Kombucha is gaining popularity as a drink of choice not only for its delicious taste, but its health benefits too. Kombucha is chock full of probiotics and antioxidants.
Many people believe that drinking kombucha daily helps with gastrointestinal issues, inflammation, and can give a boost of energy.
One thing is for sure; kombucha is delicious and certainly more healthy for you than comparable beverages like soda and juice.
What is Kombucha?
Kombucha, at its base, is fermented sweet tea. It’s made using a special fermentation process that uses tea, sugar, and beneficial bacteria and yeast.
Today, you can find kombucha in most supermarkets, but kombucha has been around and enjoyed by millions for thousands of years. Much like water kefir.
It tastes great on its own, but the fun of kombucha is adding different flavors to make the concoction your own, and that’s exactly why it’s so fun to make.
Kombucha terms to know
SCOBY
SCOBY stands for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast. This refers to the bacteria and yeast that are in the tea. They make the magic happen by fermenting the tea.
Pellicle
The cellulose bi-product of the bacteria, it’s formed at the top of the kombucha and helps to seal off the tea from the outside world. This also assists in creating natural carbonation. The pellicle is by far the most bizarre part of making your own kombucha, as it looks rather alien.
First Ferment
This is when the tea and sugar ferment with the aid of bacteria and yeast and is turned into kombucha. You can drink and enjoy the kombucha after the first ferment, but many people go on to do a second ferment. That’s where the fun happens.
Second Ferment
The second ferment is generally when the kombucha is transferred into a sealed container, like a swing-top bottle, in order to increase carbonation and make the drink delightfully fizzy. This is usually when fruit, herbs, juice, or extracts are added to change the flavor of the brew.
Why make kombucha at home?
Making kombucha at home is easy to do and so rewarding.
We started brewing our own kombucha at home because store-bought can be so expensive. A small one-serving bottle of Kombucha at our supermarket is $4 and up. We can make it for so much less.
Another benefit to making your own kombucha is having total control over the flavorings that you add.
You can find hundreds of recipes online and in kombucha books, or you can make up your own flavor profiles. We love adding seasonal fruit and herbs from our garden to our brews.
How to get started brewing kombucha
To get started, you’ll need to find an already active SCOBY and starter liquid. You can ask around to fellow brewers. Most of them will be willing to share their SCOBY with you. If you can’t find one locally, you can order a SCOBY online.
Tips before you start
Use only glass or ceramic containers
Glass and ceramic is your friend when it comes to brewing kombucha. Due to the fact that kombucha is acidic, it can react badly with metal, and plastic containers can be home to bacteria and chemicals like dish soap that can transfer to your brew. Glass or ceramic is best!
Keep your kombucha in a safe, warm place
Don’t allow pets or small children access to your brew, and try to keep it in a warm location. Kombucha will ferment in cool places too, but it does so much more quickly when it’s warmer. We keep our kombucha in a cupboard in the living room, it’s always warm in there in the summer, and in the winter, the woodstove keeps it toasty.
Practice cleanliness
As with any homesteading activity, cleanliness is key to avoiding illness, mold, or bad bacteria. Wash your hands vigorously before handling your kombucha, and make sure all your tools and supplies are always clean and sanitized.
Don’t rush the process
Follow the steps carefully and try not to rush. Fermentation takes time and patience.
What you need to brew kombucha at home
- 1 gallon Glass or ceramic container, preferably with a spigot
- SCOBY and starter liquid
- Filtered Water
- White Sugar
- 8 black tea bags
- Swingtop bottles
- Cotton tea towel
Step 1: Make sweet tea
Bring four cups of filtered water to a boil on the stovetop. Add eight bags of black tea to the water and let it steep. We usually steep for ten minutes. Remove the tea bags and add one cup of white sugar, stirring to dissolve it.
Step 2: Pour the sweet tea into your fermentation crock
Let the sweet tea cool completely, and pour it into your one-gallon kombucha container. Don’t rush this step; putting starter liquid into too-warm water will kill it!
Step 3: Add the SCOBY
Add the SCOBY and starter liquid to the cooled sweet tea, then fill the jug with more cool filtered water until it’s nearly full, leaving about two inches of headspace.
Step 4: Secure and store your kombucha
Secure a clean cotton towel or cheesecloth around the top of the container. This is to keep out insects and contaminants in the air, but also to let air in and out of the container. You don’t want to seal it off completely.
Place the container in a warm dark place like a closet or cabinet. 75 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal for kombucha fermentation. It will ferment at cooler temperatures too, but it will take more time.
Let the brew sit for several weeks so it can start working its magic.
While your kombucha is resting in the closet, you can check on it to watch its progression. If your SCOBY and starter liquid were indeed active, you will start to see bubbles rising from the bottom of the container to the top, and you will begin to see a new white pellicle forming between the liquid and the top of the container.
Feel free to taste your kombucha from time to time while it ferments. This is one reason it’s a great idea to have a crock with a spigot on the bottom; you can just pour yourself a glass whenever you want.
Your brew will start off tasting like very sweet tea, as that’s what it is, but over time it will deepen in flavor and become more effervescent and slightly sour with a vinegary kick. Keep tasting it every few days while it sits, and when its flavor is ideal for you, it’s time to move to the next step.
When your kombucha has fully matured, you have a choice – you can enjoy drinking it as is, or start a second ferment.
How to do a second ferment
With clean hands and tools, scoop out one cup of kombucha and the pellicle and place them in a clean container. You’ll set these aside and use them to start your next batch of kombucha.
Filter the remaining kombucha and pour it into bottles. We like to use swing-top glass bottles for this step. Leave about 2 inches of space at the top of the bottle.
Now is the fun part!
Add your chosen flavors to the kombucha. A few pieces of fresh fruit, juice, chopped herbs, cinnamon sticks, or extracts like almond and vanilla make for some delicious brews. There are thousands of recipes online and in kombucha books detailing exactly what to add to your second ferment for various flavors, but the sky is the limit.
This is where you get to be creative and have fun.
After you’ve added your flavorings, cap the bottles and leave them at room temperature for a few days. This will give the flavor time to meld and build up carbonation, making your ‘Buch’ delightfully fizzy.
It’s a good idea to check on the carbonation frequently at this point. If it’s getting very fizzy, drink it or put it in the fridge to slow the fermentation.
You can drink the kombucha at any point after the second ferment. We like to enjoy our kombucha poured over ice with some fresh fruit tossed in.
If you enjoyed the art of making your own kombucha, you can start up your next batch right away. Simply scrub down your fermentation vessel and start this process all over again, using the one cup of kombucha and SCOBY that you set aside at the start of your second ferment.
Making kombucha is rewarding, and fun, and can even be addicting as you experiment with different flavors and share the fruits of your labor with family and friends.
Once you’ve mastered kombucha, make homemade soda with your own ginger bug.
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