How to Make Kombucha – The First Ferment

Learning how to make kombucha is a beginner-friendly path into the world of fermented beverages. Assemble your jars, SCOBY, tea and sugar, and let’s get started with step one: the first ferment.

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Who likes wine? Yeah, me too, but like most Gen X I’ve finally left the nightly winesies behind me. Something that helped this heroic transition was finding tasty bevvies for the wineglass.

Kombucha tea a.k.a. ‘booch’ ticks the boxes. It has that ‘fermented’ zing and is feels like a tasty treat. Booch is also easy to make, and unlike some other ferments, is not high maintenance. You can leave it for weeks or months and it will engage sleep mode, ready to be revived when you return from Bali, or wherever.

For this post I’m going to assume you already have a SCOBY in tea. Perhaps you were gifted one by your hippie neighbour or grew one for fun and have no idea how to proceed? I’ve got you. Follow the step-by-step below to get your first brew underway.

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Kombucha: First Ferment Step-by-step

The reason this is the ‘first’ ferment is because there is an optional ‘second’ ferment (or ‘2F’). The 2F is to increase carbonation, and where you can add flavourings, such as fruit or herbs like ginger. This blog focuses on the first fermentation.

Step 1: Make a sweet tea

Kombucha can be brewed with camellia sinensis variant – that is black, green, white or oolong tea. These contain the nutrients and tannins that your SCOBY is looking for.

The ratio of tea to sugar that I use is 1/4 cup of sugar to 1 litre of tea.

My method is to make a strong tea using three teabags in 500mls of boiling water. I add all the sugar (1/4 cup) to the hot tea so that it dissolves. I will add another 500ml of cold water later.

Cover the hot tea (to prevent mould spores wrecking your booch) and let it cool a little.

Step 2: Remove your SCOBY and add the tea to the jar

Wash your hands and then remove your SCOBY from its jar and place it gently on a clean plate. Keep aside half a cup of the kombucha you just removed the SCOBY from. You can bottle the rest, or discard if it’s headed into the vinegar zone.

Either wash and dry the jar you just emptied in hot water, or grab a clean jar. I’m not going to harp on hygiene in this blog, but clean everything is very important when fermenting. We are about to encourage bacterial growth, and you want only beneficial bacteria thriving, not ones that came from your grubby hands, jars or utensils.

!Caution! Those pretty ceramic fermentation crocks can have lead in the glaze, especially the vintage ones. As the kombucha ferments it becomes more acidic and pulls heavy metals from the container. This applies to any metal that comes into contact with the booch, however, stainless steel is fine for taste testing and boiling the water.

Pour the just-brewed coolish tea into the jar.

Step 3: Top up to the correct ratio

Add 500mls of cold water so that you have the correct ratio of 1 litre tea to 1/4 cup sugar. Test the temperature with your finger, it should feel neither too cool or warm but a little variation is fine. If you have a thermometer we are aiming for 15-25°C.

Add the 1/2 cup of starter.

Now I know you’re great at maths, so you’ll be able to scale the recipe to suit your jar sizes. Just stick to the ratio. For tea strength just think ‘drinkable’. So, it can be weak or strong, but still drinkable when the SCOBY is returned to the jar. Kombucha is far more forgiving than other ferments and won’t go toes-up if your tea or sugar ratio isn’t scientifically exact.

STEP 4: Add SCOBY

With clean hands, place your SCOBY on top of the fresh brew. It may settle near the top, or sink, or go sideways. Don’t worry, it’s just trying to freak you out.

Step 5: Brewing Time (7-10 days)

Cover the jar with a cloth or paper towel. You want a little airflow, but without letting bugs or mould spores in.

Sit the jar in a warm place (20-30°C) but out of direct sunlight for a week.

Step 6: Taste Test

Using a straw or a spoon, sample the kombucha. At this point it’s really a call on preference. If you want a little more bite, leave it a few days and test again.

Step 7: Bottle for Fizz (basic 2F)

This step is somewhat of a circle back, as you’ll combine it with refreshing the tea (step 1).

Leaving half a cup aside, decant the kombucha into bottles. It is fine to drink immediately, bearing in mind that the first ferment will contain little or no fizz. If you want to increase the carbonation, a short second fermentation in a tightly lidded bottle will do the trick. Keep the bottle at room temperature or slightly warmer and check in two days. Once you have adequate bubbles, store the booch in the fridge to slow down further fermentation.

Even in the fridge, unpasteurised kombucha will continue fermenting slowly and start to taste acidic. Once this happens, discard it.

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How to Use Kombucha

Once you get started booching, you’ll have what feels like a never-ending supply. This doesn’t mean, however, that you should start drinking it like water. Yes, it does contain probiotics, vitamins and polyphenols, but like many functional foods, you can overdo it.

If you have a sensitive gut, tread carefully. Kombucha is a ferment, and you may need to start with small doses (say 100 ml) to avoid bloating and gas. I like to think of kombucha drinks more like a healthy treat, than a soft drink.

All the best with your kombucha efforts. If you have any questions, the comments are open on this post.

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More Kombucha Posts:

Kombucha: Grow Your Own SCOBY