Kombucha — What It Is and How to Make It
Kombucha is a lightly fermented tea drink made with a SCOBY — a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. The culture eats the sugar in sweetened tea and produces a tangy, slightly fizzy drink with trace alcohol, usually under one percent.
It’s been around for centuries, and it’s one of the easiest fermentation projects for a beginner. You don’t need special equipment — just a glass jar, a breathable cover, and patience.
What you need
- 1 gallon glass jar
- 8 bags of black or green tea (or 2 tablespoons loose leaf)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 SCOBY (buy one online or grow one from a bottle of raw, unflavored kombucha)
- 1–2 cups starter liquid from a previous batch or raw kombucha
- Cheesecloth or a coffee filter, secured with a rubber band
The process
- Brew the tea with the sugar, stirring until dissolved. Let it cool to room temperature — hot tea kills the SCOBY.
- Pour the cooled tea into the jar. Add the starter liquid and the SCOBY, smooth side up.
- Cover with the breathable cloth and secure it. Keep it at room temperature, out of direct sun.
- Wait 7–14 days. Taste it around day 7 — it should be tangy but not sour. Warmer rooms ferment faster; cooler rooms slower.
- When it’s to your taste, bottle it. Add fruit or juice for a second fermentation if you want fizz — 1–3 days at room temperature, then refrigerate.
Flavor ideas
- Pineapple juice — the classic, and it pairs with the site’s Pineapple Ginger recipe
- Ginger and lemon
- Berry blends
- Hibiscus tea for a floral version
Health notes
Kombucha contains live microbes and a small amount of alcohol. It’s a reasonable treat, not a health drink — the sugar content is real. If you’re avoiding alcohol entirely, this isn’t zero. Standard wellness framing, not medical advice.
Storage
Refrigerated kombucha keeps about a month. It keeps building carbonation in the fridge, so open bottles carefully. The SCOBY can be reused indefinitely — store it in a jar with starter liquid in the fridge between batches.
Related
- Ginger bug guide — the other classic fermented drink, made with a wild-yeast starter
- Fermentation FAQ — common questions about SCOBY care, mold, and alcohol content
- Pineapple Ginger juice — pineapple and ginger, the natural kombucha flavor