3 steps to making Kombucha at home

For those of you who have gone Kombucha crazy, and have now decided to take the plunge to making your own at home here is the low down. Say hello to our 3 step guide to making kombucha at home; from preparing your SCOBY (& unpacking what is in a kombucha scoby) to fermentation. Here we’ll take you through the entire process from start to finish! 

Everyone else still trying to figure out what the hell Kombucha is, well….Kombucha is a fermented green or black tea.

The Kombucha culture looks like a beige or white rubbery pancake. It’s often called a ‘scoby’ which stands for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts. The culture is placed in sweetened black or green tea and turns a bowl full of sweet tea into a bowl full of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and health-giving organic acids.

The Kombucha culture is a biochemical powerhouse, as it digests the sugar it produces a range of organic acids like glucuronic acid, gluconic acid, lactic acid, acetic acid, butyric acid, malic acid and usnic acid; vitamins, particularly B vitamins and vitamin C; as well as amino acids, enzymes. And of course there are all the benefits of the probiotic microorganisms themselves. The benefits may include: 

• • Improve immunity
  • Reduce the risk of heart disease (1, 2)
  • Help manage diabetes types 2 (3)
  • Protect against cancer (4, 5)
  • Weight-loss (6)

While most people are familiar with kombucha, there is a lot of confusion in regard to how it is actually made. There are lots of buzz words being thrown around like SCOBY and fermentation, but less talk around what that actually means or what the process looks like.

We’ve simplified this by sharing our easy-to-understand 3 step guide to making delicious kombucha at home. It is surprisingly easy to make (albeit a little time consuming). 

How to make Kombucha at home: 

Step 1: Preparing your SCOBY

But first, what the heck is a SCOBY?

SCOBY stands for Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria & Yeast. It is the essence of kombucha as it is the bacteria and yeast that transform the tea into the fizzy drink we know and love. We’re first to admit that scobys are pretty funny looking, but it is an absolute essential.

You can order a scoby online or you can even grow your own. If you’re game, here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients:

7 cups filtered water
1/2 cup plain sugar*
4 black tea bags
1 cup unflavoured kombucha

*The sugar is consumed throughout the fermenting process so the final product is sugar-free (woop woop).

Equipment:

1 large saucepan
1 mixing spoon
1 glass jar (it is important that you use glass or ceramic rather than plastic or metal – the metal can react with the acidity of the kombucha therefore harming your scoby, and plastic can cause nasty bacteria to form)
Tea towels or paper towels (to cover the jar)
Rubber band

Instructions:

1. Firstly, prepare the sweet tea. Boil water in the large saucepan. Remove from heat and add sugar, stir until dissolved. Add tea bags and steep until it reaches room temperature (this takes a good few hours). Discard tea bags.
2. Combine cooled tea and kombucha in your glass jar, firstly adding tea and then topping with kombucha. Mix well.
3. Cover with tea towels, secure with rubber band and store in a cool, dark spot for 1-4 weeks (sunlight can interfere with the fermentation process). The difference in time depends predominately on the temperature (the process is faster in warmer climates).

What to expect?

For the first few days, nothing. Don’t fret, it’s all part of the process. After a few days, bubbles will start to form on the surface. After a few more days, bubbles will start to join and form a thin, transparent strip.

The consistency should be like jelly. This is a good sign everything is going to plan! Over the following days, the film on the surface will thicken to be solid and non-transparent. This is your scoby! When it is about 1/2 cm thick, it is ready for use.

The first time you use your scoby it will look particularly funny, but after you’ve used it for a few batches of kombucha it will become more smooth and even in colour. The Scoby we use at Nexba is close 

Ok, now you’ve got your scoby sorted, you’re ready to make kombucha!

NOTE: If you spot any mould growing on your SCOBY or in the tea, you’ll need to start form scratch. We know it’s a pain, but it’s a must. It is crucial that everything is clean to allow for the growth of good bacteria.

Step 2: Fermentation phase #1

To start the kombucha fermentation process, here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients:

14 cups filtered water
1 cup plain sugar
8 bags black tea (you can also use green or oolong tea)
2 cups unflavoured kombucha
1 scoby (You need 1 scoby per jar so if you’re using multiple small jars you will need additional scobys)

Equipment:

1 large saucepan
Mixing spoon
1 large glass jar
Tea towels or paper towels (to cover the jar)
Rubber band

Instructions:

1. Boil water in large saucepan. Remove from heat and stir through sugar until dissolved. Add tea bags and steep until it reaches room temperature (this takes a good few hours). Discard tea bags.
2. Using your *extra clean* hands, gently remove scoby from the tea and transfer to a very clean plate.
3. Pour the tea into your jar and then top of with unflavoured kombucha. Very gently place scoby into the jar and cover with tea towels, securing with rubber band.
4. Store in a cool, dark spot for a week – 10 days. After a week, taste the tea to gauge if it’s ready. Remember – the kombucha will ferment quicker in warmer climates.

Note: Be sure to reserve 2 cups from this batch to use as ‘starter kombucha’ for subsequent batches (you will use this in place of the 2 cups unflavoured kombucha). You can simply leave it in the jar with the scoby. The remainder of the liquid can move into phase #2 of the fermentation process!

Step 3: Fermentation phase #2

This is the final stage of fermentation (you’re getting close!) This is where it all really starts to come together. It gets a lot more exciting as this is where you add in the fun, fruity flavours. Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients:

2 cups starter kombucha (that is, the reserved kombucha from the first batch)
1/3 cup mashed fruit (use fruit of choice)
1 tsp stevia leaf powder
1-2 tsp freshly grated ginger

Equipment:

A funnel
A few fermenting bottles (these have an airtight seal which enables the fermentation process as it prevents carbonation from escaping).

Instructions:

1. Using fennel, strain kombucha and pour into fermenting bottles. You should leave about 4cm at the top.
2. Add sweetener of choice and tightly seal lid.
3. Store in a cool, dark spot for 3 – 10 days. Again, we recommend tasting to gauge if it’s ready.
4. Strain out fruit and store in the fridge.
5. Voila!

Congratulations, you’ve successfully made your first batch of kombucha! Broken down, you’ll realise making kombucha is actually pretty straight forward and doesn’t require too many fancy ingredients. All you need is some time on your hands and a little patience. The result will be well worth it, especially once the health benefits start to kick in.

If you’re a little short on time or if it all sounds a bit hard (we don’t blame you), you can find our sugar-free kombucha range in Woolworths and Coles. Alternatively, you can order online through our website. All the health benefits without any of the fuss!

Our Nexba Kombucha is made with 100% natural oolong tea leaves, live scoby and is brewed for 40 days. On top of being sugar-free, our Kombucha contains 500 million live probiotics. Our unique strain of smart and robust probiotics can survive the journey from your mouth to your gut where they nurture your gut health. In fact research shows that 85% will reach your intestines intact! See our flavours here.

At Nexba we make our Kombucha in the authentic way of brewing Kombucha, which is a process you can repeat at home. The only difference is we use our patented Nexba sweetener and ad a bit of fizz.