure your glass jar can tolerate boiling water). Stir, leave it for half an hour, then remove the teabags.
  2. Now leave it to cool completely, and add your scoby plus any liquid that the scoby comes with. Cover the glass jar with the muslin secured with string and leave it in a spot that’s away from direct sunlight and has a steady temperature.
  3. Leave the kombucha to ferment; it will take anything between 5 and 18 days. The colour will change slightly and it will become cloudier. Taste, using a small glass – it should taste fruity and tart and maybe a little ‘fizzy’. This means it’s ready. The longer you leave it, the less sweet it will become and it will begin to taste sour. It depends how you like it.
  4. Pour the kombucha through a nylon sieve into a large glass or jug – this is for drinking – leaving behind about a quarter in the jar with the scoby. This is what you will use to make your next brew.