Sesame Free Plain Kombucha
Brewing your own kombucha at home is one of those deeply satisfying kitchen projects that rewards patience with something genuinely delicious — tangy, lightly fizzy, and alive in the best possible way. The ingredient list here is refreshingly short: filtered water, black tea, sugar, a SCOBY, and a splash of starter liquid to kick off fermentation. That simplicity is actually the whole point, and it means you have complete control over exactly what goes into every bottle. Store-bought kombucha can be a minefield of added flavors and mystery ingredients, but this plain base is as clean and straightforward as it gets. The fermentation window of seven to fourteen days lets you dial in the tartness to your exact preference — pull it early for something gently sour, or let it ride longer for a sharper, more vinegary finish. Once you have a finished batch, you save the SCOBY and half a cup of liquid to start the whole cycle again, so this is genuinely a gift that keeps giving. It pairs beautifully with fruit, ginger, or herbs if you want to experiment with a second ferment down the line.
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Learn more →Ingredients
8 servings
- 3.5 quarts filtered water, divided
- 4 bags plain black tea (or 1 tbsp loose-leaf black tea)
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 scoby (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast)
- ½ cup starter liquid (unflavored, unpasteurized kombucha from a previous batch or store-bought raw kombucha)
Instructions
- 1
Bring 1 quart of the filtered water to a boil in a large pot. Remove from heat, add the tea bags (or loose-leaf tea in a strainer), and steep for 5–7 minutes, until the tea is deep amber and strongly brewed. Remove and discard the tea bags or strainer.
- 2
Add the sugar to the hot tea and stir with a long-handled spoon until fully dissolved, about 1 minute.
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