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Have you ever wondered how to brew kombucha at home? This easy guide will teach you how to transform tea into kombucha in just a few easy steps! This is the most popular guide to brewing kombucha on the internet and has helped over 10,000 home brewers make kombucha in kitchens around the world. Yours next?
save this recipe!It’s a big day everyone! The day your intestinal microbiota have been begging you for. The day you say goodbye to expensive store-bought kombucha. The day you become a brewmaster!
The goal of this guide is to be your one stop shop for homemade kombucha brewage, from SCOBY-less to fermented perfection. No hopping around the internet or buying unnecessary gear. No fuss. No confusion. Because making homemade kombucha is so simple, and I hope after reading this you’ll give it a whirl! Let’s hop right to it.
Meet The Brewer
Hey friends, I’m Sarah! I’m in love with home-brewing kombucha and have helped thousands of people all over the world make kombucha in their homes! I created an entire website dedicated to brewing kombucha called Brew Buch, and run an online community of over 50,000 brewers called Kickass Kombucha Brewers (I’d love for you to join)! If you have any questions about brewing, please drop a comment at the end of this post – I personally read and respond to them daily!
The process looks like this:
This post will go into detail about each step in the process of making kombucha. For succinct instructions and metric measurements, jump to the printable recipe card at the end of this post. The general order of things goes something like this (you can jump around this tutorial by clicking the links below):
- Make SCOBY (1 to 4 weeks) – to make the “mother”
- First Fermentation (6 to 10 days) – to make the actual kombucha
- Second Fermentation (3 to 10 days) – to carbonate the kombucha
“Excellent recipe. I’ve tried ten or more online for comparison and this one has the best flavor balance. Not at all vinegary and not too sweet. Will be using for my base from now on.” -Katherine
Before we start, here are some general notes that are consistent throughout the whole homemade kombucha process.
- No metal or plastic containers. Metal can react with the acidic kombucha, while plastic can house nasty bacteria.
- Clean is key. A recurring theme in kombucha brewing is that everything must be clean! We’re creating the perfect environment for good bacterial growth, but if a bad bacteria sneaks in it could ruin your batch (and make you pretty sick).
- Temperature plays a big role. Fermentation goes a bit quicker in warmer temperatures and a bit slower in colder.
- No mold zone. If you see any mold growing on your SCOBY or in the tea (which I understand can be difficult to discern from the hideous SCOBY but will generally be green, white, or black), then toss your whole batch.
Step 1: How to make a kombucha SCOBY
The SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) is the mother of the kombucha, providing bacteria and yeast to ferment the sweet tea, protecting the tea from outside contaminants, and providing a loose seal to keep a bit of the carbonation in. Yes, it’s hideous…but it’s the very essence of kombucha! And the best part? You can make one at home! You’ll need:
- Water: Tap water is just fine here!
- White Sugar: Feeds the yeast and bacteria—don’t sub with other sweeteners.
- Black Tea: Provides nutrients for fermentation. Black tea works best for a strong, healthy SCOBY.
- Raw, unflavored kombucha: Contains live cultures that kickstart the SCOBY growth. Look for one with sediment at the bottom!
To make a SCOBY, you’ll brew sweet black tea, let it cool, then mix in raw kombucha. Cover and ferment at room temperature for 1 to 4 weeks until a ¼-inch SCOBY forms. Keep the SCOBY in its tea until you’re ready to brew your first batch! Jump to recipe for printable instructions.
Which brand Is best?
Our tried and tested store-bought brand is the GT’s “Pure”. You can find it in most natural food stores.
Important Notes For Making A SCOBY
- Only black tea. Similarly, the SCOBY doesn’t grow as well with green or fruity teas. By all means, once your SCOBY is big and strong, you can use green tea, but for now, stick with black. The SCOBY doesn’t like decaf tea and will not grow as well if fed it (SCOBY = my spirit animal).
- No honey. Honey can contain botulism bacteria that, when grown exponentially as bacteria and yeast tend to do in kombucha, can be dangerous.
