Beginners Guide to Making Kombucha

Content by: Angela Greely

homemade kombucha

Angela: No doubt about it, kombucha can be a healthier alternative to sugar-loaded fizzy drinks. I was gifted a scoby (looks like a slimy giant mushroom) a few months ago to start brewing my own kombucha. I was super excited. I had no idea it would be so easy. I picked up my scoby ready to start and carried it home like a prize cow…

What is Kombucha?

What is Kombucha I hear you say! It’s a fizzy and fermented cold tea historically brewed in China, Russia and Germany. It’s made by feeding a scoby (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) sugar and caffeine which produces a fermented tea drink. The drink contains B vitamins and loads of bacteria and yeast which promotes good gut health by balancing gut flora. It’s easy to make and has a refreshing taste, a bit like ginger beer (slightly sweet and vinegary).

Why is it Good for You?

There are many claims about the magical health benefits of kombucha but if you want to learn more about the scientific findings here are 8 Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Kombucha Tea which indicate that Kombucha …

  • Offers a potential source of probiotics
  • May provide the benefits of green tea
  • Contains antioxidants

The 8 Simple Steps to Making Kombucha

These instructions are for a 4 litre jar:

  1. Wash your hands (be sure there is no soap left on your hands)
  2. Take the scoby out of the jar and place in a bowl, cover with a few cups of the liquid
  3. With the rest of the liquid strain into glass jars/bottles, you can leave out of the fridge in airtight containers to become fizzier if you want, I usually leave out for one-to-two days for this reason
  4. Sterilise the jar and make sure you rinse all the soap off
  5. Place the jar into the sink (just in case it breaks with the boiling hot water), fill up the jar with boiling hot water leave enough room for the scoby and the liquid
  6. Add 9 tea bags (normal black tea) and 3/4 cup sugar give it a good stir
  7. After about 5- 10 mins take out the bags and once COOL or room temp place the scoby and liquid back in and cover with a breathable cloth
  8. Leave for 7 days and repeat

Once brewed, you can add things like lemon and ginger to taste, but I like it as is.

Things to be aware of:

  • If your scoby becomes mouldy then you should throw it away.
  • The stringy dark strands are waste from the fermentation process.
  • If you see globules they are new scobies trying to form.

Conclusion

Kombucha can be a healthier alternative to fizzy drinks and is cheap and easy to make. If you are struggling to give up fizzy drinks give it ago. You can buy scoby’s on the internet, be gifted one or even cultivate one from a store bought bottle of kombucha.

Or ask a friend already brewing for a “baby” scoby.

If you want to learn more about Kombucha you can watch our interview with Hannah Crumb (AKA The Kombucha Mamma) in our article titled ‘Hannah Crum – Everything You Need to Know About Kombucha‘ Enjoy 🙂

Angela Greely

This article is brought to you by Angela Greely, a qualified naturopathic nutritionist with over 10 years of experience in the health industry. She ran a successful clinic in Sydney specialising in weight loss and family nutrition. She is very passionate about bringing wellness to millions and developing the very... Read More
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2 Replies to “Beginners Guide to Making Kombucha”
Jules says:

A big fan of the nutritional advice on this site, and regularly order products, but I have to question this article. According to this recipe, there are 9 teaspoons of sugar per litre (even more if you flavour with juice or sweetened ginger ale ), which would explain why it takes away the sugar craving- not because of the goodness.

Granted, its much better than drinking a Coca Cola, but there is still quite a bit of sugar, and I would not consider this to be a regularly consumed “health” food.

Any thoughts?

Guy Lawrence says:

Hey Jules,

The sugar in Kombucha is for the scoby (the culture) to consume as part of the fermentation process and not for us. When done fermenting, there will be about 2-5 grams of sugar per standard glass of Kombucha which is nominal when combined with the probiotic goodness which is really beneficial for our digestive health.

I hope this helps 🙂

Comments are closed.