Kombucha is a delicious probiotic-rich drink that’s thrifty, fun and easy to make. Rumored to have originated in China around 200BC, societies throughout the world have been brewing kombucha for centuries. It is made by placing a strange gummy mushroom-like life form, called a scoby, into a gallon of sweetened tea.
SCOBY is actually an acronym for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast, and the kombucha gets its unique flavor and probiotic power because the scoby “˜eats’ the sugar and components of the tea leaving delicious, nutritious kombucha behind. A gallon of this stuff costs pennies, but will pay you back with thirst-quenching, nutrition-packed goodness.
A great alternative to juice or sodas, most kids are quick to acquire a taste for kombucha when they don’t have the alternative of sugary junky drinks.
Currently my family of four has four gallons of kombucha brewing at all times, and we still manage to run out. I am considering ordering another two gallon jar to keep up with demand or getting some warming mats to speed up the brewing time.
Ingredients for Making Kombucha:
- 1 kombucha scoby – Get this from a friend, or find a kombucha scoby here.
- 1 cup per gallon of reserved kombucha from a previous batch (or liquid that came with your scoby)
- 1 cup organic white sugar
- 5-10 organic black tea
- filtered water (don’t use tap water!) – where to buy good water filters
Supplies for Making Kombucha:
- 1 gallon glass or ceramic container, or larger. No lid necessary (do not use metal or plastic).
- 1 clean tea towel
- 1 large rubber band
- a funnel
- a pitcher or a spouted bowl
- glass storage jars or bottles with tight fitting lids
How to Make Kombucha…
Make your tea in the ratio of 1 cup of organic white sugar for each gallon of black tea. I use a two gallon glass cookie jar (like this one) and organic 20 black tea bags. You may need to adjust the amount of tea depending on the brand or variety you choose.
Add boiling filtered water to fill your container half way. Allow the tea to seep for 5-10 minutes until brewed darkly.
Add cool filtered water so that your container is about 85% full.
When the sweetened tea is cooled to body temperature, add your scoby.
Don’t forget to add the accompanying reserve liquid.
Cover with a tea towel, and mark your jar with today’s date. Store your brewing kombucha in a warm dark place away from other fermenting foods or potential mold. Starting around 14 days, begin tasting your kombucha. It should be tart and zingy, slightly sweet, but not cloying. In the winter you may need to brew your kombucha for much longer that 2 weeks. Try placing it near your (working) slow cooker, or near a warm appliance. You can also purchase mats (like these Seedling Heat Mats) to keep your kombucha comfortably warm and reduce brewing time.
When your kombucha is ready, with clean hands, remove the scoby gently from the newly brewed kombucha and place in a separate bowl.
Reserve approximately 1 cup of kombucha per gallon and add it to the scoby in its bowl.
Your next task is pouring the kombucha into bottles for storage. For this, I like to first transfer my liquid goodness into a spouted bowl to make the pouring easier.
Find a good combination of spouts and funnels to pour the kombucha as neatly as possible.
Store your kombucha in glass bottles with tight fitting lids. I got these wire-held stopper bottles at Ikea, and the two at the far end have tight screw on tops (I don’t remember where I got them). For extra fizz, allow the sealed bottles to sit at room temperature for 24 hours until refrigerating. If you would like to flavor your ‘bucha, now’s the time. Experiment with filling 1/8 of your bottle with a fresh squeeze juice, or add a teaspoon of almond or vanilla extract. (Note: Adding flavoring during the first brew will increase the likelihood of mold or contamination of your scoby).
When your bottles are filled, it’s time to begin the process again so you will never be without your ‘bucha.
Got Kombucha questions? Shoot them below! Happy brewing.
This post can be seen on Kelly the Kitchen Kop’s Real Food Wednesday carnival.
I have a gorgeous scoby and am on my 2nd brew (it made a baby which is what I’m using this week and I have the original in a separate jar) with it… what do I do with the babies? I don’t have enough friends to give them away and I feel bad just throwing them out. I drink a lot, but not enough to have a several brewing at once.
I asked a question on your site!
I recommend using DISTILLED water as it is generally used in labs and also is sort of like “silly puddy” as is takes on the qualities of whatever it is mixed with and makes the mixture stronger and purer.
Awesome! Thanks:). I am so excited to make my first batch–iv been collecting jars and the ingredients this week….thanks for guide!
Yay, so excited! After you brew your first batch and plan to make another, what mushroom is best to used? The mother you first started with in the last batch or the new mushroom that grew? Does it matter? ALSO, can you start a continuous brew in a red ceramic like container with a spout or does it need to be glass? THANKS!!!
GREAT photos!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS!!!!!! I just got a scoby and I want to make some but I’ve been so intimidated! I have never made any fermented food but yogurt before. Last week I tried sauerkraut and it went moldy
This post is beyond helpful so I don’t ruin my kombucha!
