The Simple Guide to Kickass

Kombucha
It’s a big day everyone! The day your intestinal
microbiota have been begging you for. The
day you say goodbye to expensive store
bought kombucha. The day you become a
brewmaster as I impart on you the secrets of
homemade kombucha!

The goal of this guide is to be your one stop

shop for homemade kombucha brewage, from
SCOBY-less to fermented perfection. No
hopping around the interwebs. No fuss. No
confusion. Because making homemade
kombucha is so simple (albeit a bit slow), and
I hope after reading this you’ll give it a whirl!
Let’s hop right to it.

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How to Make Homemade

Kombucha: Overview

This post will go into detail about each step in

the process of making kombucha. For
succinct instructions, scroll to the bottom
where a recipe card lays out the basics of
making homemade kombucha. The general
order of things goes something like this (you
can jump around this tutorial by clicking the
links below):

1. Make SCOBY (1 to 4 weeks) – to make

the “mother”
2. (6 to 10 days) – to make the actual
kombucha
3. (3 to 10 days) – to carbonate the
kombucha

You can also click to jump to a few useful

resources:

Supplies needed – My top tools for

brewing ‘buch
Kombucha FAQ – Be sure to check out
the comments section as well for
answers to many questions
Get the printable guide – Everything
from this post, in printable PDF form

How to Make Kombucha Video

How to Make Homemade Kombucha

Before we start, here are some general notes

that are consistent throughout the whole
homemade kombucha process.

No metal or plastic containers. Metal

can react with the acidic kombucha and
hurt your SCOBY, while plastic can house
nasty bacteria that you don’t want
sneaking in.
Clean is key. A recurring theme in
kombucha brewing is that EVERYTHING
must be CLEAN! We’re creating the
perfect environment for good bacterial
growth, but if a bad bacteria slips in, it
could ruin your batch (and make you
pretty sick).
Temperature plays a role. Fermentation
goes a bit quicker in warmer
temperatures, and a bit slower in colder.
No mold zone. If you see any mold
growing on your SCOBY or in the tea
(which I understand can be difficult to
discern from the hideous SCOBY, but will
generally be green, white, or black), then
toss your whole batch.

Print the Homemade Kombucha

Guide

By popular demand, I’ve created a printable

PDF with all the instructions from this post.
Enter your email below and I’ll send it to ya!

1. How to make a homemade

kombucha SCOBY

The SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and

yeast) is the mother of the kombucha,
providing bacteria and yeast to ferment the
sweet tea, protecting the tea from outside
contaminants, and providing a loose seal to
keep a bit of the carbonation in. Yes, it’s scary
and alien looking and Buzzfeed did a whole
article about how ugly this mama is…but it’s
the very essence of kombucha! It brings the
love and flavor and magic!

Making a SCOBY Ingredients:

7 cups (1.6 L) clean water

½ cup (100 g) white sugar
4 bags black tea (or 1 Tbsp loose tea)
1 cup (235 mL) unpasteurized,
unflavored store bought kombucha
A large glass or ceramic container (two
jars holding at least ½ gallon (1.9 L)
each, or one jug holding at least 1 gallon
(3.7 L)). Alternatively, use a glass jug
with a built in spigot to make pouring
the kombucha out easier!
Tightly woven cloth (coffee filters, paper
towels, napkins, cheese cloth)
Rubberbands

Making a SCOBY Instructions:

1. Bring water to a boil in a clean pot.

Remove from heat and dissolve sugar
into it.
2. Add the tea and allow to steep while
water cools to room temperature (a few
hours). Only when water is at room
temperature is it ready to work with (test
by drawing out some water with a paper
straw, using your finger to keep the ‘buch
in the straw).
3. Pour the sweetened tea into your jar(s),
then pour store-bought kombucha in (if
you’re using two jars, pour ½ of the
storebought kombucha into each),
making sure to include any little gunkies
that may be at the bottom. These are
good!
4. Cover with a few layers of the tightly
woven cloth (keeps out bugs and debris)
and secure with a rubber band.
5. Set somewhere dark, still, and room
temperature (70-75 degrees F, 21-24 C),
like a cupboard, for 1 to 4 weeks, until a
¼ inch (½ cm) SCOBY has formed.
6. Keep SCOBY in its original tea until
you’re ready to brew your first batch. The
SCOBY should live and grow for years if
treated with love. The tea you used to
make the SCOBY, however, is very
vinegary and should be tossed. Don’t
use this tea as the starter to your first
fermentation!

Things to note when making your SCOBY:

No decaf. The SCOBY doesn’t like decaf

tea and will not grow as well if fed it
(SCOBY = my spirit animal)
Only black tea. Similarly, the SCOBY
doesn’t grow as well with green or fruity
teas. By all means, once your SCOBY is
big and strong you can use green tea,
but for now stick with black.
No honey. Honey can contain botulism
bacteria that, when grown exponentially
as bacteria and yeast tend to do in
kombucha, can be dangerous. You can
use honey in the second fermentation,
once there are a higher number of good
bacteria to fight off the bad, but for now,
stick to sugar.
Don’t mess with it! You won’t see
anything but a few bubbles in the first
few days. But then one day a thin,
translucent layer will form, eventually
thickening into a full on SCOBY. If it floats
sideways or sinks, leave it! It’s just doing
it’s SCOBY thang.
It’s all in the proportions. As I
mentioned, I made two SCOBYs with this
recipe, and you could probably make
more. As long as you keep the
proportions in check (7 c water : 1 c
starter : 4 bags tea : 1/2 c sugar), you’ll
be fine. Also note that this is the same
proportion we’ll use in the first
fermentation, but on a larger scale to
make more ‘buch!
Got leftovers? Never throw your SCOBY
away! Share the kombucha love by
gifting it to a friend, or make it into a
delicious gummy candy!

