- 3.5 liters filtered water
- 2 heaping tablespoons Kumaon black tea
- 1 cup organic cane sugar
- 3 ripe, juicy organic peaches
- 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 happy scoby
- 2 cups original batch kombucha
In a large pot, bring 3.5 liters filtered water to a boil. Turn off heat and add the sugar and Kumaon black tea. Stir to let the sugar dissolve, then let sit to cool completely (this will take several hours). Once completely cool, strain and pour into a large gallon glass jar with a wide mouth and drop in the scoby. Make sure the tea is completely cool before the adding the scoby! Ideally you should add in 2 cups of original kombucha brew at this point too, either from a previous batch or an original, unflavored kombucha brew. Cover the mouth of the jar with a coffee filter and rubber band and let sit on the counter for 7 days.
After about 4 days, you should start to notice a new scoby forming on top of the original. This is good! Little bubbles with start showing. A subtle sweet vinegar smell will develop…
After 7 days, remove the scoby with clean hands and separate the scoby’s, placing each on a clean plate. You should now have 2 scoby’s. Reserve 2 cups of the liquid (this is important for your next batch!) and place the original, bigger scoby in with this 2 cups of reserved kombucha. The second, newly formed scoby is going back in the jar with the fruit flavorings.
Add in your fruits. Peel and chop 3 juicy ripe peaches and drop them into the jar along with about 2 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh rosemary. Make sure to add back in the newly formed scoby here too. Cover again with the coffee filter and let sit for 24 hours.
After 24 hours, Strain out all of the fruit, scoby and rosemary and divide into 3, 1 liter bottles. Seal completely and let sit on the counter for 36-40 hours, after which time place in the refrigerator to stop the carbonation. Enjoy within 2 weeks 🙂
*Note – I discard the fruits and the new scoby at this point. (but I always save my original for a continuous batch!) Although some may say throwing away a scoby is sacrilege, I just don’t have the refrigerator space or the wherewithal to have dozens of scoby’s literally floating around. One batch brewing is plenty for me!