What Is Kombucha?
Simply put, kombucha is a fermented sweet tea that is traditionally brewed with black tea and cane sugar.
What Exactly is Kombucha?
Kombucha is fermented sweet tea. Although it has origins dating back over 2,000 years, kombucha has made a massive resurgence in popularity. This is due to people seeking a healthier lifestyle and simply discovering how good it tastes. On the health side, there is no shortage of health benefit claims, and they range from gut health, weight loss, blood sugar regularity, heart health, and overall immune system health. This list is far from complete. For more details, see our post on the health benefits of kombucha.
Beyond health claims, kombucha is pleasantly effervescent, slightly tart, and sweet, and when making it yourself, the flavoring options are endless. If you’re looking for inspiration, check out our kombucha flavoring recipes section. Two of my favorites are the blueberry vanilla kombucha and strawberry ginger kombucha. While making it at home is easy, alternatively, kombucha is widely available at grocery stores and restaurants.
How Kombucha is Made
Making kombucha is as easy as making sweet tea and adding a kombucha SCOBY. From there, we let it ferment for a while, and during fermentation, the sweet tea is transformed into the bright, flavorful, and probiotic drink we love!
The classic kombucha recipe calls for black tea and cane sugar, both of which provide essential nutrients for the microbes to thrive during fermentation. The only other ingredients required to make kombucha are water and the SCOBY (kombucha starter culture). To learn more, visit our post that answers what is a scoby?
Kombucha Making Process
To start, tea gets steeped in hot water to make the base, where sugar is then dissolved. Once the sugar and tea mixture is thoroughly cooled, the scoby is added before finally setting aside the brew to ferment. The next phase, the primary fermentation, is about environmental monitoring. Temperature, pH, and oxygen are all essential components of a successful brew, so it is up to the brewer to ensure these remain within the parameters.
During the fermentation, yeast consumes sugar, converting it to alcohol and carbon dioxide. Bacteria then convert alcohol into acetic acid and sugar into lactic acid—this natural progression results in an evolution of flavor that begins sweet and ends tart. This sweet-to-tart progression kombucha allows the brewer to decide when the taste is just right for them! Once the desired balance of sweet and tart is reached, the kombucha is ready to be bottled and flavored. It’s here where you can get creative with flavors; your only real limit is your imagination.
Make your own Kombucha
If you’re looking to get creative and make your own kombucha flavors or are tired of spending money on store-bought kombucha, give making it at home a try! See the links below for ingredients and supplies to get started!
Check out our post on how to make kombucha tea or visit our Comprehensive Guide to Brewing Kombucha.
Shop Kombucha Making Supplies
Get Started
- The Gold Standard Kombucha Recipe
- Brew With Our Kombucha Kit
- What is a SCOBY?
- Does Kombucha Have Caffeine?
- 5 Practical Kombucha Making Tips
- What Is The Best Tea For Kombucha?
- How To Make Kombucha Without Sugar, Is It Possible?
Other Ferments
- How To Make Fermented Ketchup
- How To Make Zesty Italian Dressing Recipe
- What Is Kimchi?
- Easin’ Into Cheesin’: Classic Burrata Recipes
- Best Beer Cheese Dip Recipe
Thank you! You are correct about the price: I usually can afford to buy only about 3-4 bottles of kombucha at a time, and I use them quickly. You say fermenting one’s own is simple. I shall trust you and try it.
Yeah Diane! :). If you should run into any trouble, keep in touch and I’ll help ya through it!
Happy fermenting!
-Ruthie
hey there, ruthie. just got my first scoby and all the fixin’s to make me my first batch of tasty kombooch! a quick question for ya – when i test it out after that first week or so of fermenting, do i have to be careful to not disturb the scoby? thanks!
Hey Jarrod!
