Bring the gallon of water to a boil, turn off heat, and add the tea bags. Steep for 3 minutes and remove.
Add the sugar and stir to combine. Let cool completely to room temperature.
When the sweetened tea has cooled, pour it into your gallon container with the starter culture and starter liquid (don't do this before it is cooled, you will kill your culture!). Cover with a cheesecloth or sanitized dish towel and let the jar sit in a dark corner, on a seedling mat if using.
Depending on the temperature of your room and if you are using a seeding mat or not, your brew will ferment faster or slower. A brew fermenting at 75-80 degrees (which you can use the jar thermometer to monitor) will take about 10 days to get to a pH of 3. If you don't use a seedling mat and it is during the colder months, it could take 2-3 weeks for your brew to get to that point. I like to do a taste test, as well as use the pH strips to see where the brew is at.
When the taste and pH of the brew are ideal (I like how mine tastes with a pH of 3), pour most of the kombucha, sparing the culture, into bottles and/or jars, leaving a few inches of head space.
Distribute the apple matchsticks, turmeric, and ginger evenly among the bottles and/or jars. Top off with remaining kombucha, making sure to leave some head space in every bottle for the fermentation to continue.
Leave the bottles in a dark corner at room temperature (not on the seedling mat) for 3-5 days, making sure to "burp" them daily to release any pressure that has built up. Use caution here--I have certainly sprayed my ceiling with a batch that I forgot about for a couple of days!
When you like the taste and fizziness of your brew, place them in the refrigerator. This will slow down, but not stop the fermentation process, so consume within 2-3 weeks for most consistent flavor.
Recipe by Autoimmune Wellness at https://autoimmunewellness.com/turmeric-tonic-kombucha/