Making Kombucha

I’ve been brewing kombucha for about 5 years now. I was recently asked how to do it and thought it more valuable to just post it publicly so it’s readily available and can be shared. Medium may not be the ideal place for this but does that really matter?

Rosemary, Rosemary Elderberry and Lavender Lemon flavored kombucha in second stage fermentation

Ingredients / supplies

• Green tea, black tea or both
• Sugar of any kind
• 1 bottle of unflavored store bought kombucha
• Airtight bottles https://smile.amazon.com/Flip-Glass-Bottle-Liter-Pack/dp/B07JZWGQQN/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=1+liter+airtight+bottles&qid=1600374760&sr=8-3
• 1 Gallon glass jug https://smile.amazon.com/Paksh-Novelty-1-Gallon-Glass-Airtight/dp/B00WFCKY20/ref=sr_1_8?crid=3F05G860SHX8I&dchild=1&keywords=1+gallon+glass+jar&qid=1600375176&sprefix=1+gallon%2Caps%2C229&sr=8-8
• Breathable cloth like a towel
• Rubber band
• Scoby — You can buy them online, I can send you one, or you make one from scratch. If you want to go that route, instructions at the bottom.
• Pot for boiling water
• Funnel to transfer to bottles
• Bottle cleaning brush

Instructions:

• Boil 3.5 quarts of water
• Once it’s boiled, turn off heat and add 1 cup of sugar. I use organic cane sugar but you can also use plain white sugar for baking. Stir until dissolved.
• Add 8 tea bags, unflavored. Black tea or green tea are recommended but you can use any kind I believe as long as it’s not artificially flavored. I use 4 bags of English Breakfast and 4 green tea.
• Let tea cool to room temp while it steeps. Usually takes 4 hours or so.
• Once cool, throw away the tea bags.
• In a large glass 1 gallon container, add tea mix, scoby, and 2 cups of unflavored kombucha. GTs has an unflavored version I believe.
• Cover with a breathable cloth and a rubber band. Leave it in a dark closet or cabinet for 7–10 days. This is first stage fermentation.
• Start tasting at abut 7 days. Once it gets a good mix of vinegar and sweet taste to your liking, it’s ready to bottle. It may also start to carbonate which is a good sign it’s ready for second stage fermentation.
• Remove the scoby and 2 cups of the kombucha and put them aside.
• This is the stage where you can flavor the kombucha. There’s tons of different flavors you can use. Check google. I’ve tried pineapple, pomegranate, lemon and lavender and strawberry which all are good.
• Add fruit to the bottles and fill with tea/kombucha mix. It should fill a little more than three 1 liter bottles. Don’t use screw tops, they suck.
• Leave bottles out on the counter for 2–3 days. Make sure they’re not exposed to direct sun.
• After a couple days, pop a bottle or 2 open. If it fizzes up and you see the carbonating bubbles rise to the top it’s ready. It’s kind of like opening a bottle of soda. In some cases, it will fizz to the top and overflow out of the bottle in which case it’s ready to drink.
• Put the bottles in the fridge and start your next batch with the reserved 2 cups of kombucha and scoby.

Tips

• After a few batches the scoby will start to get fat. Peal the top off and throw it away or give it to someone.
• When transferring the kombucha from your gallon jar to the bottles there will be sediment. This is the live culture that creates kombucha. It’s normal. Don’t strain it. In some cases the culture will create a baby scoby in one of your bottles. This is normal.
• Don’t expose the kombucha to metal. It adversely affects the fermentation.
• In warmer weather 1st and 2nd stage fermentation happen faster both in the gallon jug and in bottles. In colder weather it’s the opposite.
• With fruit in your bottles, you may want to strain them when pouring in a glass to drink. At this point, it’s OK to expose it to a small metal strainer.
• In summer months, fruit flies may gather around your gallon jar. This is normal, and annoying.
• If you see fuzz or mold on your scoby, get rid of it! I’ve never experienced this but I’ve read about it and it’s dangerous to continue brewing with that scoby. You’ll need a new one.
• Don’t get frustrated if your first few batches don’t taste as you expect! It’ll get better and easier and you’ll get a knack for it. These instructions sound like a lot, but it’s really only a couple hours for each batch. Think about how much money you’re saving!
• If you want more info on brewing, this is where I got started. I’m sure there’s plenty of other resources on line as well. https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-kombucha-tea-at-home-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-173858

Making your own scoby

All kombucha has live cultures in it. If given the chance, they will grow into a scoby. If you want to create one from scratch, just start your first batch without a scoby and wait for one to grow. It will take 3–4 weeks and this first batch won’t be consumable (unless you like drinking vinegar). I recommend tossing it completely. When I tried this I reserved 2 cups for the next batch. It definitely made it a little bitter. Maybe easiest to just get another bottle of raw kombucha to start your first official batch.