Welcome to the ultimate beginners guide to brewing perfect Kombucha at home, every time! This guide contains all the handy tips and tricks you need to ensure you master the art of kombucha brewing at home first time, even if you've never fermented anything before!
We ALWAYS use the continuous Kombucha brew method, which is much easier, and more suited to those who find themselves too busy already, and people who like going on holidays!
What You'll Need:
This kit list should brew Kombucha to fuel 1 - 2 people with a 100ml serving, each day:
- 3 (could be bigger) Litre Glass Fermentation Jar with a Tap: The vessel for your brewing excellence. Make sure you clean thoroughly with warm soapy water, or use a sterilising agent
- 1 ish Litre glass bottle that fits upright in your fridge
- A high quality SCOBY: The heart of kombucha fermentation, containing live bacteria and yeast, this is your starter culture
- Green or Black Tea (8-10 high quality tea bags or 12 grams large leaf loose tea) and White Cane Sugar (120 grams). These provide fuel and nutrients for the SCOBY to grow and are vital to kickstart the fermentation process
- Clean Cotton / Muslin / Cloth Cover & Rubber Band: A breathable lid to protect your Kombucha during fermentation
- We also recommend a clean one litre measuring jug and a clean spoon to brew, and cool the tea before you add to the SCOBY
Here's the steps to your beginners Kombucha brewing guide.
Remember we at BooChaCha specialise in providing Complete Kombucha Starter Kits which have everything you need for the first month-ish of brewing, come with a welcome pack that includes a few special touches to make your brewing life so much easier, and come with links to youtube videos that have each step broken down individually in a visual way!
Step 1: Crafting the Foundation
Begin by brewing your sweet tea with the amounts above, in your measuring jug. Make sure you stir the mixture until the sugar has fully dissolved, and then set somewhere to cool to room temperature. We always use green tea, for its flavour profile and higher levels of polyphenols and antioxidants.
Step 2: Introducing the SCOBY
Add the SCOBY and all the liquid it is stored in to your clean 3 Litre fermentation vessel. This symbiotic culture is the engine of the fermentation process, it introduces the live bacteria to your brew, and transforms your sweet tea into a probiotic-rich Kombucha.
Step 3: Fermentation Process
Cover the jar with the cloth cover, securing it with the rubber band. This allows your Kombucha to breathe while keeping contaminants out. The fermentation period will typically range from 7 to 14 days, depending on your flavour preferences and environmental conditions, such as temperature. You should aim to keep the brew at a consistent temperature, between 22 - 24 degrees Celcius for the best results.
Step 4: Monitoring Fermentation
Taste your first brew after 10 days, and then subsequent days until it reaches a balance of sweetness and tartness that suits your palate. The first brew typically takes a little longer than the next ones as the SCOBY has to move out of its dormant state, and start to grow.
You should see this new growth as a thin, slimy looking layer on the surface of the liquid in the jar. This is a really good sign of a strong fermentation, but should never look dry and fluffy.
Step 5: Bottling Your Brew
Transfer the Kombucha into a clean glass bottle that fits upright in your fridge (this is where a tap comes in useful), leaving the SCOBY and some starter tea in your fermentation vessel ready for your next batch.
By brewing Kombucha at home, you are creating a product that is both environmentally sustainable and beneficial to your well-being.
Each batch of Kombucha is a testament to your commitment to quality, fresh produce and health, offering probiotics, digestive enzymes, and detoxifying acids with every glass.
If you have any questions about our Kombucha Starter Kits, this production method, or anything else Kombucha related, email us at guru@boochacha.co.uk or contact us over one of our social media outlets.
Let us embark on this fermentation journey together.