It’s no big deal if you disturb the scoby a little. The fermentation continues either way. Whenever it is disturbed a new one just begins growing right on top! I’m excited for you to begin your kombucha ventures! Let me know if you have any further questions :)
-Ruthie
I left a reply 7 days ago. Don’t know what happened to it. I am just wondering what the finished product should taste like. I’m thinking it should be carbonated. correct? I don’t think it’s been warm enough in my house if it need to be 80°. So my Scoby is laying at the bottom and there is no carbonation. When it is ready, do I transfer the Scoby along with starter liquid to start a new batch. I guess I’m going to need one of the heaters because my house is never 80°
The finished product should be just a little sweet with a bit of vinegary tartness. For every day you let it go, it will get more vinegary so you’ll have to keep tasting it and find the balance that you prefer most! If your kitchen is colder, that’s okay, it will just take a little longer to ferment. Shoot for 75 and experiment with it. If it’s really sweet after 7 days, something isn’t working, prob too cold.
It wont be too carbonated as is because the CO2 is allowed to escape. To capture the carbonation, bottle your brew into smaller bottles with caps on them, you could use mason jars or whatever you may have (this is when you can also add fresh fruit or juice for flavoring and to give the yeast more sugar for more CO2 production). Leave the bottles out for up to 3 days and the carbonation will be forced to stay in the bottle. This is also a good way to test it if you’re unsure if it’s fermenting or not. Cap that baby up, if you twist the cap in a day or so and it makes a hissing noise, then you’ve got a ferment on your hands!
And yes, when it’s ready, transfer the scoby along with a cup or so of starter to a new batch just as you did the first.
Thank you
Just started our first batch, thinking ahead to the bottling / flavoring step. We want to copy GTS “gingerade” product in the store (mostly to use as a control – to see if we can produce the same flavor and quality). But was wondering what would be a typical amount of ginger to add for a 16 oz bottle (ginger is strong and have no idea about reasonable quality).. a teaspoon of power, a gram of fresh minced…. any educated guesses or amounts based on your receipts?
After we get this one right, looking forward to experimenting (any good receipt sites you can recommend?
thanks
Asa & Dave
Hi Dave!
Ginger is a funny little animal and (I’m sure as you will find with your experiments) if you use too much ginger it will become unpleasant. Not in a spicy way but more of a skunky way. Be sure to add some sugar and lots of lemon juice. My recommended amounts to begin experimenting with would be (per 16oz bottle) 1/2tsp minced fresh ginger, 1 tsp sugar (brown or cane), and juice from 1 lemon. The sugar will make the yeast active again and create a TON of carbonation really fast so you’ll want to burp it after the first day so your bottles don’t explode, then put them in the fridge on day 2. Keep me updated if you find a recipe that is close! Its one of my favorites!
Ruthie
Can I use sugar beet sugar
Hi Barbara! Yes, you may use beet sugar :)
I see you recommend lemon juice, what does this contribute to the beverage? I love the ginger flavor,
is it necessary to add the lemon juice?
Hi Roy!
The best part about making your own kombucha is you can flavor it however you like! Feel free to leave out the lemon juice. I like to add it because of the added tartness it contributes that pairs so well with ginger.
I am anxiously awaiting my shipment from Amazon. I live in Minnesota and it’s really cold. So my question is how long can the scoby survive if the package is left out on my doorstep?
Hi Dawn!
SCOBYs are really hardy so if it does get cold or freezes, just let it thaw out on your counter for 1-2 days and then brew like normal. Ultimately the less time it spends out there the better but it will be okay if it gets chilly.
Do you have a store or just strictly online? Stupid me bought a Scoby from someplace else and it came way sooner than I was ready. It’s eating up the starter liquid pretty rapidly so I need to make it today. I live in Hernando Co. home of fast food so finding the organic tea and sugar is hard here so off to Tampa I go! I just figured if you had a shop I’d com3 by you instead:)
Hi Susan!
