How to Make Kombucha Starter Tea

Kombucha is a tangy and sweet fermented tea that has a laundry list of benefits. Keep reading to learn how to make kombucha starter tea at home!

Below you will find a step by step guide for how to:

• Make kombucha starter tea at home, no fancy equipment needed!
• Maintain your kombucha SCOBY for continuous brewing
• Make a delicious bottle of flavored kombucha in your own kitchen

I've also included all my tips, tricks, and favorite tools that I use!

How to make kombucha starter tea

There are SO MANY resources out there for people just learning how to make homemade kombucha. Just my two cents, many of them are excessively technical and overwhelming. I put off learning how to make kombucha for a long time. The process felt intimidating! The good news is that it is actually very easy to make kombucha at home!

Once I started fermenting kombucha, I realized that it's really not that hard! You don't need an in depth understanding of the science of fermentation or fancy techniques to make delicious ‘booch at home.

Promise.

Jump to:

• How to make kombucha starter tea
• What is kombucha starter tea?
• What is a second fermentation in kombucha?
• Helpful tools for making kombucha
• How much tea for kombucha?
• Is there sugar or alcohol in kombucha?
• What are the health benefits of kombucha?
• How much caffeine is in kombucha?
• Continuous brew kombucha recipe
• Optional second fermentation
• How to bottle kombucha
• Does kombucha go bad?
• How long does kombucha last in the fridge?
• How long does kombucha last after opening?
• OPTIONAL SECOND FERMENTATION
• Comments

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What is kombucha starter tea?

When you are making kombucha, you are fermenting tea twice. Bet you didn't know you were doing DOUBLE fermentation! During this double fermentation process, we are taking sugar and tea are transforming it into a tart but sweet carbonated drink. We are not reinventing the wheel here, kombucha tea has been around since 200 B.C.!

During the first, or primary, fermentation process, sweet tea is added to kombucha starter liquid. Then we add a SYMBIOTIC COLONY OF BACTERIA AND YEAST also called a SCOBY, for short. The bacteria and yeast consume the sugar in the tea and create a reaction resulting in acetic acid and gluconic acid. This is a beneficial reaction, which lowers the pH of the liquid and prevents harmful bacteria from growing. The byproduct of this reaction are good probiotics, enzyme and antioxidants.

During the first fermentation, the liquid is fermenting in a glass vessel with a breathable lid. This could look like a rubber band and a coffee filter or a snug fitting cotton towel. The breathable lid prevents fruit flies and dust from contaminating the batch. Try a sip of your kombucha every 12 hours or so.

What is a second fermentation in kombucha?

This is an optional step that will create the flavored ‘pop’ tasting kombucha that is much like what can be bought at the grocery store. The finished kombucha is added to bottles, like these, and fed a little more sugar either in the form of fruit juice or purées.

After the juice is added, the bottle is sealed and left at room temperature for 1-3 days. The sealed bottle traps the carbon dioxide and creates those lovely little carbonation bubbles! See a little further down in this post for how to do it!

Is there sugar or alcohol in kombucha?

Think of your SCOBY as your little BFF with a Starbucks addiction. It needs to be consuming high sugar and caffeine to keep it functioning! The SCOBY is able to take in all of these not-so-great things and turn it into a really nutritious byproduct!

Most of the sugar from the sweet tea is consumed during fermentation and becomes acids that your body loves. The acids that are formed, primarily gluconic and acetic, are actually blood sugar stabilizers!

Now let’s talk about alcohol. Short answer, yes, there could be roughly 0.5% alcohol in store-bought kombucha. A teeny tiny bit. It is also worth noting that homemade kombucha can have an alcohol content of possibly 2-3%.

What are the health benefits of kombucha?

This bubbly drink has gained popularity over the last few years because it is reported to support the immune system, boost energy, increase liver function and aide digestion. It also has been shown to help balance blood sugar spikes, reduce toxins and protect against free radicals.  source

How much caffeine is in kombucha?

When I first started brewing kombucha, I wanted to use caffeine-free green tea. Once I began researching my options, I learned that kombucha really needs caffeine to ‘feed’ the SCOBY. If you were to feed your SCOBY green tea, for example, it will be deprived of caffeine and the cultures will weaken and die over time.

Much like the sugar, the SCOBY is a ravenously hungry little culture and it consumes quite a bit of the caffeine during the fermentation process. There is still caffeine remaining (about one third of the original amount), but the little boost of energy or clarity that many people experience from drinking kombucha is likely due to the antioxidants and beneficial acids.