- Don’t mess with it! You won’t see anything but a few bubbles in the first few days. But then one day a thin, translucent layer will form, eventually thickening into a full on SCOBY.
Step 2: The first fermentation
So you’ve got a newbie SCOBY and you’re ready to get this komboo-choo train rollin’. This first fermentation is where you actually make the kombucha. You’ll need:
- Water: Tap is fine!
- White Sugar: Feeds the SCOBY and bacteria during fermentation.
- Black or green tea: Black tea is most common, but green tea adds a lighter flavor.
- Unflavored kombucha: This has the live cultures and acidity needed to start your fermentation.
- SCOBY: Your live culture pellicle.
To do the first fermentation, you’ll brew sweet tea, cool it, and add it to a jar with your SCOBY and starter kombucha. Cover and ferment at room temp for 6–10 days, tasting around day 6. Once it’s slightly tangy and not too sweet, reserve 2 cups as your starter and move the rest to second fermentation. Jump to recipe for printable instructions.
First Fermentation Tips
- In this step, unlike in the making of the SCOBY, you can use other teas besides black. Feel free to experiment with green, white, oolong, or combinations of them. Fruit teas should be mixed with a few black tea bags to ensure the SCOBY mama gets what she needs to thrive.
- Once the SCOBY gets to be about an inch thick, peel off a few layers to create a second SCOBY (you can share the love and gift this to a friend!)
Step 3: The Second Fermentation
The final step and negotiably the best part of the process! The second fermentation is where the real magic happens. It’s where you can play around with sweet, fruity kombucha flavors that will not only make your homemade kombucha taste better than store-bought, but will carbonate the kombucha! You’ll need:
- Homemade kombucha from the first fermentation
- Sweetener (fruit, honey, or sugar). Here are a few ideas per 1 cup kombucha:
- 1 to 2 Tbsp mashed fruit or fruit juice
- 1 to 2 tsp honey
- a piece of candied ginger
Strain the kombucha and bottle it with your chosen sweetener, leaving some headspace. Let it ferment at room temperature for 3 to 10 days to build fizz, then strain out fruit if needed and refrigerate to chill and stop fermentation. Jump to recipe for printable instructions.
Second fermentation tips
- The more sugar/fruit you add, the faster the kombucha will ferment and become carbonated.
- Your jars can explode if the pressure becomes too high! For your first few batches while you’re still getting the hang of how kombucha reacts to your environment, bottle a portion of it in a plastic bottle. This will act as a gauge for how the others are doing. When the plastic bottle is rock solid, the rest are probably done. “Burp” them by opening each to release some pressure, then place them in the refrigerator to slow fermentation.
The Simple Guide to Kickass Kombucha
Equipment
- Glass Jar (1 gallon or larger)
- Clean Cloth (like a dish cloth or paper towels)
Ingredients
Making a SCOBY
- 7 cups water, 1.6 L
- 4 bags black tea, or 1 Tbsp loose tea
- ½ cup white sugar, 100 g
- 1 cup unflavored kombucha, this should be unpasteurized, unflavored store-bought kombucha, 235 mL
First Fermentation
- 14 cups water, 3.5 quarts, 3.3 L
- 8 bags black or green tea, or 2 Tbsp loose leaf
- 1 cup white sugar, 200 g
- 2 cups unflavored kombucha, from a previous batch or store-bought kombucha, 470 mL
- 1 SCOBY
Second Fermentation
- Kombucha, from the first fermentation
- Sweetener or flavor
Instructions
Making Kombucha SCOBY
- Make Tea: Bring 7 cups water to a boil in a clean pot. Remove from heat and add 4 bags black tea. Allow tea to steep for about 15 minutes. Remove tea and stir in ½ cup white sugar. Let tea cool to room temperature.Alternatively, boil only 2 cups of water and add the remaining 5 cups of cold water once the tea has steeped and sugar has been added. This will quicken the process.
- Add Starter: Add 1 cup unflavored kombucha then pour everything into a large glass jar.