We retail locally through Avid Brewing Supply so you can swing by there and pick one up :)
Cheers,
Ruthie
Hello Ruthie, I have just buy a pack of Live Starter and starting my first batch. I used the PH meter to test and the reading is 4.1 which is within the range, but I made a mistake and add one tablespoon of distilled vinegar into the jar, will it affecting the fermentation? I have learnt from your article the the scopy will grow thicker and thicker…. one quick question, if the scopy is getting more thicker is it means that the ferment period will be shorter? And if I put the extra scopy in a separate jar to build a scopy hotel, do I still need to feed them from time to time? Or just leave it in the jar?
Hi Simon,
It’s okay if you added the vinegar, it’s just important to get the pH to at least below 4.5, anything below that is all good. The bigger the SCOBY, typically the quicker the fermentation will be. If you want to thin out your SCOBYs (which I recommend doing) and create a SCOBY hotel, just place them in a separate jar with some kombucha–enough to make sure the pellicles are completely covered and allow some more for evaporation. You’ll want to check on them every now and then to make sure they’re hanging out under the liquid ( a quick wiggle of the jar will do). If you’re noticing that the liquid is evaporating, give it some sweet tea in the same ratio as you would to regularly brew.
Ruthie
I just got the complete kombucha brewing starter kit for Christmas and I would like to know if once I’ve completed this kit do I have to use black tea or green tea to start the next batch? I have a few varieties of different lose teas that I thought I might like to try. Is that a possibility?
Hi Christine! You can use a wide variety of teas to brew your kombucha with, so definitely use whatever you have! Black and green are traditional but you can add different herbal teas in there with success. The only teas to stay away from in the primary fermentation would be ones that have oils in them that could rise to the surface and disturb the SCOBY formation, such as earl grey or chai
Is it necessary to “burp” your kombucha daily? I was told that once a day from the start you should use a wooden spoon to push the scoby to bottom everyday for the 10-15 day fermentation? Also my kombucha is in a large Mason jar style decanter with a tap, if the lid is metal but not touching the liquid or scoby at all is this ok? I’m only in day 3 of my first go. Thanks
Hi Ashley,
You don’t need to burp the kombucha for the primary fermentation, only the secondary fermentation to avoid excess build up of CO2 in the bottles bc the glass can only take so much pressure.
For the primary fermentation, you should be using a breathable cover such as a coffee filter, tea towel, paper towel, etc because the kombucha requires oxygen to properly ferment. So, while it doesn’t matter that the metal isn’t touching, you’ll want to switch it up to a breathable cover secured with a rubber band.
Pushing the SCOBY down with a wooden spoon couldn’t hurt anything and would help to avoid mold since you are moving the surface a lot. I do not do this, however, because I prefer a more hands off approach and don’t have issues with mold unless I let the batch sit for a couple months on accident.
Hopefully this all makes sense. If not please ask more questions!
Cheers,
Ruthie
I had a quarter size mold on top scobie,I scraped it off,ok to drink the kombucha? do you store scobie in liquid,refrigerator or room temperature?(if I don’t want to make more immediately)also lacking fizz.I also had to strain first batch,had slimy floaters in it,second batch much less but still strained thru cheesecloth.Thank you
Hi Shawna,
If you’ve got mold, I would be hesitant to tell you to drink it–it’s impossible to know the strain and if you were able to remove all of it or not.
The slimy floaters are actually yeast. Did you bottle and do a secondary fermentation? That is where your fizz will come in. Sometimes fizz can be a little finicky but if you add fresh fruit, it makes it much easier to acheive fizz!
Cheers,
RUthie
What is the strain of bacteria and yeast in the scoby?
Hey Melanie, here’s the sequencing of our source culture:
Bacteria: Bacillus licheniformis (99%), Bacillus cereus (99%)**, Bacillus pumillus/aerophilus/safensis/altitudinis (99%)*, Acetobacter tropicalis (99%), Bacillus aerophilus (96%), Bacillus aryabhattai (98%), Gluconacetobacter saccharivorans (99%), Micrococcus sp. (98%), Gluconacetobacter rhaeticus (98%), Paenibacillus taichungensis (97%), Bacillus subtilis (99%)
Yeast: Brettanomyces bruxellensis (99%), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (92%), Zygosaccharomyces sp. (97%), Candida sp. (97%)
I’m on my second batch of Kombucha Day 6. Very yeasty smelling where as the first batch was more vinegar smelling. First batch turned out great!
