Bring 12 cups of water to boil in a stock pot.
Remove from heat, then add the honey to the pot and stir until dissolved.
Add in the tea bags then let it steep for 30 minutes.
Let the tea cool completely to room temperature, which normally takes a few hours.
Once cooled, pour the tea into the glass jar.
Add the vinegar or kombucha to the jar.
With clean hands place the SCOBY on top. You can try and use tongs but SCOBY’s are slippery so good luck.
Cover with your cloth and secure with a rubber band.
Place somewhere at room temperature out of direct sunlight (such as a cabinet) and let ferment for 5-10 days. The temperature greatly affects the speed at which the tea will ferment hence the span of time.
Start taste testing after 2-3 days. Taste it everyday until it’s just the right amount of tart. The longer you leave it, the more it will taste like vinegar.
Remove the SCOBY and 2 cups of liquid for your next batch.
Before you transfer the kombucha to bottles, it’s time to add flavoring. Add about 1/4-1/2 cup of honey to the kombucha if you want a little additional sweetness. You can also add fruit or herbs. The scoby feeds off the sugar so while there was a cup of honey in the tea, it won’t taste that sweet. Check out my recipes for Mango Kombucha and Honey Lavender Kombucha (coming soon).
Bottle the kombucha leaving some room at the top of the bottles, cover tightly then place in the fridge.
If you like carbonated kombucha you’ll need to do a second fermentation.
To do a second fermentation, instead of placing the bottles in the fridge, place the bottles somewhere at room temperature out of direct sunlight (such as a cabinet). Let them continue to ferment for 1-2 days.