For Your Kombucha-Addicted Friend: A Make-Your-Own Kombucha Kit
People who like kombucha really like kombucha! We probably all have at least one friend who can’t seem to get through a day without downing a bottle. This holiday season, give them the gift that truly keeps on giving: a kit to brew batch after batch of their very own kombucha.
What to Get:
Scoby: This is a round, flat, creamy-colored disk that does the actual job of fermenting the tea. You only need one — the same scoby can be used to brew batch after batch of kombucha.
Tea: For a starter kit, pick a nice black tea or a blend of black and green tea. Looseleaf or bagged teas are fine.
Sugar: Your gift recipient will probably have their own sugar in the cupboard, but a small bag of nice organic sugar can round out this gift quite nicely.
1-Gallon Glass Jar: Most recipes call for brewing a gallon of kombucha, which makes a 1-gallon glass jar the ideal brewing vessel. It’s also handy for packaging up everything for the kit!
Cheesecloth: Add a square of cheesecloth for covering the mouth of the gallon jug.
Bottles: I love bottling the finished kombucha in swing-top bottle. They’re pretty and the kombucha gets really fizzy in the bottle. You can usually find these jars in 16-ounce and 32-ounce sizes.
A Copy of the Recipe: Last but not least, include instructions on making the kombucha:
Where to Buy:
• Kombucha Brooklyn: You can buy a basic starter kit with 1-gallon jar, tea, and scoby ($49.95) as well as fun teas, flavorings, growlers for storing the finished kombucha, and other kombucha accesories.
• Cultures for Health: A great resource for everything from the scoby to swing-top bottles.
Related: My First Experience Brewing Kombucha
(Images: all images by Emma Christensen, except 1-gallon jar via Kombucha Brooklyn)