Continuous brew kombucha recipe

1. Gather up those supplies! You will need a glass vessels such as a beverage dispenser or large glass jar, a SCOBY, starter liquid, tea, sugar and water. Clean your supplies using plain white vinegar. Residues from soaps or bleach can cause the kombucha to brew improperly. I also wash my hands with vinegar prior to handling my SCOBY.
2. Make the sweet tea. For a one gallon batch of kombucha, you will need about six personal sized teabags of black tea (OR 2 family-sized teabags OR 2 tablespoons of loose leaf tea). Bring a quart of water to a boil and add the tea bags and one cup of sugar, keep stirring until the sugar dissolves! I use a glass bowl with a pour spout for mine, but a large pot on the oven would work great, too! Let it cool to room temperature before continuing on with the next step.
3. Once the tea cools to room temperature, remove the tea bags and transfer the tea to the vessel with one to two cups of kombucha starter tea and a healthy SCOBY. Fill the vessel the rest of the way with room temperature water. Cover the top of the vessel with a tight-knit tea towel or a coffee filter to prevent fruit flies or dust from contaminating the brew.
4. Store the vessel of kombucha somewhere warm, but not too hot. The kombucha will be fine on the countertop, but keep it out of direct sunlight, such as a sunny window. Let it sit for about seven days before taste testing the brew. Depending on the temperature of the room and the activity of the culture, it could be ready anywhere between seven to twenty one days. In my kitchen, I prefer the taste of kombucha that has fermented for about twelve days. Most people like the taste after 7-14 days of fermentation. It’s all about personal preference! A warm room will ferment faster than a cool room and a larger SCOBY will also cause the kombucha to ferment faster. The proper pH of finished kombucha is between 2.5-3.5.
5. When the brew tastes really good, it’s ready to bottle! I like to add a secondary fermentation during this step which adds juice and flavors the kombucha, causing it to carbonate even more. I leave at least 1-2 cups of starter liquid to get the next batch of kombucha going, and the process begins again!
6. For your next batch of kombucha, take the 1-2 cups of starter liquid from the previous batch and the SCOBY and start again at step 1.

Optional second fermentation

The 2nd fermentation of kombucha is simply the steps taken to add additional flavoring to your completed first fermentation kombucha. This is the step where you can create your own kombucha recipe. By adding some cranberry juice, grape juice, or any kombucha flavoring packs to your initial kombucha product, you will create a delicious fizzy drink. 

To do this you will simply remove the SCOBY and 2 cups of kombucha from the batch you just brewed. Place them in another jug to start another round of second fermentation or simply save them until you are ready to start another batch. 

For best results, separate the kombucha from the first fermentation into 16oz mason jars and add about ¼-1/3 cup of juice per mason jar. Place a sealing lid on the jar and let it sit on the counter for 2 days. Open a jar, taste it and see if the carbonation is to your liking. I recommend tasting it after 2 days, because if you wait any longer the kombucha might explode when opened---this has happened to me before. 

How to bottle kombucha

Once the kombucha is flavored and carbonated to your liking, move the mason jars to the fridge. This is so that the cold prevents more carbonation from rapidly forming and the process is slowed down. You'll still want to treat it like champagne when you open the bottle.

I recommend separating it into smaller mason jars because during this second fermentation you will get a lot more carbonization. Just like soda, once it's opened you have to drink it in a timely manner or it will go flat. Pouring your second fermentation into smaller portioned jars will be easier to drink. We don't want it going flat before we can drink it, even in a single sitting. 

When you use a fruited juice for the second fermentation, you don't have to add additional cane sugar to it. But if you use a pre-made package of flavoring, you might have to add some more sugar. They amount of sugar you add will depend on how healthy your kombucha starter and SCOBY are.

If you are continuously brewing kombucha, your SCOBY and starter liquid will be very healthy. This is due to the fact that you are using a frequent brewing cycle. Therefore, you might not have to add any sugar at all. If you complete a second fermentation and don't have a good amount of carbonation in your drink after 2 days, this is a sign you'll want to add additional sugar when you do your next batch of kombucha with a second fermentation. 

Does kombucha go bad?

Nah, not really. It might lose some fizz over time, but it won't spoil. Just keep it in the fridge, and you're good.

Now if you are asking if it can be brewed improperly, yes. If you see mold at any point of the fermentation process, you need to start over.

How long does kombucha last in the fridge?

Unopened kombucha can chill in the fridge for a few months. It's all about maintaining that freshness. The live cultures slow down but don't kick the bucket. Keep it cool, and you're golden.

How long does kombucha last after opening?

Not forever, but a few weeks in the fridge is fine. Just watch for mold or weird smells. Keep it sealed and pour it into a glass, rather than drinking straight from the bottle, and you'll enjoy it longer.

If you make this recipe, please leave a comment below! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers. For more delicious recipes from scratch and homesteading tips, follow me on instagram @NinnescahHomestead

If you like kombucha, you will absolutely love my kombucha mocktails! These can be customized to any taste or alcohol preference.