So here’s my overdue part 2 of kombucha making. I actually already bottled and taste-tested my my first batch and now have moved on to batch two and started a second jar. My first bath went pretty good. I read conflicting information about how long to let the kombucha sit and carbonate after bottling. One book I read suggested just a few days. Another source stated 1-2 weeks is required. I allowed our kombucha to sit for a week before I stuck it in a fridge. The final product was lightly bubbly, but I prefer more carbonation and will let this next batch sit longer. Another “trick” I read is to add a spoonful of sugar, honey or other sweetener to the bottled product to help the process of carbonation (you don’t want to use honey with the SCOBY, as honey has antibacterial properties that can weaken the SCOBY).

I also decided to get creative with the flavor. I added some fresh-pressed ginger juice to each bottle as well as a spoonful of coconut sugar, gave the bottles a good shake and stuck them back into the plastic bin (in case of explosion). I can’t wait to try the final results!.

The chunk of SCOBY I purchased as part of a kombucha brewing kit from my local co-op grew into the signature rubbery-disc like thing. It’s not exactly pretty. But it sure makes good stuff!

I then made some fresh pressed ginger juice – our family loves ginger.

I retained about 2 cups of the original kombucha liquid, added a fresh batch of cooled, sweetened tea and placed the SCOBY back on top of the new brew.

Last, I added about 4 dropper-fulls of ginger juice (using a tincture dropper) and about a tablespoon of coconut sugar to a bottle and poured in the kombucha. I gave the bottles a good shake and stuck them in their protective box, in case of spills or explosions.

My husband and I also did some quick calculations for cost.

• 12 teabags at $0.08 each = $0.96
• 1 cup of organic, raw sugar = $0.46
• Recycled bottles = $0.00
• Total = 1.42 a batch
• and one batch makes four bottles, so one bottle = $0.35

We did have to purchase two kombucha kits at $15 each. But these are one time start up costs. So, lets just say a bottle of home made kombucha costs $0.50. Compare that to $3.00+ at the store and you start to see why its worth the effort to make your own.