Everything You Need to Know About Brewing Your Own Kombucha at Home

Quarantine has given us the opportunity to slow down and spend time in the kitchen, often putting a bit more thought, intention, and fun into our food. There’s something special that happens when you commit to the process of making something yourself that you might usually just buy from the store.  Enter homemade kombucha.

Kombucha is the summer all-star of drinks. Its delicious combo of the tart yet sweet taste, fun fizziness, and great health benefits makes it a fave mocktail mixer among the CS crew!

In case you haven’t tried kombucha or have no idea how it’s made, it’s a fermented tea with a history that dates back thousands of years to Northeast China. It’s made by adding a SCOBY — a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast, the “mother” of the fermented tea — to sugary tea which is then fermented with the help of the SCOBY. It’s full of probiotics and other happy things that our intestines love and that can help boost our overall health.

While making it yourself does take some time, attention and slowing down, thankfully these things come a bit more easily these days. Plus, you can get super creative with flavor combinations.

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My friend, Lini Wall, of Sunshine and Clementines is an amazing recipe developer, baker, herbalist shop girl and food stylist. (Peep some of her tasty gluten-free and vegan recipes here! I make her Flourless Banana Bread and Plant Based Enchiladas on the reg). She’s sharing today how you can make kombucha at home and it’s really not as intimidating as it may seem! Read on for her step-by-step instructions to make your own grapefruit and basil kombucha, plus some other yum flavor combination ideas to try.

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From Sunshine and Clementines:

Over the past few years, I have been loving learning to make things from scratch, from sourdough to kombucha and fermented pickles and kimchi. There is something so satisfying about the time and energy put into the process, checking on it daily, and that first taste when it’s finished. Not only does it save you money in the long run, but fermented foods are packed with amazing health benefits! If you don’t have a SCOBY already, you can buy one online or follow my guide on how to make your own. 

Some favorite flavor combinations:

• Grapefruit + Basil

• Lime + Mint (tastes like a mojito!)

• Strawberry + Cinnamon Sticks

• Ginger + Honey

• Watermelon + Lime

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Let us know if you try it out – and what flavor combos you test!