Honey–Green Tea Kombucha

Green tea makes an especially delicate and sophisticated kombucha. With a spot of honey to bring out the floral flavors, you could serve this at a backyard garden party from tall-stemmed glasses. Honey can be a bit hard on the scoby—its antibacterial properties can weaken the bacteria in the scoby over time. So rather than making this kombucha with the honey already in it, it’s best to add it to the bottles after brewing.

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Step 1

1 • Bring the water to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar to dissolve. Drop in the tea and allow it to steep until the water has cooled.2 • Remove the tea bags or strain out the loose tea. Stir in the starter tea. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon glass jar and gently place the scoby on top. Cover the mouth of the jar with a few layers of cheesecloth or paper towels secured with a rubber band.3 • Keep the jar at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, and where it won’t get jostled. Ferment for 7 to 10 days. Check the kombucha and the scoby periodically.4 • After 7 days, begin tasting the kombucha. When it reaches a balance of sweetness and tartness that is pleasant to you, the kombucha is ready to bottle.5 • With clean hands, gently lift the scoby out of the kombucha and set it on a clean plate. Measure out 2 cups of starter tea from this batch of kombucha and set it aside for your next.6 • Divide the honey equally among the containers you are using to bottle the kombucha and pour the fermented kombucha over top. Leave at least 1 inch of headspace. Screw on the caps and shake each bottle to dissolve the honey.7 • Store the bottled kombucha at room temperature out of direct sunlight until carbonated, typically 1 to 3 days depending on the temperature of the room. Refrigerate to stop carbonation and then consume within a month.