Making your own Kombucha

Kombucha is a fermented tea that was very popular when I was young. Like many foods, it went out of fashion, and for many years it was lost, with very few people making it themselves. Now you can purchase commercially made kombucha just about anywhere, even in the major grocery stores. The problem with this is that when something goes mainstream commercial, there is a tendency by the manufacturers to attempt to make it as palatable as possible to the most people it can. In western food culture, this means adding sugar.

There are very good brands available but for me, the best way is to make it yourself. It saves money and saves on packaging. Better for you, better for the planet.

What you will need:

You will need a pot to ferment your kombucha in. I use one made by a local potter in the Gold Coast Hinterlands. You can check out their website here: https://durand.com.au/kombucha-jars.html

You will need a SCOBY which stands for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast. You can get one from a friend who is making kombucha, health food stores and you can order online here when in stock: https://www.greenlivingaustralia.com.au/kombucha-scoby

As well as the SCOBY you will need 250ml of kombucha (fermented tea).

You will also need some sweet tea, cooled to room temperature. So here goes my recipe:

Making your Tea for your Kombucha

Ingredients:

  • 2 litres of filtered or bottled, non-chlorinated water
  • Tea of your choice (black, oolong, green or white)
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • A SCOBY and the tea it came with (about 250 ml)

Instructions:

  • Bring one litre of your water to a boil and using the boiling water and your tea, brew one litre of tea. This should take about 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Remove the tea leaves or tea bags and then add the remaining one litre of water. 
  • Add half a cup of sugar to the still-warm tea and dissolve.
  • Allow the sweet tea you have made to cool to room temperature then pour it into your Kombucha jar.
  • Add the SCOBY and the 200 to 250 ml of tea it came with to your jar and cover it with a tight weave cloth, ensuring it is secured to keep out insects. Fruit flies are attracted to the acid, and you do not want them in your Kombucha.
  • Ferment until ready. The time will vary depending on the amount of mother tea, the temperature, etc. It is more important to go by the taste of the tea, making sure it tastes like cider and that much of the sugar has been converted to acid. A two-litre batch should take anywhere between three to seven days to ferment. Start tasting it after three days. Use a straw to taste the tea, so you do not have to disturb the SCOBY if you are not using a pot with a spigot.
  • Once fermentation has been completed, and you are happy with the flavour, you are ready to bottle and place it in the fridge, ready for consumption. You can now add flavours to your kombucha and do a second fermentation on the kitchen counter, in the bottle for 2 -3 days. I like to add organic dried fruit to mine. Apricot, mango, cranberry, and blueberry are my favourites.

You can do so much with plain kombucha. Adding dried fruit is just one way to add flavour. Try adding a little fruit juice; using herbal teas mixed in with your regular tea, adding spices.

You can also second ferment in individual contains to get smaller batches. I use flip-top containers I can take in the car with me when I am travelling to do events.

Let your creativity guide you. Have fun.

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6 Replies to “Making your own Kombucha”

    1. Hello Edward,

      I use 4 tea bags in two litres of water, but if you like it stronger, you could use up to 8.

      Valerie

  1. I’m so glad I found this site. I thank you so much Valerie for the way you freely give of your experience. I read on the crockery site that you can actually leave your kombucha in a container with a tap and just siphon off what you need for the day and add fresh tea to the brew. For me this could be a game changer. So if I’m wondering if I can add a cup of tea with a little sugar in it to the top each day as I siphon off one cup for myself each day. How long do you think the balance of the brew would make this self-sustaining?
    I live in Hervey Bay. Cheers, Joy

    1. Hello,

      I drink a cup a day and every few days, I add one litre of tea with 1/4 cup sugar. I have been doing this for years. You do have to harvest your SCOBY every nwoadn then, or it will fill the pot and you will have no room fro tea.

      Valerie

  2. Hi
    I’ve just started brewing kombucha.
    My first batch was great. But the second grew a blue grey mold.
    For my second batch I accidentally used my hot tea leaf mix with Earl Grey in it. I read that it has orange oil in it. Could that have contributed to the mold.
    Anyway my question is
    there was a small mother underneath the moldy one that had no mold on it. Can I still use it?

    1. Hello Cassandra,

      Pull the small daughter off the mother, and as long as it has not come into contact with the mould, it should be OK.

      Earl Grey has Bergamot orange in it, which may have affected the mother, but it was more likely that the liquid you put the mother in was not acidic enough to stop the mould growth. Did you put the mother in new tea, or was it a mix of tea and already fermented kombucha?

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