How to make fizzy kombucha at home (probiotic drink)

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This simple recipe teaches you everything you need to know about how to make your own kombucha at home. It is beginner friendly and uses only a few basic ingredients. Make your own fizzy, probiotic, gut-friendly kombucha today! This fizzy drink is a great alternative to soft drink/soda.

What is kombucha?

Kombucha is a fermented drink made from tea, sugar, bacteria and yeast. Kombucha has been around for thousands of years, with some sources claiming it was first documented in 221BC. Known to have been brewed in ancient China, kombucha has since spread across the world and gained popularity in the last few decades.

Kombucha is delicious, refreshing, and cheap to make. It also has so many benefits, would you believe something so delicious is actually healthy??

What are the benefits of kombucha?

Like all fermented foods and drinks, kombucha has an array of benefits such as:

• Packed with probiotics – thanks to the SCOBY, this drink is full of gut-loving bacteria that can boost your microbiome.
• Immune system benefits – a healthy gut is essential for a strong immune system. The probiotics in kombucha may help you fight off bugs and stay healthy.
• Mental health – studies into the gut-brain connection are showing that a healthy microbiome positively impact our mental wellbeing.
• Provides the benefits of green tea – when made with green tea, kombucha contains antioxidants such as polyphenols. These help to fight free radicals to improve overall health. Kombucha can also be made with black tea.
• May help to detox the liver – studies in rats shows that regular consumption of kombucha helps to reduce liver toxicity caused by toxic chemicals.
• May help fight harmful bacteria – the acetic acid found in kombucha can kill bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella. Acetic acid is not shown to harm beneficial bacteria.

What is a SCOBY?

SCOBY, aka your new best friend, stands for ‘Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast’. A SCOBY is a living culture and has a very important job in kombucha making. The SCOBY is what transforms the sweetened tea mixture into kombucha.

The SCOBY appears to be a rubbery, round, layered substance that typically floats to the top and is usually beige to light brown in colour. A SCOBY may also be known as the ‘mother’ or ‘starter’ in the fermented drinks world.

A SCOBY will multiply over time and create new layers of ‘offspring’. You kombucha jar may end up looking like a SCOBY hotel over a few months. The baby SCOBY’s can be separated and used to create another batch of kombucha or shared with a friend so that they can make their own fizzy kombucha at home!

What equipment do you need to make fizzy kombucha at home?

Here is a list of equipment you will need to make fizzy kombucha at home:

• Large jar – 2-3L is a great size to get started.
• SCOBY – ask around to see if you can score one from a friend, or buy one here.
• Strong glass bottles with flip top lids – these are important for the second fermentation to get a fizzy end result. You will need 4-6 flip-top glass bottles to get a good rotation going and stay stocked up with kombucha.
• Funnel – for transferring kombucha from the fermentation jar to the glass bottles.
• Saucepan – for dissolving sugar and steeping tea.
• Muslin cloth or paper towel – to cover the top of your fermentation jar.
• Temperature strip – this is handy to keep and eye on the temperature during fermentation.

What flavours can you add to kombucha?

This is the fun part, adding your flavours!

You can try just about any fruit flavour in your kombucha, but strong flavoured fruits generally work the best. Here is a list of our favourites, you can also try a combination.

• Lemon and fresh ginger
• Berry
• Strawberry
• Passionfruit
• Mulberry
• Watermelon
• Peach

Variables at play with homemade kombucha

Fermenting anything at home can come with some teething issues, as there are so many variables that affect the fermentation process.

• Temperature – the ideal temperature for brewing kombucha is 16-26^oC (60-78^oF). If the temperature in your home is outside these, fermentation may not be optimal. You can try placing your kombucha in a cooler or warmer place.
• Fizz – the amount of fizz in the final product depends on the fermentation time, temperature, amount of sugar available to the culture, and the strength of your SCOBY.
• Sweetness/sourness – the sweetness/sourness in the final product also depends on the factors outlined above. It really takes some trial and error to perfect this. Tasting every could of days can give you a good idea of how it’s going.
• Mould – keep an eye out for any unwanted growth in your kombucha. Mould is usually seen on the top of your SCOBY and is a result of contamination with mould spores in the air or on unclean equipment. Always make sure you wash your equipment properly in between batches and make sure your kombucha jar is covered.
• If you see any mould on your SCOBY, you will need to discard the entire batch. I know, this sounds so sad, but the mould may have spread throughout the liquid and it is simply not worth the risk. Time to make a fresh start!

How long does homemade kombucha last?

• Once the bottled kombucha goes into the fridge after the secondary fermentation, the fermentation process slows right down. It can be stored with the lid on tight for 1-3 months.
• Once opened, it is best to drink the kombucha within 1 week, after this point the fizz will have reduced significantly.

Is there any alcohol in homemade kombucha?

During the fermentation process, the SCOBY can produce a very small amount of alcohol as a byproduct, but most of it is converted into acetic acid.

When you make kombucha at home, this amount can vary due to the variables of the fermentation process. Generally homemade kombucha is thought to have an alcohol content of between 0.5-2%. Unless you test your kombucha, there is really no way to know exactly.