2. Homemade kombucha: The first

fermentation

So you’ve got a newbie SCOBY and you’re

ready to get this komboo-choo train rollin’.
This first fermentation is where you actually
make the kombucha.

First Fermentation Ingredients:

14 cups (3.5 quarts, 3.3 L) clean water

1 cup (200 g) white sugar
8 bags black or green tea (or 2 Tbsp
loose leaf)
2 cups (470 mL) unflavored kombucha
(either from a previous batch or
unpasteurized, unflavored store bought
kombucha
1 or 2 SCOBYs (depending on how many
containers you’re using, 1 per container)
A large glass or ceramic container (two
jars holding at least ½ gallon (1.9 L)
each, or one jug holding at least 1 gallon
(3.7 L)). Alternatively, use a glass jug
with a built in spigot to make pouring the
kombucha out easier!
Tightly woven cloth (coffee filters, paper
towels, napkins, cheese cloth)
Rubberbands

First Fermentation Instructions:

1. Bring water to a boil in a clean pot.

Remove from heat and dissolve sugar
into it.
2. Add the tea and allow to steep while
water cools to room temperature (a few
hours). Again, MUST be room
temperature. Don’t risk killing your
SCOBY in hot water.
3. With hands AS CLEAN AS A SURGEON’S
(really clean), gently remove your
SCOBY from the tea and place on an
equally as clean plate. You can rinse out
the jar if you want (without soap), but it’s
not necessary.
4. Pour the sweetened tea into your jar(s),
then pour in unflavored starter
kombucha (if you’re using two jars, pour
½ of the starter kombucha into each).
5. Gently place SCOBY into jar then cover
with a few layers of the tightly woven
cloth and secure with a rubber band.
6. Set the jar(s) somewhere dark, still, and
room temperature (70-75 degrees F, 21-
24 C) for anywhere from 6 to 10 days.
Begin tasting the tea at about 6 days by
gently drawing out some of the tea with a
paper straw (using your finger to hold the
tea in the straw, don’t use your mouth). It
should be mildly sweet and slightly
vinegary. The warmer the air
temperature, the faster the kombucha
will ferment. The longer the tea ferments,
the more sugar molecules will be eaten
up, the less sweet it will be.
7. Reserve 2 cups from this batch to use as
starter kombucha for your next batch
(just leave it in the jar with SCOBY(s)).
The rest can move into the second and
final fermentation.

Things to note about the first fermentation:

In this step, unlike in the making of the

SCOBY, you can use other teas besides
black. Feel free to experiment with green,
white, oolong, or combinations of them.
Fruit teas should be mixed with a few
black tea bags to ensure the SCOBY
mama gets what she needs to thrive.
Once the SCOBY gets to be about an
inch (2.5 cm) thick, peel off a few layers
to create a second SCOBY (you can
share the love and gift this to a friend!)

3. Homemade kombucha: The

second fermentation

The final step and negotiably the best part of

the process! The second fermentation is
where the real magic happens. It’s where you
can play around with sweet, fruity flavors that
will not only make your homemade kombucha
taste better than store-bought, but will give
those good bacteria the power to kick it into
high carbonation gear, bringing everything
together into effervescent bliss. Let’s finish
this.

Second Fermentation Ingredients:

Homemade kombucha from the first

fermentation
Sweetener (fruit, honey, or sugar). Here
are a few ideas per 1 cup kombucha:
1 to 2 Tbsp mashed fruit or fruit
juice
A slice of orange
1 to 2 tsp honey
a piece of peppermint candy
a piece of candied ginger
*to add chia seeds, see below under
“things to note”
A few flip top fermentation
bottles (bottles meant for fermentation
have an airtight seal, which will prevent
carbonation from escaping. If you don’t
have these, canning jars will do an alright
job, though they aren’t truly airtight.)

Second Fermentation Instructions:

1. Strain kombucha and funnel into bottles,

leaving about 1 1/2 inches at the top (3.8
cm).
2. Add your chosen sweetener and seal
tightly with lid.
3. Let ferment somewhere dark and room
temperature for 3 to 10 days.
4. If desired, strain out fruit before serving.
Place in fridge to slow the carbonation
process.

Things to note about the second

fermentation:

Your jars can explode if the pressure

becomes too high! For your first few
batches while you’re still getting the
hang of how kombucha reacts to your
environment, bottle a portion of it in a
plastic bottle. This will act as a gauge for
how the others are doing. When the
plastic bottle is rock solid, the rest are
probably done. “Burp” them by opening
each to release some pressure, then
place them in the refrigerator to slow
fermentation.
Carefully open bottles over the sink with
a towel in hand.
The more sugar/fruit you add, the faster
the kombucha will ferment and become
carbonated.
Chia seeds are my favorite addition to
kombucha. Rather than adding these to
the ‘buch when we add the sweetener,
we’ll stir these in at the very end after the
kombucha has been carbonated. Use 1
Tbsp of chia seeds per 1 cup of
kombucha. Stir in the seeds and allow
them to do their absorbing thang for a
few hours, stirring every once in a while
to keep them from clumping.

Favorite Kombucha Flavors

I’m always experimenting with new flavors of

kombucha. I’m always adding new kombucha
flavors to this list, but here are a few of my
favorites:

Mango Kombucha
Blueberry Kombucha
Ginger Pepper Kombucha
Pineapple Basil Kombucha
Strawberry Kombucha (perfect for a
Kombucha Ice Cream Float)
Peach Pie Kombucha
Mojito Kombucha
Lemon Ginger Kombucha (great in a
Kombucha Radler)
Apple Cinnamon Kombucha
Pumpkin Spice Kombucha 16.6k