I received a scoby as a trade for some water kefir grains, but to my surprise I had bought a bottle of plain kombucha at whole foods a couple weeks before and had left the half finished bottle in the refrig. When I went to get it to add to the new scoby brew, it had grown a scoby of its own.
I started brewing kombucha a couple of months ago with a scoby that I grew from a bottle of GT’s, and I LOVE it. I love to make it, I love to drink it…it just amazes me that I can actually make this awesome, fizzy stuff at home!
My question is…would it be ok to give it to an 11-month old? My baby recently had to take a dose of heavy-duty antibiotics for a bacterial infection and I’m trying to counteract the digestive results by giving her lots of fermented foods.
I think your ingredients list needs to mention 1 cup kombucha from previous culture (per gallon). It is in the pictures, but thought it would be more clear added to the list. Maybe that’s just my obsessive personality coming out…
Thanks JoAnne… Good point. I changed it.
@Leah: I gave my babes sips of Kombucha starting pretty young, probably less than 11 months. I always water it down a bit for the kids, and stick to just a few sips for babies. And just to be safe, I don’t give it to them close to a bed or nap time, usually its a morning shot with breakfast. The two that I started with fermented foods/beverages early on love all things fermented…kefir, kraut, any cultured veggie or its juice (even spicy ones), chutneys, KT, etc. so I say if they are old enough to taste food they are old enough to taste these healthful ferments…just in very tiny amounts, start with just a lick off a spoon.
Love the visuals included in this post, makes the KT process/scoby much less intimidating
I love drinking kombucha but I heard recently that it can be damaging to the liver because it attracts all kinds of microorganisms, good and bad. Is this true?
For how many brews one scoby will last?
Hi Roro – With each brew the scoby makes a new ‘baby’ and these could last indefinitely. I have been brewing with my current scoby’s babies for over a year. Contamination of your scoby with mold is the most likely reason a scoby will need to retire.
instead of cane sugar will honey work?
Hi Willa – You can certainly use honey, but most of the sugar is ‘eaten’ by the scoby, so sugar is a more economical choice than honey.
hello: a friend gave me a mother komucha (looks very grey and old) but she soaks it in vinegar and leaves them in the fridge.. so I don’t have any STARTER LIQUID. I basically followed your instruction except for the starter liquid. Will my kombucha be ok?
What should I add or do to make sure it won’t mold but will grow a new baby one?
Thank you
Hi alwaysblessed – Can you take a picture of it and send it to emily at holistickid dot com? Either way, you need some starter liquid, so I’d probably spring for a bottle of store bought ‘bucha and pour some of that in. You can also make a new mother by allowing the store-bought stuff to sit out on the counter covered with a cloth. I never tried this myself, but I know lots of folks who have done it with success.
Hi Emily,
I will take a picture and send it to you…
I did buy a store brought one one and drank half of it and covered the rest and let it sit in the cupboard. I see a tiny baby kombuch forming (been 9 days now).
Technical question, does it matter in what quantity I store my kombucha in the fridge? I notice you poor it into multiple smaller bottles, is this necessary or could I store it in a gallon size jar? If not, what’s are ideal size bottles? Also, maybe a stupid question, but what exactly is a tea towel and where would I buy one?? Thx!
Hi Mindy – No, it doesn’t matter. I just use whatever sized bottles I have handy. The nice thing about the smaller sized bottles though is when they are empty they no longer take up room in the fridge, but a half empty gallon bottle will take up a gallon sized space the whole time it’s in the fridge!
Tea towel, flour sack towel, kitchen towel… all similar. Just make sure it’s clean.
Great tutorial!!! how much water do you use?
Hi Megan – if you are using a gallon container like in the tutorial, you should fill it to about 85% of it’s capacity. If you look at the pictures, you should be able to see what it should look like. If you’re using a larger container, the same principle applies…
So i’ve just brewed my first batch of kombucha on Sunday and for some reason my culture isn’t growing on the top of the liquid is that normal. Should i push it down? I can send you pictures but there is a very big air bubble between the liquid and the culture and only a small part of the culture is actually toughing the liquid. Also you can see there there is something attached to it that’s growing down into the liquid too. Any help would be awesome. Thanks
Hi Brooke – thanks so much for your question. I’m not sure I understand exactly what you mean. Could you please send me pictures so that I can see what it looks like and I will advise as best as I can from there.
Hi there. Thanks for this awesome post! Something I never see addressed is how to store your scobys? I understand that your mother will produce a baby with each brew. For the next brew you can either use the baby or the mother. But what do you do with the scoby you’re not using? I arrived at this post via your Kombucha Scoby Jerky post, which sounds awesome, but how do you store them? Do you have to keep feeding them until you’re ready to use them again? How long are scobys valid for if they’re not actively brewing something? Also, would you ever cut a scoby into smaller pieces to use in multiple jars? The only thing I’ve ever fermented was feed for my chickens, and I didn’t know what to do when my husband let everything dry out. I assumed the scobys died and just discarded them. Help please!