Scoby isn’t didn’t grow at all, still staying the same (not growing) with lots of “Mother” in bottom of jar. I ran out of containers for the secondary fermentation on the first batch so I left about 4-5 cups in the container for my second batch when I added my sweet tea. PH was below 5 as per my PH strips. I have a set of x-mas lights around container to keep it warm enough (80 degrees +/-) it’s very festive looking!
Am I on the right track or do I need to change something?
I like my Kombucha tart and fizzy!
On my first batch I used only green tea. This batch I did half green half black.
Hi Monique! It sounds like you are on the right track. Being that you’re kombucha is alive, you’ll notice that the batches will vary. Sometimes they will favor the yeast, and others the bacteria. This ebb and flow is natural as the culture self balances in the fight for resources.
You made some decent points there. I looked on the internet for the issue and found individuals will go along with with your website.
2 ?s… I have read that cane sugar is recommended over sugar beet sugar Cane is more expensive, however, so I’m wondering how important it is. Secondly, what covering is best? I first heard muslin, then dishtowel, even coffee filters. Does it matter?
Hey guys! I bottled my first batch of kombucha today (so excited) and made my second batch according to your instructions. The PH level was under what the directions said so I added about 1 1/2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar to it and got it in the right spot. I did however read online that I could’ve destroyed my batch and my scoby by doing that. I’m curious if I should buy a new scoby and start from scratch!
Hi Kayla,
Apple cider vinegar can contain vinegar eels since it is a raw vinegar. Just because it can contain them, it doesn’t mean that it does, however. I would recommend just seeing how it goes before making any decisions to start over.
Hi!
I started my first batch 5 days ago, I didn’t know about the 4.5ph rule, so didn’t check…. I just followed the sweet tea recipe and am now waiting.. what would have happened if my ph was over 4.5?
How much starter tea did you use and what size batch did you brew? Likely you’ll be fine as the fermentation kicks up pretty quickly and the bacteria begin creating acids that naturally lower the pH. The 4.5 comes from a food safety standard that considers food under a pH of 4.5 shelf-stable and exempt from the “danger zone” rules. The most likely occurrence would be mold, and that will be very obvious if you have it as it will be fuzzy, above the surface of the liquid (not the pellicle) and look like bread mold.
How long can the tea sit? I did the first 8 steps and wasn’t able to get to it for a couple of months. There’s isn’t any mold and it smells like it’s supposed to.
Hello there and thanks for reaching out! As far as your question, the longer the tea sits out, the more acidic it becomes. As long as you obviously don’t see any mold, it is absolutely ok to consume, though the flavor will be more vinegary than anything, but can definitely be used as a substitute for vinegar in any recipes and can be used as your starter tea for a new fresh batch! Hope this answers your question and let us know if we can be of further help.
-Fermentaholics
I’m on my 3rd batch. I’m still a bit confused about pelicle formation and scoby. I’m thinking they’re all one thing. But I read somewhere about the scoby blob thinning out. So, yeah, it’s looking thin. And then I read also that you can stir the kombucha to grow the pelicals by adding sugar without disturbing the scoby. And then, I don’t understand why people have the scoby hotels if you can keep using and growing the kombucha? Thankd
Hi there and thanks for reaching out,
The SCOBY is actually in the liquid. The pellicle, or round disk, is often referred to as the SCOBY but is just a structure that forms during the fermentation. The yeast and bacteria live in the liquid. Since the pellicle is 95% liquid by weight, it has been widely misconstrued as a living thing when actually the living microbes are more heavily concentrated in the liquid itself. Growing a pellicle and having successful kombucha fermentation are not necessarily mutually exclusive events. It’s a fun and great visual experience to have the pellicle grow thick right away on your first brew – however, that certainly jades your future experiences by always having that expectation.
