Anybody making their own Kombucha

[SpottyBumPony]

Does anybody make their own kombucha? Is it like having a needy child or easy peasy?

All the highstreet brands in my price range contain sweetners so I was considering making my own.

I've seen starter kits for £30-£40, any recommendations?

DH does it, it smells and tastes awful.
It seems to be very easy, he keeps trying to give the Scobie away as its too big but nobody wants it

Oh no, it's not your cup of tea then?

I made it before I was pregnant and it's really easy and hands off for the most part. I bought a scoby online, and used a large jar and muslin we already had for the first fermentation, and some flip top glass bottles for the second fermentation (only important thing is that it's not a square bottle) and that's it for equipment. Then it's just tea, sugar and flavourings. Might be worth pricing up buying the pieces yourself, vs the kit.

I use this recipe for the F1 (I tend to brew a concentrated tea solution and mix that with cold water so it' not too hot), cover with a muslin secured with a rubber band, mark the date on the jar with masking tape and leave it at room temperature for about a week - depends on conditions - it brews more quickly in summer than winter.

For the second fermentation, I'm a bit lazy and mostly used mashed frozen fruit and some extra sugar instead of making syrups, so would add what I was flavouring with to the bottles, top with the kombucha leaving a small gap at the top of each bottle and seal and leave for about 2-5 days at room temperature. Put in the fridge to stop fermentation and before drinking to help the carbon dioxide dissolve. Then I strain to remove any solid fruit bits (probably not necceary if you're using juice or a strained syrup.