📩 A PM Brewing Kombucha

As a Product Manager, I approach everything with a process-driven mindset, including brewing my own kombucha. If you’re new to brewing kombucha, it can seem daunting, but with a little bit of patience and the right equipment, anyone can do it.

In this blog post, I’ll share my approach to brewing kombucha at home, along with the equipment you’ll need, the ingredients required, and the step-by-step process to make your own batch of kombucha.

Let’s start with the basics. Kombucha is a fermented beverage made of black or green tea, and it’s a great source of probiotics. The history of kombucha is uncertain, with sources suggesting that it originated in China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, or Russia.

The SCOBY, or symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, is what makes kombucha. It comprises living creatures that transform sweet green or black tea into kombucha. To brew your own kombucha at home, you’ll need the following items:

• Kombucha SCOBY
• Gallon glass jar with cotton cloth cover
• 70% Isopropyl alcohol
• Kombucha bottles
• Plastic or wooden stirring utensil
• Green tea or black tea
• White sugar
• Unfluoridated, unchlorinated water
• Optional: Funnel and strainer set, adhesive strip thermometer

Once you have all the equipment and ingredients, you’re ready to begin the brewing process. Here are the steps to make your own half-gallon batch of kombucha:

1. Make the Kombucha Tea: Combine the hot water and sugar in a jar. The water shouldn’t be boiling. Stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves. Place the tea bags (or tea leaves) in the sugar water to steep. Remove the tea bags (or leaves) after 10–15 minutes.
2. Add the SCOBY: When the tea is cool, add an active kombucha SCOBY to the tea. Don’t add the SCOBY to the tea while it’s still hot, as it might harm the SCOBY. Cover the jar with a tight cotton cloth cover or a coffee filter secured with a rubber band. Allow the mixture to sit at 20–29°C (68–85°F), out of direct sunlight, for 7–30 days. The longer the kombucha ferments, the less sweet and more vinegary it will taste. Pour kombucha off the top of the jar for consuming.

IMPORTANT: Retain the SCOBY and a cup of the liquid from the bottom of the jar to use as starter tea for the next batch.

1. Flavor the Kombucha: The finished kombucha can be flavored or enjoyed plain. Once the kombucha has finished fermenting, there is no limit to the flavoring possibilities. My favorites are ginger and tangerine, hibiscus and mint, and berries and cayenne pepper.
2. Don’t forget: Open the bottles daily to “burp” them to avoid bottles exploding due to the fermentation process.
3. Refrigerate it! Put the kombucha bottles in the refrigerator after a few days flavoring to stop the fermentation process.
4. Continue brewing: With your retained SCOBY and starter tea, you can continue brewing more batches of kombucha.

A Product Manager’s Approach to Brewing Kombucha

See you soon.
Thaisa Fernandes

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