- Ferment: Cover with a clean cloth and secure with a rubber band. Set somewhere dark and room temperature (70-75°F, 21-24°C) for 1 to 4 weeks, until a ¼ inch (½ cm) SCOBY has formed.
First Fermentation
- Make Tea: Bring 14 cups water to a boil in a clean pot. Remove from heat and add 8 bags black or green tea. Allow tea to steep for about 15 minutes. Remove tea and stir in 1 cup white sugar. Let tea cool to room temperature.Alternatively to quicken this up, boil only 4 cups of water and add the remaining 10 cups of cold water once tea has steeped and sugar has been added.
- Combine With Starter + SCOBY: If your SCOBY is still in the jar you made it in, use a clean spoon to push it down into the tea, then pour out all but 2 cups of the tea that’s in that jar (you can bottle the remaining tea to keep as a strong starter kombucha). Pour in your freshly made cooled tea.
- Ferment: Cover with a clean cloth and secure with a rubber band. Set somewhere dark and room temperature (70-75°F, 21-24°C) for anywhere from 6 to 10 days. Begin tasting the tea at about 6 days. It should be mildly sweet and slightly vinegary when finished.The longer the tea ferments, the more sugar molecules will be eaten up, the less sweet it will be. This process will go faster if it is warm in your house.
- And Repeat: Reserve 2 cups from this batch to use as starter kombucha for your next batch (just leave it in the jar with the SCOBY). The rest can move into the second fermentation!
Second Fermentation
- Flavor: Add your desired flavors to each bottle, then funnel kombucha into bottles, leaving about 1 inch at the top. Seal each shut.
- Ferment: Let ferment somewhere dark and room temperature for 3 to 10 days.This process will go faster if it is warm in your house. Carefully open bottles to prevent volcanoes. You can do this over a bowl with a baggie over the top just in case!
- Serve: If desired, strain out flavorings before serving. Place bottles in the fridge to slow the carbonation process and to chill before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!Supplies Needed for Making Kombucha
- Large Glass Jug: It should hold at least 1 gallon (buy on Amazon or in most homeware stores)
- Fermentation Bottles: These bottles have a tight seal specifically designed to keep the carbonation in (hellooo fizz!) (buy flip-top bottles here or collect and reuse GT’s bottles)
About the gear
Above is a list of the supplies needed to make kombucha. These are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you make a purchase. I’ve only included products I know and trust, and have included multiple buying options for each. I personally use and love the products from Kombucha.com. For 10% off their online store, comment below and I’ll get our secret code to you!
Will 2 “Ball Wide Mouth Half Gallon 64 Oz Jars with Lids and Bands” do for the second fermentation, or what do you recommend?
Hi Charlie! I would recomend something with a flip top lid. The lids on mason jars are decent, but they won’t hold in as much pressure as flip tops (meaning your finished buch might not be as bubbly, or will take longer to get there).
Hi Sarah, thank you for these great instructions. I purchased a Scoby and have started the process. Today is day 6 and I’ve tasted the tea. It’s still fairly sweet so I think a I should leave it and taste it again tomorrow. The Scoby that I purchased is floating in the middle of the jar but guess what? There is another Scoby that is covering the top of the jar. It is thin but I had to move it aside to get a straw in there to extract some tea. Is that normal?
Hi Paula, you’re right on track! It’s totally fine if it floats around and if a small one forms on top. Soon you’ll have 2 SCOBYs 🙂
Hi Sarah, I looks like my Scoby is ready (I will know tomorrow) when I start my first fermentation. You said to save two cups with the Scoby. Do I keep it in a dark place like the Scoby at 70 plus degrees and for how long can I keep it before it gets too vinegary? Second if for some reason the Scoby gets mold is there some way to rescue it or is the only option to start over? Third can I add a capsule of probiotics to the first fermentation so I make the bacteria more diverse and add lactobacillus to the culture or will this ruin the scoby?
Hi Raj! Congrats on the nearly finished SCOBY!
