The latest 'new' health craze (that's actually been around for centuries), readymade kombucha drinks are popping up everywhere but it's actually incredibly simple to make this probiotic-rich beverage at home. Here's some tips for getting started.

You will need

• A SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria) - you can get one of these from someone already brewing kombucha or if you're patient you may be able to grow one from a store-bought kombucha drink. You should have around 1/4 cup at least of 'starter' liquid from the previous brew.
• Black tea bags
• Boiled water
• A funnel
• A 1L+ glass vessel to brew in for F1 (1st fermentation)
• Muslin or paper towels to place over the top of your F1 vessel and rubber band/s to secure it
• A brewing bottle to decant/store it in for F2 (2nd fermentation)

How to make it

Make sure that all the equipment you use is clean and that you have washed your hands well. This is the key to ensuring your kombucha brew is safe. Wash out your brewing vessels with boiling water and a little white vinegar. If you skip this step or don't do it thoroughly, you're more likely to end up with a mouldy scoby.

There's no set science to the recipe you use but here's a good one to start you off. In a separate jug or bowl, pour 1L of boiling water to 4-6 black tea bags and 1/4 cup of white sugar (you can multiply this recipe if your F1 vessel is larger). Cover with a clean teatowel or paper towel, stir occasionally to dissolve sugar, and allow to cool completely.

Once it's cooled, remove tea bags and pour into your F1 vessel along with your scoby and starter liquid. Your scoby may sink or float to a weird angle; it's fine it will likely eventually float to the top and grow to fill the vessel. Cover the top of the vessel with your muslin or a clean paper towel (the liquid and scoby need air access for the bacteria to breathe), then secure around the neck of the vessel with a rubber band or string.

F1

Store it somewhere warm and dry. You can do this for as little as three days or as long as you want - usually up to around 30 days. The longer you store it the more sugar is 'consumed' in the fermentation process; this means it will be less sweet, more sour, and there will be more healthy bacteria. If you leave it too long it may start to smell and taste like vinegar. Once you've left it as long as you would like, you're ready to decant it into your F2 bottle. Reserve your scoby and around 1/4 cup of starter liquid for your next brew, and decant the rest using a funnel into your F2 bottle.

F2

This is where you can add flavour; juice, different teas, fruit, spices. Have a play around and get creative! Lemon and ginger, blueberries, raspberries, apple and cinnamon, coffee... so many options! It may help to use a wide-necked bottle if you're planning on putting a lot of fruit in it. Keep a tight seal on the bottle to help create fizz, but make sure you 'burp' the bottle by releasing a little air every few day or two. It's important you use proper brewing bottles or quality rounded glass bottles for this stage or you may have explosions which can be dangerous. After half a week sitting on the bench, you can pop the bottle in the fridge if you prefer your kombucha cold. Storing in the fridge may affect the fizz.

Drink and enjoy!

Other points to note

• If there's anything that looks fuzzy growing on your scoby, it's mould; throw out the whole batch and start fresh with a new scoby and brew.
  Whether your brew is fizzy or not can depend on a lot of factors including how hot the weather is/your house temperature, how much sugar is left for the F2 stage etc. It may take some experimentation to get a decent amount of fizz if that's what you would prefer.
• If you don't have time to deal with your kombucha or you forget about the F1 brewing in your cupboard, your scoby will continue to multiply and your 'mother' scoby will create 'baby' scobies on top. These are great to keep as backups in case you need to start again for whatever reason (this is called a scoby hotel). You can also peel them off and compost them, or process them and use them in baking or to create scoby/fruit leather for snacks.
• You may get brown tendrils growing in your brew - it's perfectly safe and it's just yeast forming.
• Scobies often look ugly and weird. If it's fuzzy or if you're in real doubt, throw it out. Otherwise if it's just ugly looking it's probably fine!

Image / DepositPhotos.com