I've made more than 100 litres of kombucha - here are my best tips

How I got into kombucha

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I’ve known and tried kombucha for years before I started making it. Up till five years ago, kombucha was considered a niche product which you could find only at hipster cafes. I found cafe-bought kombucha overpriced, and still do.

In June 2020, a friend offered me the kombucha she brewed and gave me some starter tea. Admittedly, it took me a while to get started brewing, mostly because I didn’t have all the equipment and I wasn’t sure I was ready to keep up with the demands of fermenting kombucha regularly. Kombucha-brewing is really like having a low-maintenance kid -- you'll find out why later.

Eventually, I got into brewing kombucha and got hooked by the limitless flavour possibilities, plus the satisfaction of fermenting something. It is that same joy and sense of accomplishment you get when you finish an art and craft project. The agreeable sweet and sour taste of kombucha is another huge factor that keeps me going, till today. In part, my family’s subsequent love and consumption of kombucha also sustains my brewing, so I can keep up with their demands.

These days, I have two eight-litre jars of kombucha fermenting at any one time, and I can “harvest” up to 11 litres of kombucha each week. I’ve also taken to selling my kombucha to friends and family members that have expressed interest through my postings on Instagram.

To date, I've brewed more than 100 litres of kombucha.

Before sharing with you my kombucha recipe, here are some reasons why you should consider fermenting your own kombucha at home.
Why bother making your own kombucha?

1. Cost savings

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The recipe I share below uses one litre of water, 80-100g of sugar, 8-10g of tea as well as 200ml of starter tea, to make one litre of kombucha.

Let’s assume that the water is free, you've obtained the starter tea from a friend for free and you’re using Fairprice Pure Cane Sugar ($1.50 for 1kg) and Lipton Yellow Label Tea Bags ($2.45 for 25 bags of 2g). The cost of making a litre of kombucha would thus be between $0.90 and $1.13.

Remedy Organic Kombucha ($144 for 12 bottles of 750ml), on the other hand, would cost us $16 a litre -- more than 10 times the cost of ingredients.

While the price of making your own kombucha can increase if you use ingredients that are organic or loose leaf tea, for example, the cost savings from making your own kombucha would still be significant. You can also bring down the cost by buying ingredients in bulk or at wholesale prices, and by reusing/recycling equipment.

2. Customisability

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Interested in certain flavour combinations that are not found commercially? Well, you can make them yourself. Also, if you find that readily available brews are not up to your liking in terms of sweetness, sourness and level of fizz, you can easily adjust that with a homemade version.

3. Health

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Store-bought kombucha can often be too sweet. In other instances, they could be pasteurised or treated to make them shelf-stable, thereby killing the probiotics in them. By making your own kombucha, you can control the amount of sugar added and the ingredients you use. Want to make it with all organic products without any ingredients you can’t read? Go ahead.

Note: As kombucha is a fermented beverage, it does contain trace amounts of alcohol. The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, or MUIS, which handles halal certification, has not given their stamp of approval to kombucha.

4. Convenience

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Instead of running to the supermarket or ordering online every time your kombucha stock runs low, you can easily get yourself a cup straight from your own home brew. If you drink kombucha daily, I would recommend making your kombucha in a drink dispenser that comes with a tap for easy decanting.

Ready to brew your own kombucha? Here's what you'll need.
My tried-and-tested kombucha recipe

Ingredients and equipment

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Starter tea or SCOBY

SCOBY or Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast - also known as starter tea, this refers to the liquid used to kickstart the first fermentation. Many people mistake the cellulose matrix layer found during kombucha brewing to be the SCOBY, but that is erroneous. That biofilm is actually the pellicle and is made with the byproducts of the probiotics ingesting the sugars. When obtaining SCOBY from someone, make sure to get enough starter tea (see first fermentation steps below). It doesn't hurt to obtain a pellicle as well.


Water

Preferably boiled or filtered, as chlorine could impact the probiotic growth.


Sugar

Of your choice. Artificial sweeteners are not recommended as the probiotics need the sugar for growth.


Tea leaves/bags

Anything that contains only tea leaves, and is without added ingredients like spices, herbs, dried fruits and flowers as they could have compounds that interfere with probiotic growth.


Vessel for first fermentation

Any volume of your preference, preferably made of glass as it is non-reactive. Washed and sterilised before use.


Tightly-woven cloth and rubber band

Used to cover the open of the vessel and allow gaseous exchange as the probiotics require oxygen, while keeping insects and dust out.


Glass bottles for second fermentation

Old wine bottles and cap-top bottles work best here as you want a bottle that can be closed tightly to keep the carbonation in. Also, a round bottle is preferred over a square bottle as the latter doesn’t withstand the pressure of carbonation as well and could explode.


Flavourings

See: 'Second fermentation and flavouring' below


Other equipment

Anything that would make your life easier such as a weighing scale, electric kettle, spoon, knife, etc. Equipment that will be in contact with kombucha should be sterilised before use.

