Make Kombucha yourself: Kombucha recipe for beginners

It may sound like witchcraft, but I promise you: making your own kombucha is not rocket science. Our kombucha recipe has just a few components that pack a punch, and you'll have a lot of fun enjoying your own homemade kombucha from your fermenting vessel very soon. With the video instructions and detailed tips, it's sure to succeed.

Making Kombucha Tea: The Basic Recipe for Fermentation Newbies!

To make kombucha, various ingredients are fermented with a tea mushroom (also called SCOBY). Fermentation is a preservation method that produces a special taste. In the case of kombucha fermentation, bacteria and yeasts, which have grown into the kombucha mushroom – also called SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts) – help in this process.

Setting up DIY Kombucha

Merle from Kombuchery explains how best to set up your kombucha in the fermentation vessel with starter liquid in the video instructions.

Making your own Kombucha: The Ingredients

For making kombucha, we generally recommend organic ingredients for fermentation.

Before you can make your kombucha tea, you'll need (per liter):

Place ingredients in a highlighted box

• 1 glass vessel (fermentation vessel, brewing vessel) with at least 1.5 liters volume and a large opening (rinsed well without detergent)
• 1 kombucha mushroom, also called tea mushroom
• 8 g black tea or green tea
• 100 g e.g. whole cane sugar
• 1 liter water (filtered if possible)
• Starter liquid or our Kombucha Original with a neutral taste
• 1 breathable cover cloth (preferably made of fabric)

SCOBY for Kombucha Recipe: Where to get it?

You can easily buy your SCOBY online for the kombucha recipe or be lucky enough for another kombucha lover to give you an already cultivated tea mushroom. The starter liquid is included with most suppliers, or you can use our Kombucha Original with a neutral taste.

Kombucha Instructions in 10 Steps to the Drink: Let's Go!

1. First, bring 1 liter of water to a boil in a large pot. Then you can add either 8 g of black or green tea and let it steep for 12 to 15 minutes (while the water gently simmers).

2. Then strain the tea and add 100 g of sugar. The sugar should be stirred until it has completely dissolved in the tea.

3. When making your own kombucha, it is very important that you let the sugared tea in a glass vessel cool down to at least 25 degrees room temperature. The delicate SCOBY must under no circumstances be immersed in hot water. The living bacteria and yeasts, as well as proteins, can be destroyed in this way.

4. Now add 100 ml of the starter liquid to the tea mixture.

5. Afterward, carefully place the previously rinsed SCOBY gently into the vessel.

6. You can now cover the opening of the brewing vessel with a breathable cloth and secure it with an elastic band.

After completing these initial steps of the kombucha instructions, the SCOBY (at a comfortable room temperature) now has about a week to process the ingredients of the tea, essentially "feeding" on them. If it rests at the bottom of the vessel, the SCOBY will grow a bit larger and usually form additional SCOBY offshoots. Often, however, the SCOBY floats, and over time a thicker kombucha mushroom forms at the top edge of the glass.

1. Once the kombucha mushroom has reached the correct fermentation level after about 7 days (depending on your preferences and taste, we recommend a pH value between 2.9 and 3.1), you can carefully remove the SCOBY from the kombucha liquid and clean it of tea residues with lukewarm water.
   
2. You can store the SCOBY in some bottled kombucha liquid (new starter liquid) for the next round of making your own kombucha.
   
3. Before bottling the kombucha, we recommend filtering the liquid through a very fine sieve or, alternatively, through a layer of paper towel to remove individual small SCOBY pieces. However, this is not absolutely necessary.
   
4. Subsequently, the kombucha should be left at room temperature for another approx. 2 days in a sealed bottle for secondary fermentation. This is when the natural carbonation can form.

Yay! You have now fermented your first kombucha yourself and can enjoy a similarly delicious and refreshing drink as our Kombuchery Kombucha.

Fact Box – Making your own Kombucha

Yields: According to these instructions, you will get 1 liter of kombucha. You can brew new kombucha with your SCOBY as often as you like. If well cared for, it can last for months, even years.

