I discovered Kombucha about 4 years ago. I gave up booze almost 3 years ago and have kept my scoby alive ever since.

We brew it in an 8-litre mason jar (from Amazon) and then decant it into 750ml and 1.5l glass bottles (from Ikea).

For 8 litres I use about 300-500 grams of Sugar and 8-10 tea bags. I just use standard black tea bags but you can experiment with flavoured tears although keep with caffeine for the bacteria to feast on.

Although we are using a lot of sugar the end product is not necessarily sweet (the longer you leave it the less sweet it becomes) or bad for you as the sugar is consumed by the good bacteria and feeds the mother/scoby.

I basically make a massive cup of sweet tea without milk. When the sweet tea has cooled back down to room temperature I add in my Scoby (we have loads if you want one). I then cover the top with some kitchen paper and leave it at room temperature for about 10 days. You could sample it earlier to see how sweet you like it.

You can now drink it straight away. I decant my 8-litre mason jar into the glass bottles and sometimes add a few drops of cordial, elderflower, ginger, blackberry, they are all delicious. I then make another batch of Kombucha in the 8-litre bottle whilst spending the next 14 days drinking the ones that I just brewed.

You can leave your bottled 'buch in the fridge for weeks. If you keep it at room temperature it will continue to ferment and become more vinegary. You will probably find a new mother starting to grow in the bottle, this is normal and healthy.

When you drink your 'buch just decant out the new mother as although totally edible it is not the best surprise for this gelatinous mass to slip down your throat.

I hope this lets you see how easy brewing your own Kombucha is and soon you'll also discover it is equally tasty.