2. Once you have a SCOBY, it’s time to brew. Boil 2 gallons of water (some people prefer purified water, I just use filtered tap water) and stir in the 2 cups of sugar and add the tea bags. Remove from heat and allow to steep and cool until the tea is at room temperature, which will take an hour or two. Alternatively, you can boil 1/2 gallon of water and add the sugar/tea to it to steep for about 20 minutes, then add the remaining 1 1/2 gallons cold water to it to cool it down to room temperature.