Nutritional values per 100 ml:
Fat < 0.5 g
of which saturated fatty acids < 0.1 g
Carbohydrates 3.6 – 11.8 g
of which sugar 3.6 – 11.8 g
Protein < 0.5 g

Working time: approx. 20 minutes (plus cooling time for the tea)

Fermentation time: approx. 7 days (depending on desired pH value)

Tips & Tricks for Kombucha Fermentation

Even though it involves only a few ingredients and a short working time, carefulness, hygiene, and the quality of the components are what make for good kombucha fermentation.

Starter Liquid for Kombucha

The amount of starter liquid should not be too small. Your SCOBY should always be completely covered by it when it rests, so that no mold can form.

For making your own kombucha, the rule of thumb is: 100 ml of starter liquid per liter of tea.

The more acidic the starter liquid, i.e., the lower the pH value, the less is needed to start your kombucha. However, it's better to be generous than stingy with it. This ensures the growth of the SCOBYs.

Do's & Don'ts in Tea Selection

• Do not use tea with a high proportion of essential oils or artificial flavors (e.g., fruit tea, sage or lemon balm tea).
• Prefer loose tea over tea bags.
• If you use fruit tea or other teas besides black, green, or white tea – only mix it in – do not use it purely!

Hygiene & Cleanliness

To ensure that no germs or foreign bodies enter your kombucha, it is advisable to clean everything very thoroughly. It is best to use vinegar to clean all items and tools. You can also clean your hands with vinegar water.

The best water for brewing tea

Believe it or not, the quality of the water plays a major role in kombucha production. This rather inconspicuous ingredient can positively and negatively influence your SCOBY. Conventional tap water may contain residues of chlorine and chemicals, as well as fluorides. These substances can harm the SCOBY. Therefore, always use filtered water.

Kombucha Storage & Kombucha Care

The finished kombucha drink can be stored for up to 6 months. Bottling the kombucha does not automatically stop the fermentation process. Over time, the kombucha will become a bit sourer and develop more sparkling natural carbonation.

Kombucha should ideally be stored in a cool and dark place. This works best in the refrigerator or a cold cellar room. Here, kombucha is exposed to few external influences and can be stored in peace. This can extend its shelf life by some time. Constant cooling slows down fermentation, and the kombucha only slowly becomes sourer.

Starting new Kombucha: Can I make the tea mushroom myself?

You can also cultivate your own kombucha mushroom without a starter kit from the internet. The ingredients are the same, and it just takes a little more time and patience.

With tea, cane sugar, and our Kombuchery Original as starter liquid, the kombucha mushroom can form on its own within 7 to 21 days, depending on the conditions.

It's fascinating to watch small foam bubbles form on the surface of the liquid. Over time, these become denser until the kombucha mushroom slowly becomes visible. Patience pays off! Making your own kombucha is truly exciting!

FAQs: Making your own Kombucha drink

How much Kombucha is healthy?

With kombucha, it's like with all other foods: you shouldn't overdo it. Start with a small glass per day and see how the kombucha affects you. After a few days, you can drink more.

There is no maximum amount that should be considered and that would lead to side effects.

Can you split the Kombucha mushroom?

You can separate individual layers of the kombucha mushroom with clean hands. Simply pull them apart very carefully. Or use commercially available scissors cleaned with vinegar and carefully divide the SCOBY into pieces. With the individual pieces, you can make new kombucha in the brewing vessel or give it away.

Which tea is suitable for Kombucha?

For making your own kombucha, black tea is particularly suitable, but Oolong tea or green tea are also good choices for successful fermentation. A combination of green and black tea is also one of many possible alternatives.

Our Favorites:

• Black Tea Golden Monkey: Darjeeling, Friesenmischung (Assam, Ceylon, Indian Himalaya)
• White Tea: Silver Needle, Shou-Mei, Oolong Tea
• Green Tea: Sencha & Matcha, New Spring, Chun Mee

Sugar in Kombucha

The added sugar is primarily needed by the microorganisms during fermentation. Yeasts and bacteria require sugar as a food source for their metabolic processes. In the end, depending on the fermentation technique, a sugar content of 3 g to 12 g of sugar per 100 ml of kombucha remains. You can also experiment with different types of sugar.

If you prefer it tart and not too sweet, like us, you can vary the amount of sugar, but you should never go below 80 g of sugar per liter, otherwise the microorganisms will not receive enough nourishment.