Ingredients
- 1 cup of sugarwhite, organic
- 8 tea bagsgreen tea only
- 3 ½ Quarts of water
- 2 cups of starter kombucha from green tea
- 1 Scoby from green tea
- ½ gallon of green tea kombucha
- 1 cup of hot water
- 1 tablespoon of sugarorganic is best for this recipe
- 2 cups of fresh lemon verbena leavesIf you want to try a different herb than lemon verbena, you can use this same recipe but choose rosemary, mint, or thyme instead.
Directions
Another great flavor to add to your flavored kombucha collection is the lemon verbena. This is a long time favorite for those who like a simple calming taste without standout flavor that overrides any other flavor in your cup.
You already know that kombucha is a healthy drink containing probiotics that aid in a healthier digestive system. What does lemon verbena offer you? Lemon is good for weight loss and it helps with digestion. It also decreases inflammation, eases congestion, and can calm the nerves. In addition to these healthy benefits is the great taste you get when you brew your own batch of kombucha.
The simplicity of lemon verbena will wow your taste buds and give you a refreshing beverage to drink during your favorite time of the day. Lemon verbena is a great recipe to try with kombucha so make enough to last you a while – you’re going to love it!
Kombucha – The Basic Recipe
There are two fermentation steps during the kombucha process. The first process takes the longest.
Equipment
For this process, you will need to have the following equipment:
- Stock pot
- Glass gallon size jar
- Coffee filters or paper towels
- Rubber band
- Small funnel
- 6 plastic soda bottles that have been washed, rinsed, and sterilized for the second fermentation process
Steps
1 Done 15 minutes | Prepare basic KombuchaFirst, you will need to bring the water to a boil then remove from the heat source and put in your green tea bags to brew. Let it brew for 10 minutes to half an hour. Remove the tea bags and allow the water to cool down to room temperature or barely warm. |
2 Done 5 minutes | Mix everything togetherMix the sugar, starter kombucha, and the brewed tea together in the glass gallon sized jar. Stir one last time and add the scoby with clean hands or clean utensils. Place the coffee filters over the mouth of the jar and secure it with a rubber band. |
3 Done 7 days | Start First Fermentation ProcessPlace the glass jar in a dark place for a total of 7 days. This is called the first fermentation and it allows the tea to ferment. Check on the kombucha often and on the seventh day, you will want to take a taste of it to see if it is ready. It should taste balanced between sweet and tarty. |
4 Done 20 minutes | Prepare the Lemon VerbenaTo prepare the lemon verbena, you will need to bring one cup of water up to a full boil. Remove from heat source and add the lemon verbena leaves for fifteen minutes. |
5 Done 5 minutes | Put the flavoring togetherPour the lemon verbena through a strainer into a pitcher leaving the leaves behind in the strainer. Then add the sugar and stir until it is completely dissolved. Allow the mixture to stand until the tea is at room temperature. |
6 Done 10 minutes | Add KombuchaYou can now add the basic kombucha mixture with the lemon verbena tea inside the large pitcher and stir together. |
7 Done 10 minutes | Pour into bottlesIt's time to add the flavored kombucha into the individual soda bottles and be sure to leave a half an inch from the top. Place the caps on each bottle and set in a dark area for three more days. Check on one bottle after the third day and see if its bubbly or if you squeeze the sides of the bottles, it should feel hard as a brick. When this occurs, your kombucha is done. |