Store bought kombucha has an alcohol content of less than 0.5% due to the more controlled environment and regulations on the sale of non-alcoholic beverages.

Should I be worried about the sugar content of kombucha?

You will see that in the recipe below, you need to use quite a bit of sugar in the first fermentation.

Don’t panic, this sugar is what ‘feeds’ the SCOBY, and is mostly used up during the fermentation process. Yeast hydrolyse sugars into ethanol (+carbon dioxide), then bacteria hydrolyse ethanol into acetic acid. The end result is a slightly sweet, slightly sour, fizzy beverage.

A few notes on store-bought kombucha

There are MANY brands of kombucha out there, and whilst very convenient to buy, they often contain additives and flavours that you don’t really need in your life.

• Most store-bought kombucha drinks have added artificial sweeteners and flavours to make their products more palatable.
• Store bought kombucha is usually flavoured and force carbonated to get a fizzy product rather than going through a secondary ferment stage.

How to make fizzy kombucha at home

You can make fizzy kombucha at home using very basic ingredients. Using the power of fermentation, you can create a delicious, fizzy, refreshing drink with so many health benefits.

Make your sweet tea

In a saucepan, add two cups of water water (filtered or dechlorinated) and sugar. Bring to the boil and dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and add the green or black tea leaves (herbal teas will not work in this recipe). A tea strainer helps to keep the leaves contained. Steep tea leaves for 2-5 minutes, then strain.

Allow the sweetened tea to cool

Allow the sweetened tea to cool completely to room temperature. You don’t want hot tea to come into contact with the kombucha SCOBY or starter liquid as this may harm/kill it.

Wash your large jar

This step is very important. Make sure your jar has been washed in hot, soapy water. This reduces the risk of contamination with mould or other pathogens that may make your kombucha unsafe to consume.

First fermentation

Add the cooled sweet tea mixture to your clean jar. Using clean hands, add the SCOBY and pour in the starter liquid. If this is your first batch, add you new SCOBY and the starter liquid it came with. Fill the rest of the jar with filtered water. Leave a bit of room at the top of the jar as is may bubble a little as it becomes active.

It is important to you filtered water, or at least de-chlorinated water here, as chlorine will affect your SCOBY (chlorine kills bacteria, both good and bad). To de-chlorinate water, bring the required amount of water to the boil and allow to cool to room temperature. This removes the chlorine via evaporation.

Cover the top of the jar with a cloth or piece of paper towel held in place with a rubber band. Allow to ferment at room temperature out of direct sunlight for 5-7 days, I like to pop mine on top of the fridge.

Bottle your kombucha

Once your kombucha has completed the primary fermentation, it is ready to bottle. You will know it’s ready to bottle when it is slightly fizzy, a little bit sweet and a tiny bit sour.

Using a funnel, transfer most of the liquid from the large jar into your glass bottles. leave a bit of room at the top of your bottles to add in your fresh fruit/flavours. Important: make sure you leave some of the liquid in the big jar along with your SCOBY, this is your starter liquid that will be used to make a new batch of kombucha.

Add your flavours

Add your favorite fruit/flavours into the bottled kombucha. This is easier to do by cutting fruit into strips, it also makes it much easier to get them out of the bottle once finished.

Second fermentation

Leave about an inch of room at the top of the bottle. If you need to, top up your bottle with a little bit of filtered water. Close the lids of your bottles and place at room temperature, ideally 16-26^oC (60-78^oF) for 3-5 days. This is where the second fermentation process takes place. The sugars in the fruit will give the cultures a little bit more food to produce extra carbon dioxide. This will create the fizz!

It’s essential that your use good quality, strong glass bottles with flip-top lids in this step. Cheap bottles can explode due to the pressure created by the carbon dioxide. Bottles with screw-top lids can leak air and liquid under pressure causing a mess.

Refrigerate

It is important to refrigerate your kombucha for at least a few hours before opening. The secondary fermentation process creates a lot of pressure due to the natural carbonation. Opening them at room temperature can result in your kombucha fizzing over and making a mess.

Enjoy!

Enjoy your kombucha over ice on a warm day.

• If your kombucha isn’t as fizzy as you would like, you may either need to add 1/2 teaspoon sugar when bottling, or allow the secondary fermentation to go 1-2 days longer.
• If your kombucha is too sweet, you may need your first ferment to go 1-2 days longer.
• If your kombucha is too sour, your first ferment may need to be shortened by 1-2 days.

Play around with things until you find what works best for you!

My frugal tips

• Sourcing a SCOBY – ask around, try Facebook marketplace or ask at your local wholefoods. I’ve never bought a SCOBY, I’ve always managed to find one through a friend or colleague. Word of mouth is powerful.
• Sourcing a large jar – you can usually find a large jar at an op shop. You don’t need to use a lid, so it might be even easier to grab a bargain.
• Sourcing you bottles – some kombucha brands sell their product in flip-top bottles, you can use these kombucha bottles for the 2nd fermentation.
• Buy your tea in loose leaf form – this is always cheaper than using tea bags and reduces waste. Stock up when it’s on sale.
• Buy sugar in bulk – this as also generally cheaper than buying in small quantities.