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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!
Wonderful article!
I apologize if this has been asked already, but it mentions “Don’t use this tea as the starter to your first fermentation!”. However the brewbuch website seems to imply it’s okay: “reserve 2 cups of the liquid the SCOBY was growing in (that can be your starter kombucha)”
https://brewbuch.com/how-to-make-kombucha/
Any extra insight on this, or experiences on what sort of difference is made?
Thanks for clarifying Matt! After a lot of experimenting you *can* use that SCOBY liquid to brew the first fermentation! 😀
Can I use decaffeinated earl grey as black tea portion?
Decaf yes, early grey no. It contains oils that can impact your brew (our guide to the best teas for kombucha here!)
Hello! Thank you so much for this guide. I was wondering if I have to make another first fermentation right away after keeping the 2 cups; or I can leave my 2 cups (result of first fermentation) with my SCOBY until I’m ready to do another batch. Thanks!
You can make it right away or leave the 2 cups with your SCOBY until you’re ready to start again – totally up to you!
Question to get me started! 🙂
I got a SCOBY from a friend, toghether with it’s liquid. It’s been sitting in the closet at roomtemp for a few months, producing many more babies.
I suspect that the liquid is completely vinegar…
Can I still use this liquid as ‘plain kombucha’ to start the first fermentation, or is it too old?
Yep, you can use that ultra-vinegary liquid as the started kombucha! 😀
Hi, I bought a scoby and the liquid in it is less than a cup (maybe half), is that enough as a starter ?
You should just scale down the whole recipe to adjust for the smaller amount of starter you have (or go pick up a bottle of unflavored kombucha at the store). Happy brewing!
Hi Sarah, thank you for your wonderful directions on Kombucha making! I got as far as the scoby made, the first fermentation made ( tasted just right) but I’m unsure about what to do next: I saved 2 cups of brew with the scoby and put it back in a warm, dark place, tightly covered with a coffe filter and rubberband. I took the rest from the first brew and added mashed fruit and green tea. (It was made with black tea originally.) I put that jar in the same place, covered and secured, and think I wait 3-6 days to have my first batch of USEABLE (drinkable)Kombucha. Is this correct? Then I start over with the scoby and tea and sugar for the NEXT batch? THANK YOU! I’v gone tto far to fail now!
You have that all right! The only thing I’m wondering – is the kombucha with the fruit in it in a sealed bottle? You’ll want to use fermentation bottles to allow it to carbonate in the second fermentation. Besides that, everything sounds spot on!
I’ve been making kombucha tea for a couple years now. But I recently went into a bit of a “funk” and let my kombucha tea ferment too long so that now it’s vinegar! Not much fluid left. The scoby looks healthy, but I wonder if the new batch of tea would taste vinegary? I never knew how to make my own scoby and always bought it from a website. It arrived in a bag with about 1 1/2 cup of fermented tea and the scoby ready to go. I might try to make two batches, one with the older scoby and one with a new made scoby. I’ll tune in to let you know how it’s going.
I don’t think it’ll be too vinegary if you just use that SCOBY and a bit of starter to start your new batch! 😀
I dont have unflavored kambucha can zI use ACV indtead
It needs to be kombucha, otherwise it won’t have the right bacteria and yeast to get started. Here’s our guide on where to find unflavored kombucha!
I have a friend who is on a Keto diet. He loves my Apple Cinnamon Kombucha but is worried about the sugars and carbs. Your nutritional info seems really high for the sugars for 1 cup. Are you sure that info is correct or could it be much lower? Carbs and sugars 12g each…Thanks
Hi Tasha! It’s 12g of carbs total (all 12g are from sugar). If you want to reduce the amount of sugar in the kombucha, let the first fermentation run for longer 🙂
Hello,
Thank you a lot for the detailed recipe!
I tried making the scooby several times, but each time a mold spot (the hairy kind) develops on the surface after 3 to 5 days. I kept everything clean, but cannot figure out how not to grow mold. It’s kept in a separate room, covered with paper towels. I used regular sugar and organic black tea (breakfast). Could not find pure black tea. Any ideas what might cause the mold growth?
How much starter tea are you adding? You could try adding more to make the liquid more acidic and less prone to mold in those first few days!
Am I allowed to use the liquid from the SCOBY making bath for the First Fermentation? Or do I get more store bought kombucha for the First Ferment? Thanks!
Yes you can use that! 😀
Hi Sarah, greeting from Indonesia!!
I’m very impressed with your explanation here, it’s very detail and easier for newbie like me 😊
In the 6th step of making scoby, You mentioned “Don’t use this tea as the starter to your first fermentation!”. Could you elaborate why we cant use the tea as starter? As far i i know, the stronger starter will produce better taste of Kombucha.
Im looking forward to your reply. Thank you.
You actually can use that, happy brewing!