Kombucha Tea - Part Two, Bottling

I posted all these photos on my Facebook site so you can copy and paste them!

Let's Bottle!

Cut up all your fruit BEFORE you uncover the Kombucha brew, you don’t want to attract bugs.  Bugs LOVE Kombucha!  Cut the peels off apples, peaches, pears, etc.  Cut up all other fruit like grapes, blueberries, strawberries, etc.  This helps the Kombucha “get” to the fruit juices easier.   I’ve used frozen fruit that is not in season too, defrost and cut up, pour any defrosted juices in as well.  YUM!  So far, apples and strawberries work best for me.  You can squeeze orange, lemon or grapefruit juice for citrus flavored drinks and even add ginger (shred it first).
Pour the brewed Kombucha out of the pickle jar into a plastic pitcher, leaving about 12 oz in the jar, more or less (Doesn’t need to be exact), for the next batch.  I use a plastic pitcher even though plastic isn’t really supposed to be good.  I do it so quickly it’s not a big deal.  Your pitcher should have a lid otherwise you will have a really sticky mess.
Take the Mother out of the jar leaving the new Baby in the jar.  If the Baby is little you can leave the Mother too.  If you are in a hurry you can also leave the Mother until next time.  The scobies will just grow bigger.
You may leave the yeast sediment in the bottom of the jar, which will speed up brewing the next batch. You can also stir it before pouring it into the pitcher and get it in the stuff you are drinking, it’s good for you! (The glass jar should be cleaned every four batches or so.  I put it in the dishwasher.  You need to stir the Kombucha before you pour it at this time, so you get all that good yeast!)
Parts of the scoby that are turning dark brown should be removed and discarded.   If the brown part is stuck, it’s fine for now or you can cut it off.  Put the Mother in your Mother Jar.  (You should get another pickle jar for this soon)
Using a funnel, pour the Kombucha into smaller bottle and/or jars slowly
Wipe the jar off of ALL sticky mess, cover with cloth, rubber band and set aside for a new batch
Add the cut fruit, as much as you want

You can use dried goji berries too.
You can use 100% juices as well, but fresh fruit works better.  YUM! 
Wipe tops off bottles, don’t worry about sides right now
Put lids on tight! 
Now wash bottles in sink, if stuff spilled down the sides, and dry off.  Put bottles in a plastic bin or sturdy cardboard box that will be easy to mass move them
Kombucha with fruit ~
Kombucha plain ~
Store somewhere safe and out of the direct sun.  
They should be ready in 3 days (72 hours).  It’s ok if it goes a little longer if you forget.  It will become very fizzy.  Caution when opening!  If it’s not fizzy, it’s still good! You can also drink it right after brewing, but it won’t be fizzy or have the added fruit flavors.  It’s still got all the good nutrients though.
Make a new batch of Kombucha right away, while or after you bottle this current batch, or store it.  It will keep for a very long time.  If you store the scoby and starter kombucha instead of making a new batch, add some sugar tea later if it starts to look dry.  You can even add good water if needed.

For Your Information ~

FYI – The more fruit you put in the bottle the better it will taste.  If you need to be frugal then just put a little.  If you can’t afford fruit then just make plain.  IT’S STILL AWESOME!

FYI – You can “boost” your Kombucha by adding a teaspoon of sugar in the bottling process.  Try it once, see what you think.  It’s too sweet for me.