If you’re starting the 1st fermentation tomorrow, just throw away all the liquid the SCOBY is currently in and replace it with fresh tea. Store the same way (70/dark) for about a week until it’s ready. If you let it go past a week it will become vinegary, which isn’t dangerous for the SCOBY, just not nice to drink.
If you find mold on the SCOBY, it’s always best to cut your losses and throw it away. You don’t want to risk drinking anything contaminated.
And finally, I’ve honestly never thought to add a capsule and my gut tells me (haha…get it?) that the SCOBY would not appreciate it. It’s quite a balance you have going on in those jars and the SCOBY keeps it all churning and under control. I would probably avoid adding anything to the SCOBY (if anything, add it in the 2nd fermentation when you won’t risk hurting the SCOBY).
Thanks Sarah, keeping the starter for a week, means the cycle repeats every week? I would prefer to re-start the cycle every two or 3 weeks in which case the starter gets too vinegary? What are my options?. Also, I am mostly organic (including wine) so my tea is organic loose leaf tea from Assam (the lower the elevation the tea is grown the stronger it is and I like strong tea) and my sugar is raw organic florida cane sugar crystals. I will update on the results so others know whether this combination works or not. Tea bags are not a good idea for those who are picky about such things as I am. I grew up in Sri Lanka and when I was growing up they would dump the tea dust as piles of future compost. Then they invented tea bags and guess they no longer dump the dust, it goes in the tea bags. It’s not bad but its not tea leaf.
Hi Raj! Yes the cycle will restart every week. You can put your SCOBY on “pause” a bit by just making the usual tea mixture (black tea + sugar + starter kombucha) and setting your SCOBY in there. It will turn to vinegar but that’s okay, your SCOBY will be happy and when you’re ready to start again 2 or 3 weeks she’ll be ready for ya!
I would be curious to hear how it goes with your loose leaf tea! 😀
Thanks for perfect instructions Sarah!! The Scoby was perfect!! Based on your suggestion to throw out any Scoby that goes bad, I hedged my bets, cut it into 3 pieces and made 3 batches. I also tasted the vinegar that was with the Scoby and it tasted fabulous for a vinegar. We consume Apple Cider vinegar with the mother and rice vinegar and unless I hear from you not to consume it, this looks like a 3rd favorite vinegar for us.
Also, the jar I used was a Bed, Bath and Beyond glass tea kettle for $9.99 (less of course the 20%). It was a fabulous choice as the size is just right for half a batch and it’s so easy to sterilize (just boil some water) and its easy to use as it has a handle and a lip for pouring. I have a total of 3, one for the Scoby and the other two for the 1st fermentation.
So happy to hear, Raj! From what I’ve read, it’s okay to consume the vinegar (I’ve just never tried it!) Also loving the idea of using a kettle. You’ve got a whole operation going it sounds like! Happy brewing 🙂
Thank you for your post.
Just put my first batch to grow a scoby on a shelf.
I used GTS original to get it started. There was already a little scoby in it!
Hopefully all will go well.
Yay, happy kombucha-ing! Let me know if you run into any issues along the way 😀
Do i leave the two scobys with the 2 reserved cups of starter kombucha, from the 1st “1st fermentation”, and save the scobys to make a whole new batch, for another 1st fermentation?
please send a printable copy of Kombucha recipe. I have a scoby. Thank you.
Hi Terry! If you enter your email in the box at the top of the post, the PDF will be emailed right to ya 😀 Happy brewing!
Have made several batches so far. Use less sugar now because it was too sweet but I suspect I should lengthen days in 1st and 2nd fermentation? Also, have you figured out nutritional values? Thanks
Indeed, if you let it brew a little longer the sweetness will be reduced. Nutritional values are a bit hard to calculate for this exact reason. Depending on the length of fermentation, there will be different levels of sugar in the brew. You can get a general indication using the info from store bought.
I love how detailed and informative you wrote the recipe! Definitely going to try this someday! Thank you for sharing this!
Thanks so much, Santini! 😀