Lavender Lemonade Kombucha

Heat 6 cups of the water in a stainless steel saucepan to boiling, then remove from heat. Add the tea, stir well and cover. Steep for 4 minutes, stirring once at 2 minutes. Remove the teabags or pour the tea through a colander into a second pot. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the remaining 8 cups of water to cool the tea to about room temperature (72 degrees F or cooler). Add the starter tea and stir. Pour into a 1-gallon jar. With clean hands, carefully lay your SCOBY on the surface of the tea. Cover the opening of the jar with clean cheesecloth and hold it in place with a rubber band. Place the jar in a warm spot (72 degrees F to 78 degrees F) out of direct sunlight and leave undisturbed to ferment for 7 days. Taste your kombucha using a straw. Too sweet? Let it go a few more days. Is it sufficiently tart? Great! Time for the next step. Remove the SCOBY with clean hands and place it on a clean porcelain or glass plate bathed in kombucha. This will be your culture for the next batch.

If immediately making another batch, reserve 2 cups of the finished kombucha for the starter tea for your next brew. For the secondary fermentation, divide the lemon juice and lavender blossoms equally among the bottles (about 1 tablespoon of juice and 11⁄2 teaspoons of fresh lavender per 16-ounce bottle). Fill the bottles with the kombucha using a spouted measuring cup and a funnel, leaving about 1 inch of air space in the neck of the bottle. As you pour, you may want use a fine-mesh strainer to filter out yeast strands. Cap tightly. Let the bottles ferment at room temperature (about 72 degrees F) for 48 hours. Refrigerate and enjoy. Strain when serving, if desired. Makes 1 gallon.

Note: If you’re using tap water, you should remove any added chlorine. You don’t need a filter; just leave your pot of tap water on a counter for 24 hours to allow the chlorine to evaporate.