Debunking the Myth: The Safety of Home Brewed Kombucha

Debunking the Myth: The Safety of Home Brewed Kombucha

In the exciting world of health trends, Kombucha has secured its spot as a delicious and healthy soda replacement.

This natural, lightly effervescent health tonic is known for its probiotic properties and tangy taste, and has found its way into the lives of many health enthusiasts.
But with the price of a small bottle of good quality Kombucha being upwards of £4, there is a growing interest in the rise of the very wholesome Kombucha home brewing community, and if you're looking to join us, you're in the right place!
We're famous for our Kombucha Starter Kits, which all include a high quality SCOBY with starter liquid and lifetime brewing support. 

There is one myth which seems to linger in the kombucha home brewing community: the question of safety. Is home brewed Kombucha safe to drink, or are you likely to poison yourself? 
Let’s explain the truth, and settle your doubts surrounding this delicious, fermented beverage.

The Myth on Home Brewed Kombucha and Safety Concerns

The myth that home brewed Kombucha can be unsafe is rooted in concerns about contamination, proper fermentation, and the potential for harmful bacteria to thrive. 

These worries can deter many from brewing their own Kombucha, but is this caution warranted, or is it simply a misunderstanding of the brewing process?
Photo of a complete kombucha starter kit from boochacha being set up in a beautiful kitchen, with the branding looking great and the kit being really easy and fun to use - boochacha
Understanding Kombucha and Its Fermentation Process

To debunk the myth, let's first understand what Kombucha is and how it’s made.

Kombucha is quite simply, fermented tea, and it has been consumed for centuries. It is thought to originate from Northeast China around 220 B.C, and from there travelled through Asia, known as 'The Elixir of Life' and 'The Tea of Immortality'. 

The fermentation process involves adding a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast), which is the mother culture of kombucha, into a batch of cool, sweet tea and then leaving it at room temperature for 7 - 10 days.
The SCOBY is a crucial part as it introduces the live bacteria into the tea, and this kickstarts the fermentation. Without a live SCOBY, there is no fermentation process.
During fermentation, the SCOBY consumes the sugars dissolved into the tea, and in turn produces acetic acid, trace levels of alcohol, and natural, low levels of carbon dioxide, that lightly carbonises the drink.

This process also creates B-vitamins, enzymes, and a high concentration of beneficial bacteria known as probiotics.
Our proud founder Hebe, holding up a baby scoby to show students at a brewing workshop - boochacha
The Safety of Home Brewing: Fact vs. Fiction

Now, let’s address the elephant in the room: the safety of brewing Kombucha at home.

The truth is, with the right knowledge and precautions, home brewing can be just as safe as any other kitchen activity. We have a free guide here on how to get started with your own Kombucha brew at home.

Here’s how you can ensure your home brewed Kombucha is a safe sip of success:

1. Cleanliness is Crucial

The foundation of safe Kombucha brewing is cleanliness. Everything that comes into contact with your Kombucha must be clean. This includes jars, bottles, funnels, and your hands.

Use hot water and dish soap to wash your equipment, and make sure to rinse all suds really well before you get brewing.


2. Quality Ingredients and SCOBY

The quality of your ingredients can significantly impact the safety and taste of your Kombucha.

Use high quality tea, to get the best flavour into your Kombucha, and make sure to source a kombucha SCOBY with plenty of powerful starter liquid. Your SCOBY should always come with acidic smelling liquid, and it should come with instructions telling you what sized batch of Kombucha it is suitable for.

Our SCOBYs are for 2 litre batches of Kombucha, which works as a good size for 1-2 people in a household.

Check out this blog on how to get a SCOBY from a friend, and this one on how you can grow your own!

A healthy SCOBY is the key to making great Kombucha, and this is the part about Kombucha brewing that is most commonly misunderstood. 

3. Consistent Brewing Conditions

Kombucha thrives in a warm environment, typically best between 22-29 degrees C.

This is why starting in the summer can give you a helping hand. Using a heat pad can be useful for anyone starting in the winter time, or keeping your fermentation jar in an airing cupboard, near a radiator, on top of a fridge, but not in direct sunlight. For the first couple of brews it is super important to keep your brew at 22 degrees C as a minimum, to ensure your SCOBY gets going nice and fast. 

We include an adhesive thermometer in all of our starter kits to help you keep an eye on the temperature. Cold fermenting temperatures are the biggest cause of mould in Kombucha brewing.

Consistency is the key, as large fluctuations in temperature can hinder the fermentation process and potentially invite mould or harmful bacteria. 

4. Monitoring pH Levels

The acidity of Kombucha is a natural defence against harmful microorganisms. 

Measuring the pH is easy to do using test strips or a digital meter, but it isn't entirely necessary for home brewing. You can manage the pH of your brew by making sure to always leave enough Kombucha from the previous batch in your fermenting jar with your SCOBY, to act as the starter liquid for your next refill of sweet tea.

We always advise our customers to leave 3-4 inches of Kombucha in the jar when you bottle each batch. This is super easy once you get into a routine and having a jar with a tap helps as you actually can't drain all of the Kombucha when it's ready.

For reference, the pH of your brew must always be below 4.5 to create an environment that is safe for the fermentation. 

5. Sensory Checks

Look and smell are both powerful tools in determining the safety of your Kombucha.

Before tasting or bottling, inspect your brew for any signs of mould, which always appear as blue or green fuzzy spots on the surface of your SCOBY, see our SCOBY gallery here to see how obvious it is if your SCOBY has grown mould.

The smell should be vinegary but not unpleasant, and your Kombucha should taste a little tart, slightly sweet, with a light effervescent feel.

If anything seems amiss, we offer lifetime brewing support with all of our Kombucha Starter Kits and encourage all our customers to reach out with any queries, but if you're going alone, head to our FAQ's and see if there anything there to help.

If mould grows on your SCOBY, the whole lot must be discarded. Make sure to clean all equipment, through the tap, and your shower cap, well before starting again too. 

The Benefits of Home-Brewed Kombucha

Aside from the satisfaction of crafting your own supply of delicious home brewed Kombucha, drinking this regularly offers several other benefits. 

It’s cost-effective, totally customisable to your favourite flavours (see our Kombucha Recipe Club here for inspiration), and you have complete control over the ingredients and fermentation time, allowing you to adjust the taste to your preference.

Even better than that, brewing Kombucha at home is a sustainable practice, reducing the need for mass production style waste, packaging, transportation, and energy usage.

So as you can see now, the myth that home brewed Kombucha is unsafe is just that - a myth. With proper hygiene, quality ingredients, and monitoring, you can confidently join the ranks of home brewers who enjoy safe, delicious Kombucha.

If you're ready to get started with your own Kombucha today, check out our range of famous Kombucha Starter Kits here, and cheers to the start of your new favourite, gut-loving hobby!
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