Kombucha

Directions

1. Bring 1 Litre of water to the boil adding the sugar as you go, stir until dissolved.

2. When the sugar has dissolved, add the tea bags and allow to steep for 20 minutes.

3. Remove the tea bags and leave to cool until luke warm.

4. Once the sugary-tea liquid has cooled, poor into the large jar with the scoby and starter liquid and fill the rest with the filtered water - making sure you leave a small gap for the kombucha to breathe.

5. Cover the jar lid with the cloth and secure it with the string.

6. Set in a warm location, out of sunlight.

7. Do not disturb for approximately 14 days, depending on the weather and your patience. If it is quite warm, the kombucha will ferment a lot faster. So after the first week, test your kombucha by putting a straw into the liquid and having a taste. If it is still very sweet, allow it to ferment longer. If it is a little vinegary or a lot less sweet than what it was, treat yourself to some.

8. Once the kombucha is ready to drink you can drink it now (plain) or you can also add a variety of herbs and spices and allow to ferment longer to infuse flavours. You can add Changing Habits Ceylon Cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, chamomile, chilli, fennel seeds, peppermint, sage, passionfruit etc. The list is endless.

9. Kombucha is very detoxifying and full of beneficial bacteria. If it is your first time trying this, limit yourself to just half a cup and see how you go. You can gradually increase to having at least a cup a day. You may experience detoxifying symptoms the first time you incorporate this into your diet, such as head aches, joint pain or lethargy. This is why it is important to incorporate this slowly into your diet.

10. Keep in mind the Kombucha does not like metal, so you will need to take off your jewellery if handling the mushroom and use a plastic ladle when pouring a glass for yourself.