First fermentation

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To make 1 litre (1,000ml) of kombucha (you can scale up or down accordingly), you will need:

1 litre of water
80-100g sugar
8-10g of loose tea leaves or tea bags
200ml of starter tea

 

Start by making sweet tea. Boil the water and add the tea and sugar. Stir to dissolve all the sugar and let the tea steep while cooling. You can let the tea steep for at least 15 minutes but I usually let it steep till the sweet tea is completely cool. Once cooled, strain and discard the tea leaves.

In your fermentation vessel of choice, add your starter tea and room temperature sweet tea and stir to combine. Cover the vessel with the tightly woven cloth and secure it with a rubber band.

The first fermentation process will take at least five days, depending on the balance of sweet and sour you'd like your final kombucha drink to be. From the sixth day onwards, dispense a small amount daily to taste if you like the balance of sweet and sour. The longer you leave it to ferment, the more sour it will become. If you’re flavouring and doing a second fermentation, you can decant your brew when it is slightly sweeter as it will continue fermenting and become more tart. Once you’re happy with the taste, move on to the next steps.

Before we move into second fermentation and flavouring, this part is crucial: keep at least 20 per cent of whatever volume you are brewing next as the starter for the next batch. For example, if you’re brewing another litre of kombucha, reserve at least 200ml of your first ferment as a starter, and repeat the above process to continue brewing your kombucha. If you’re brewing two litres, then reserve 400ml, three litres would require 600ml and so forth. This method is known as backslopping.

Second fermentation and flavouring

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Once you’ve reserved your starter to make the next brew, dispense the remainder into sterilised glass bottles. Of course, you can just bottle it, let it ferment for two more days or so at room temperature to build up carbonation (hence, second fermentation) and drink it plain.

But if you want to stretch the limits of your imagination, consider flavouring your kombucha. Anything from fruits and vegetables to spices and herbs can be used. Don’t be afraid to experiment with various combos or work to recreate whatever off-the-shelf flavours you love.

For fruits, juices would impart more flavour, fragrance and sweetness compared to whole or cut pieces. Berries and grapes can simply be crushed while apples, pears, pomegranate and other fruits that have little aroma in small quantities would be best juiced first. In-season fruits would always yield the best results, due to their superior quality.

Vegetables work best when they are juiced as they are intrinsically drier than fruits. Juicing also works best to maximise the flavour from ginger, turmeric and the like, when you want a strong, robust taste. Note that a slice of ginger would taste less potent than juiced ginger, so adjust accordingly to achieve your desired outcome.

For herbs and spices, think about cooking when you’re flavouring with these. Just like how you'd use them sparingly and in small quantities to avoid overpowering the dish, the same principle applies here: less is more. Start small and slowly adjust to taste with subsequent batches once you’ve gotten the hang of it.

Other flavourings that I have found success with include Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa (yes, really!), sour plum and dried flowers like lavender, rosebuds and chrysanthemum. Once you’ve flavoured your brew to your liking, decant it into sterilised glass bottles and let it ferment for two more days or so at room temperature for carbonation before chilling it in the fridge.

Finally, all that’s left to do is to enjoy the kombucha you brewed!

Tips and tricks I've learned

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After making more than 100 litres of kombucha over a year, I've learned a couple of lessons that are worth sharing here.

Your first fermentation will attract a lot of fruit flies due to the acetic acid being produced. This is a perennial man vs. nature struggle -- one way to get rid of some fruit flies is to create a fly trap. Get a bowl of kombucha, dispense a few drops of dishwashing detergent, and set this mixture near your vessel. The kombucha attracts the flies while the detergent lowers the surface tension, leading to the demise of any fly that tries to get a sip. But if a fly managed to slip through your defences and larvae has grown, discard everything, sterilise the vessel and repeat the brewing process with new starter tea.

Getting your kombucha (after second fermentation and flavouring) cold before opening the bottle is important as it prevents excessive bubbling and spillage. This is because cold liquids contain trapped carbon dioxide more effectively. To be extra safe, open the bottle over a sink and have a cloth ready to clean up any mess.

I've not encountered mould, but the telltale signs would be the usual colourful bloom on the dry surface of the pellicle. If in doubt, discard everything, sterilise and restart your brewing process. If you see weird, alien bits floating within the liquid, that's the yeast and it is safe to consume. You can strain the yeast if you want to, before embarking on second fermentation.

Additional resources

Play

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I have found this Youtube channel titled You Brew Kombucha to be extremely helpful as it explains in great, concise detail the various steps, problems and solutions you might encounter when making kombucha.

In addition, the Big Book of Kombucha by Hannah Crum and Alex LaGory is a wonderful encyclopedia on all things kombucha. Of course, a quick search on Google and YouTube yields many helpful articles, videos and insights.

You can also join local kombucha communities on Facebook, such as this that I joined in my early days. Else, you can reach out to me on Instagram and I’ll try my best to guide you on this journey!

Final words

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You might feel daunted or turned off by the prospects of fermenting your own kombucha after reading the wealth of information above. But as someone who has been in your shoes, I say: don't be. Instead, research and obtain more information to feel more at ease before embarking on this journey.

Like every endeavour undertaken, there are bound to be failures and mistakes, but just learn from them and join me in making your life healthier and yummier with kombucha.