Pellicles are like snowflakes and each time you start fresh with a brew, the visual experience can be different. This is due to it being such a complex living community. We brew about 10,000 batches per month and it never ceases to amaze us how different each one can be! This is why pellicle growth is not the best indicator of when the fermentation is finished. If you are brewing in the proper temperature range, the pH is dropping and everything else seems in line, if you wait for the pellicle to grow thick your fermentation can be done well before that.
For more info, here is an article on how to tell if your Kombucha is fermenting – https://fermentaholics.com/how-to-tell-if-you-kombucha-is-fermenting/
And here is an article explaining SCOBY hotels – https://fermentaholics.com/how-to-store-extra-scobys/
We hope this helps and let us know if you have any other questions!
Cheers,
Stephen
Love the name Fermentaholics!
I’m waiting for my (2) first ever kombucha starter culture from you and wondering how long it can stay in the package? I bought two thinking I could rotate batches.
Hi there and thanks for reaching out,
If you open up your package, there is another bag inside that contains your SCOBY. At the top of this bag, you will find the best by date, and your SCOBY is still microbially viable for up to 16 months after this date. Hope this helps and let us know if you have any other questions!
Hello! Day 7 of my first fermentation and my house is around 70 degrees so I expected my process to be slower. There is no second scoby growing on the surface but when I taste it there is a very clear vinegary taste. Is this normal to not have a second scoby growing?
There isn’t a concern here; as you mentioned, fermentation time is tied to temperature. This brew is on the cold side at 70F, definitely outside the recommended 75-85F temperature range.
So at 70F, seven days is a young brew, and depending on flavor preference, this can take a few weeks at this temp. With that being said, little or no pellicle formation isn’t unusual at this stage when your temperature is taken into consideration. Get the temperature up, and the delay will be avoided.
Take a look here at our article on keeping your kombucha brew warm.
Hey,
I’ve brewed my first batch for 9 or 10 days and tasted it and bottled it and let it set for another week. Then tasted one and it had a little fizz so I’ve got them in the frig and now I bottled my second batch today and it’s on the pantry shelf for F2.
Before I bottled this brew I took the pellicle out and put it in my SCOBY Hotel. Then I added a 7 oz package of thawed Passion Fruit pulp to the jar and when I stirred it in found another pellicle. So I took a wooden spoon and scooped it out and put it in the hotel, without thinking.
My understanding it the hotel is for starter tea only so my question is do you think I contaminated the hotel and should toss it? I certainly do not want to drink a bottle of the next brew and get a bad case of food poisoning from Botulism or Ptomaine.
Thanks in advance for your reply!
Hi, and thanks for reaching out; that is a great question and also a loaded one. The next steps can go either way. But from a safety standpoint, it’s difficult for us to advise here without all the necessary information, such as brew history, pH readings, etc. Troubleshooting this by comments will be lengthy but feel free to reach out by phone if you’d like to discuss this in more detail.
Just wanted to make a further comment for anyone else reading this post.
I did some more research and turns out Botulism cannot metabolize in any substance that #1, has O2 because it is anaerobic, and #2, it will not metabolize in any thing with pH below 4.6. And since kombucha is both acidic and needs oxygen to brew it cannot develop. It is very very rare in the USA, like only 150 cases per year and only 15% of those come from food.
So I’m not going to worry about a little bit of fruit pulp that may have made it into my SCOBY Hotel.
BTW, my 1st batch is pretty good! I think I’ll go for one of your Jun cultures next.
Have a happy day!
Hello. I just purchased the Jun Kambucho kit and have begun to wonder if or when the price of honey gets to be too high, can I begin to introduce sugar (instead of honey) to the Scoby and will it still thrive? Thanks.
Hi there and thanks for reaching out,
You can introduce sugar, as any fermentable sugar will get consumed by the yeast and bacteria. Just be sure to introduce it slowly and expect the culture to behave a little differently during the transition.
Cheers!
Thank you, Stephen. I hope I don’t have to change to sugar but the marketplace is changing rapidly. Peace and love.