Updated Jan 12, 2024
Menu
How to make sWeet tea for kombucha
Whether you’re making kombucha or growing a SCOBY one of the key ingredients you will need is sweet tea.
WHY DO I NEED SWEET TEA for Kombucha?
One of the 3 main ingredients for making kombucha or growing a SCOBY is sweet tea. This tea is the nutritional source for the microorganisms the create delicious kombucha. First, yeast consumes the sugar and converts it into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Next, specific bacteria convert the alcohol and compounds in the tea into kombucha which contains a wide variety of flavoring and other compounds.
Therefore without sweet tea there would be no kombucha. Read on to learn about the variety of teas and sugar along with the best water you can use and the how to make sweet tea for kombucha with them in the correct ratios of these ingredients.
Note: this is not the same as starter tea or starter kombucha. If you need starter tea check out unflavored kombucha for starter
Ingredients to Make Sweet TEA for Kombucha
- Water – tap water is great read more about water for kombucha
- Tea – black tea (not decaf) is the standard read more about the best tea for making kombucha
- Sugar – white table sugar works read more about the best sugar for making kombucha
Equipment to Make Sweet TEA for KombuchA
- Large nonreactive pot for boiling water
- Long-handled spoon
How to Make SWeet Tea for Kombucha
The basic ratio for making sweet tea for kombucha is:
- 2 cups water
- 1 tea bag
- 1 Tablespoon of sugar
To make sweet tea to grow a SCOBY, where your goal is 1/2 gallon, you need
- 7 cups water (1.6L) (this is equal to 1/2 gallon – 1 cup, which will be the starter liquid)
- 4 tea bag
- 1/2 cup sugar (240ml)
Similarly to make sweet tea for a 1 gallon batch of kombucha you need
- 14 cups water (3.2L) (this is equal to 1 gallon – 2 cups, which will be the starter liquid)
- 8 tea bags
- 1 cup sugar (480ml)
Boil: bring the water to a boil in a non-reactive pot. Remove from heat and add sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. Add the tea bags (or whole tea) to the pot (remove any paper tags or hang over the side), cover and
Steep the sugar tea mixture for at least 20 minutes. You may allow it to steep longer if needed.
Cool: Wait for sweet-tea mixture to cool to room temperature. This process can be sped up by boiling only 1/2 of the water and making a concentrated sweet tea by dissolving the sugar, and steeping the tea in that water for 20 minutes.
Next, add the remaining 1/2 cups of cold water to this the concentrated tea, which will rapidly cool the mixture close to room temperature. Ensure the sweet tea mixture is totally cooled since the kombucha SCOBY is sensitive to temperature.
I don’t recommend using ice or ice water to cool the sweet tea since ice can pick up off-flavors from the freezer.
Helping you learn to brew kombucha, find inspiration for new kombucha flavors and use kombucha to make kombucha mocktails
The materials contained on this website are intended to be used for educational purposes only, and the website’s use is solely at your own risk. It is important to use good judgment when consuming kombucha. Never consume kombucha that looks, tastes, or smells unpleasant. Further, before consuming kombucha or any other fermented or cultured food, you should receive full medical clearance from a licensed physician. Author and publisher claim no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the material on this website.
© 2024 Great Kombucha * All Rights Reserved