You might think that kombucha is hard to make, but it isn’t. Aslippery, disk-shaped ingredient called a SCOBY will do most of the work, transforming a cheap base of sweet tea into a tangy, effervescent fermented beverage. Once you’ve got the basic recipe down, you can experiment with fruits, herbs, and spices for a refreshing flavor that rivals store-bought bottles.

Benefits of Kombucha

People have been drinking kombucha for centuries. Not only is it delicious, but it has a wide range of potential health benefits, from improving digestion to boosting gut health. The fermentation process infuses the tea with probiotics and antioxidants, as well as antibacterial properties.

But like many things made in the kitchen, improperly prepared kombucha can have health risks. It’s important to work with clean supplies and avoid contaminating your batch. Read these brewing safety tips and check out this handy photo comparison that shows what a moldy kombucha culture actually looks like — mold is rare, but it’s a common concern among those new tofermentation. 

Also, be aware that homemade kombucha can also end up with a higher alcohol content than commercial products. Store-bought kombucha contains less than 0.5% alcohol by law unless stated otherwise. 

What You’ll Need

You don’t need many ingredients to begin making kombucha at home. You probably have everything in your pantry already, except a SCOBY. 

SCOBY stands for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast. Also called a mother, it’s a cellulose, rubbery substance that’s home to the cultures responsible for fermentation. Without this strange ingredient, you can’t make kombucha. Thankfully, there are a few ways to get your hands on one. 

A new SCOBY forms on top of the old one with every batch, so you can easily get one from a kombucha-brewer in your area. If you don’t have any friends in the kombucha game, you can order one online or try making your own. 

Besides the SCOBY, you’ll also need the following ingredientsto make about a gallon of kombucha:

• 14 cups of filtered or purified water

• 1 cup of cane sugar (most of which is broken down during fermentation)

• 8 black, unflavored tea bags

• Roughly 2 cups of unflavored and unpasteurized kombucha saved from your last batch or store-bought (referred to as starter tea and often included with a SCOBY purchase)

Equipment:

• Large pot

• 1-gallon glass jar with a wide mouth

• Tightly woven cloth

• Rubber band

• Bottles suitable for carbonated beverages

• Funnel

• Wooden spoon

Simple Instructions for Delicious Kombucha

I follow a basic kombucha recipe, adapted from The Kitchn. You can tweak these steps over time as you learn more about the process and your preferences. 

Don’t be intimidated, making kombucha requires less than 30 minutes of effort every two weeks or so. Here’s what you’ll need to do:

• Make the tea: Boil the water. Remove pot from heat before stirring in sugar and adding tea bags. Cover and allow the tea to cool to room temperature. Remove the tea bags and stir to re-incorporate any sugar that has settled to the bottom.

• Transfer to jar and add other ingredients: Before putting anything in your brewing jar, make sure to clean it thoroughly. Don’t use soap or chlorine, which can be harmful to the bacteria in your SCOBY. Instead, rinse your jar with hot water and vinegar. Once clean, add the sweet tea, starter liquid, and SCOBY. Then, cover with a tightlywoven cloth, which will prevent contamination while allowing carbonation to escape.

• Ferment for 7 days minimum: Place your jar in a warm area out of direct sunlight to ferment. The SCOBY usually floats on top, but it’s also normal for it to sink or turn sideways. During this time, you should start to see a slimy beige film covering the liquid. This is a new SCOBY, which will form at the top of your brewing vessel every time you make a batch of kombucha. It may fuse to the old SCOBY, or it may not. Brown strings of yeast, bubbles, and sediment in the liquid are also normal.

• Give it a taste: After a week, slide a straw under the SCOBY, cover the top with your finger, and pull the straw out to collect some of the brew without contaminating it. If it tastes like sugar, leave it to continue fermenting. Sampleit every few days until it reaches the right balance of sweet and tangy.

• Bottle, flavor, and start a new batch: Once you like the flavor of your kombucha, it’s time to bottle it. Set aside your newest SCOBY and some starter tea, discarding or giving away the older SCOBY. Pour the finished kombucha into bottles using a funnel, adding any juice, herbs, fruits, or spices you desire. Set the bottled kombucha aside. At this point, get a new batch of kombucha going by repeating these instructions.

• Check for carbonation and enjoy: After a few days at room temperature, the bottled beverages should be carbonated. Open them carefully over your sink to see if they’re fizzy enough. Move bottled kombucha to the fridge to halt the fermentation process and consume within a month. Enjoy!

Try this recipe and share your best flavor combinations with us by tagging #cozyclub on Instagram!