Kombucha is a fizzy, tasty health drink with a slightly acidic flavor that runs about $3 a bottle at health food stores. Next time you pick up a bottle, just grab the original (no fruit juice added) and bring it home to mix with 2 simple ingredients and start your own.

Ingredients to Make Your Own Kombucha:

• 1 bottle of original, unflavored kombucha
• 1 cup of tea
• 1 tablespoon sugar

I took a cup of chai tea, added a tablespoon of sugar, and let it cool. Then I poured the tea and kombucha into a glass bowl and covered with a hand towel.

After one week I started to question what was going on with the kombucha. There were a few whitish spots floating on the surface, but don’t worry, it’s not mold! This is the kombucha starter, or scoby. [Did you know that SCOBY stands for symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast?]  If your kombucha gets contaminated then it will most likely grow common mold which is generally green, blue, or black in color.

It needs just a few more days to thicken up as it takes about 3-4 weeks before a scoby is ready to make kombucha.

Check back soon to see an update on my batch and to see the next steps in making your own kombucha!