Begin Brewing
If you enjoy kombucha and are curious about how it’s made, you have landed in the right place. In addition to being a refreshing and delicious drink, kombucha has a wide range of health benefits. Called the Immortal Health Elixir for thousands of years, kombucha has been gaining in popularity for good reason.
Join us to see how to make kombucha in a 4 litre batch with the following guide. In this demonstration we are using our Brew Your Bucha 4 Litre kombucha Starter Kit. However, you can use your own equipment and follow along too. If you are brewing in a different sized vessel, be sure to adjust the recipe proportionally. Once you have completed brewing raw kombucha and are ready to move on to bottling and flavouring, continue to our bottling video or to our recipes page.
-
4 litre glass brewing vessel
-
Organic black tea (16g)
-
Organic sugar (250g)
-
Disposable tea bag
-
Thermometer (regular or adhesive strip)
-
Metal mesh strainer
-
Pipet straw
-
Cloth cover
-
Elastic band
-
Kombucha SCOBY with starter fluid
Step 1: In a large pot, boil 2 litres or about 0.50 gallons of filtered water and remove from heat.
Step 2: Add 1 pack of pre-measured Yunnan Gold black tea (16g) into the disposable tea bag and place into the boiled water. You can secure the tea bag with a toothpick or fold it over so tea does not fall out. Steep tea for 8-10 minutes and discard when done.
Step 3: Add 1 pack of pre-measured organic sugar (250g) into the tea and stir until dissolved.
Step 4: Add 1.5 litres or 0.4 gallons of cold filtered water to pot leaving approximately 3 inches of space from the neck of the jar. Allow the sweet tea to cool to room temperature.
Step 5: Pour the cooled sweet tea into the brewing jar.
Step 6: Peel the sticker off your temperature strip and place it horizontally on the top half of your jar.
Step 7: Let your brew cool to approximately 23 degrees Celsius or 74 degrees Fahrenheit by checking the temperature strip you just placed on the side of the brew jar.
Step 8: Open your SCOBY pack and empty the entire contents into the brew jar. This will include the starter fluid (raw kombucha) which helps to get the fermentation process kick started.
Step 9: Gently stir the mixture with a wooden spoon.
Step 10: Use the cotton cloth to cover the mouth of the brew jar and secure it with the rubber band. This is to ensure that dust particles and insects do not contaminate the brew.
Step 11: Place your jar of kombucha in a warm dry place (room temperature) that is out of direct sunlight. Do not move it for 6 days. The fermentation process varies based on the temperature of your room. The warmer it is the faster it will ferment, the colder it is, the slower it will be.
Step 12: After 6 days, taste your brew to see if it is ready. Using the included pipet straw, extract some kombucha from the inside wall of the jar and taste. The ideal taste is tangy with a hint of sweetness still remaining. If it is too sweet for you, leave it for a few days and re-taste. If it is too sour, it is time to move to the next step. You can add flavours and sweetness to satisfy your palate in the bottling process.
Step 13: Once you are satisfied with the flavour, you are ready to bottle your brew! After thoroughly cleaning your hands, remove your SCOBY and place into a glass container with 1 cup of raw kombucha (to be used for your next brew) and store for next time.
