Pour the 3 cups of water into a pan.
Stir in the sugar and tea.
Cover and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, fill the glass gallon jar half way with filtered water. Place a mason jar funnel (optional but very handy) with a small screen sieve over it on the glass jar (pictured ).
When the tea is done steeping, pour it in to the sieve and funnel it in to the glass jar. You should now have a lukewarm mixture, which is very important because too much heat will kill the SCOBY and starter. If you believe your mixture is too warm, it's best to let it sit until room temperature.
Now add the starter (or finished kombucha) and mix well.
Add more filtered water until you have about 1-inch of head space.
Taste it and make mental note; it should taste pretty much like sweet tea. Now cover it with a coffee filter (or any breathable cloth or paper towel) secured with a rubber band to keep the critters out.