How to Make Kombucha | A Simple Homemade Method

What is Kombucha?

Kombucha is a tart, crisp, fizzy, and refreshing fermented drink. It comes in many flavors and has a multitude of health benefits.

But, Kombucha is expensive. It can be anywhere from $2.50/ 12 oz bottle to $4 a bottle. My love for the beverage runs deep and I’m certainly willing to pay for this special treat on occasion.

However, in true DIY dutch-girl fashion, I have researched, experimented, and discovered how to make my own kombucha at home…and you can too!

I am not one to reinvent the wheel when it comes to brewing of any kind! I am happy to share that the recipe and methods shared by Olena at ifoodreal.com have been incredibly helpful in my learning to make kombucha. Check out her recipe and suggestions here if you’d like to know more about her methods.

SCOBY

If you’ve looked into making your own homemade kombucha at all, you’ll know that it requires a SCOBY.

SCOBY is an acronym for “symbiotic culture of bacterial yeast.” It can be purchased online, scavenged from a friend who has a SCOBY hotel, or developed in your own home following a few simple steps.

I have shared SCOBY with friends and was able to start my own SCOBY when making my first batch of “boocha.”

I have not attempted to purchase a SCOBY online, but I’ve read about others who have. Check out Bucha Brewers or Amazon for their kits and starters for making homemade kombucha.

If you are local, contact me. I likely have a SCOBY to share with you! If you’d like to make your own, read on!

Benefits | Probiotics and Detox

Kombucha is a detoxifying drink. It supports your body in ridding itself of toxins. Because it is a detox drink, this also means that you should drink plenty of water after having kombucha as it can also dehydrate you during the detox process.

Not only does kombucha help detox, but it also provides probiotics for gut health. Gut health is fast becoming a popular topic in the health world.

Probiotics, prebiotics, and leaky gut are all topics that intersect in this conversation. Kombucha is fermented and therefore provides probiotics that can help with leaky gut issues if combined with other health conscious choices.

Basic Method

Okay, if you are just scanning the info, so far, this is where you’ll want to start reading.

Here is my basic method for making simple homemade kombucha.

How to Grow a SCOBY

You will need:

1. a bottle of GT’s original kombucha
2. loose leaf green or black tea (must be caffeinated, decaf does not work)
3. organic cane sugar
4. a glass mason jar

To make:

1. Begin by making a tea: boil two cups of water then add 1 tsp loose leaf tea and 3 tbsp cane sugar and let it cool completely.
2. Once the tea is cool, add 1 cup of the GT’s original kombucha along with “the mother” (all the brown icky and slimy looking stuff) to the tea.
3. Place in the glass mason jar and cover with a paper towel or coffee filter and secure with the mason jar lid, string, or a rubber band.
4. Place the jar away from direct sunlight and in a place that is 70 degrees or warmer. The ideal temperature for making kombucha is 75-85 degrees.
5. Wait for your SCOBY to grow. It could take anywhere from 10-28 days for the SCOBY to be ready.
6. You will know your starter is ready when it smells a little vinegary, has a decent film/SCOBY growing on top, and tastes like kombucha.

How to Brew Homemade Kombucha

Once you have a SCOBY, you will not have to do the above process again. If you are scavenging a SCOBY from a friend, be sure it comes with about two cups of kombucha liquid.

You will need:

1. 14 cups of boiled water,
2. 2 tbsp loose leaf (green or black) tea,
3. 1 cup of organic cane sugar, and a SCOBY with 2 cups of kombucha liquid.
4. Supplies: A very large glass jar or beverage dispenser, coffee filter or paper towel, rubber band, and a strainer.

To make:

1. Begin by boiling the 14 cups of water then adding the 2 tbsp of tea and 1 cup of cane sugar.
2. Stir and let set for 5 minutes before straining out the tea leaves (I have let my tea set longer and do not notice a difference).
3. Let the tea cool completely to room temperature. I like to fill my largest bowls with ice and water and set my pot in the bowl to cool. It cools ridiculously fast this way.
4. When the tea is near room temperature, it is safe to add the SCOBY and 2 cups of kombucha liquid from the starter.
5. At this point, cover with your coffee filter or paper towel and secure with a rubber band.
6. It brews best in 75-85 degrees and should be kept out of direct sunlight.

Your boocha could be ready in as soon as 7 days but could take up to 10 or 14 days! You will know it is ready when it has a slightly sour and vinegary taste. If you’re familiar with store-bought kombucha, it will be easier to tell when your kombucha is ready. Begin testing it around 7 days to determine if it is done!

Fizzy Kombucha

To make your kombucha fizzy, you must take it one step further after your batch is complete. Read on to find out my imperfect science for fizzy kombucha.

How to Second Ferment for Fizzy Boocha

1. You will need: old kombucha bottles and lids or brewing bottles with swing top lids like these. You’ll also need your desired fruit, herbs, or sugar.
2. Fill your bottles with kombucha leaving about 3 inches of space or 1 inch below the neck of the bottle– depending on your bottle style.
3. Add the desired fruit to fill in the space (leaving about a knuckles worth of room at the top).
4. Seal your lids and place in a space out of direct sunlight where it is 75-85 degrees. The warmer it is, the more active your kombucha will be.

It could take 1-4 days for your boocha to “eat” the sugars from the fruit and produce carbonation.

It’s important to pay attention and watch for any bubbles or activity.

When you suspect that there is good “activity” going on, you’ll want to “burp” the bottles by opening or loosening and releasing the carbonation and quickly sealing back up.

You’ll know they are good and ready once you get some fizz coming to the surface when you go to burp your bottles. At this point, you can strain and rebottle the kombucha and refrigerate to consume when ready!

Fruit additives and combinations that I’ve tried:

1. Raspberries- place whole in the bottle (frozen is fine), about 5-7 berries is enough. This is our favorite and turns out every time!
2. Blackberries- place whole (frozen is fine), 5 berries is enough.
3. Strawberries- cut into little pieces and fill the neck of a bottle or the open space.
4. Apple slices- about 4 thin slices to fit in the neck of a bottle.
5. Blueberries-7-10 berries mashed.
6. Pineapple- we did not like this flavor at all.
7. Mango puree- did not turn out because my kitchen was too cold.
8. Cranberries- did not turn out because my kitchen was too cold.
9. Grapes- about 3-5 grapes sliced into quarters. This was okay but wasn’t our favorite.

Fruit additives that I look forward to trying:

1. basil
2. mint
3. ginger
4. kiwi
5. lavender
6. cane sugar
7. combinations of all the above

Strain and Serve

After your kombucha has done its second fermentation to get fizzy and you are ready to enjoy, you will want to strain out the fruit or additives.

You will have to pour into another glass to enjoy your fizzy boocha as these additives are pretty slimy and have an icky texture. I use a screen/strainer and pour into a stemless wine glass to enjoy my fizzy boocha!

Ask Me About Kombucha

Please let me know any questions you have about making kombucha at home!

And, if this seems like too much overwhelming information but you’d like to try a drink with health benefits, hop on over to this recipe on my blog for ACV Collagen Drink; it’s my favorite summer “mocktail.”