Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
If you’ve ever looked at the price of kombucha in the supermarket and thought, surely I could make this myself, you’re right, you absolutely can.
The best part is that once you’ve got a healthy SCOBY, it can keep making batch after batch of homemade kombucha for years with very little effort or cost. Mine has survived being completely neglected more times than I’d like to admit over the last 6 years I’ve had it, and every time I come back to it, it’s ready to go again.
If you’re new to homemade kombucha, don’t worry. It looks a little strange at first (okay… really strange and kinda gross to be honest), but it’s actually one of the easiest ferments to keep alive.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know before you start, answer the questions most beginners have, and share the little tips I’ve learnt along the way.
What You’ll Need
Before you brew your first batch you’ll need a few basics:
- A SCOBY
- Starter tea
- Black or green tea
- Raw sugar
- Water
- A large glass fermentation jar (I use the large Kmart glass drink dispenser with the tap and I just remove the glass lid)
- A clean tea towel or tightly woven cloth
- A rubber band
- Glass bottles for storing your finished kombucha
Here’s the recipe below:
Easy Homemade Kombucha Recipe
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Bring enough water to brew a strong batch of tea in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the tea bags (or loose leaf tea) and dissolve the raw sugar while the tea is still hot.
- Allow the tea to cool completely before removing the tea bags or straining the leaves.
- Pour the cooled tea into a clean 3-4L glass fermentation jar.
- If needed, top the jar up with cool water until nearly full. The tea should be concentrated enough that this won’t weaken the brew.
- Add the mature kombucha (starter tea) and gently place the SCOBY into the jar and stir.If you don’t have a SCOBY that’s okay as long as you have a good amount of starter tea the brew will make a new SCOBY.
- Cover with a clean cloth and secure with a rubber band.
- Leave somewhere warm, out of direct sunlight, for 7–14 days.
- Taste every day or two after about a week until the kombucha reaches your preferred balance of sweetness and tang.
- Bottle the kombucha or continue with a second ferment for natural carbonation and flavouring.
Notes
- Always allow the tea to cool completely before adding the SCOBY.
- Save at least one cup of kombucha from every batch as starter tea for the next brew.
- Raw sugar is preferred, but white sugar also works well.
- Black tea, green tea or a mixture of both produce the best results.
- If your kombucha becomes too vinegary, it makes excellent starter tea for future batches.
- A healthy SCOBY may float, sink or sit sideways, this is completely normal.
- Every batch usually grows a new SCOBY that can be shared, composted or added to a SCOBY hotel.
What Exactly Is a SCOBY?
SCOBY stands for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast.
It’s the living culture that transforms sweet tea into kombucha.
Every batch usually grows a brand new baby SCOBY on top, so before long you’ll probably have more than you know what to do with.
Don’t panic if yours doesn’t look Instagram worthy, they’re supposed to look a little weird!
Healthy SCOBYs can be:
- White
- Cream
- Beige
- Light brown
- Slightly translucent
- Lumpy
- Wrinkly
- Stringy
- Covered in brown yeast strands
All of this is completely normal.
Where Do You Get a SCOBY?
You can’t make kombucha completely from scratch because you need live cultures to start the fermentation process.
You can get a SCOBY by:
- Asking a friend who’s already brewing kombucha.
- Buying a kombucha starter kit like this one from Mad Millie. This is the one I started with 6 years ago.
- Using plain, raw, unflavoured kombucha that contains live cultures because you don’t actually need the SCOBY. (It will grow one).
Once you’ve got one, you’ll probably never need another because every batch grows a new one.
My Favourite Brewing Tip
Instead of brewing tea directly in my fermentation jar, I make a concentrated batch of tea in a large mixing bowl.
Once it’s completely cool, I pour it into my glass jar. If the jar isn’t quite full, I simply top it up with cool water.
Because the tea is concentrated enough, this works perfectly and saves me having to make huge pots of tea every time.
Just don’t forget to strain your leaves first if you use loose leaf tea.
Why Raw Sugar?
I always use raw sugar because it’s inexpensive, easy to find and seems to keep my SCOBY happy.
White sugar also works perfectly well if that’s what you have on hand.
The important thing is using real sugar. The SCOBY feeds on it during fermentation, so avoid sugar substitutes or artificial sweeteners.
What Tea Should I Use?
Plain tea is best.
Good options include:
- Black tea
- Green tea
- A combination of black and green tea
If you can, choose organic tea.
Avoid flavoured teas like Earl Grey, chai or fruit teas because the added oils and flavourings can weaken your SCOBY over time and make it go bad.
How Long Does Kombucha Take?
Most batches take between 7–14 days.
The warmer your house is, the quicker it will ferment.
Instead of watching the calendar, taste it every day or two once you reach about a week.
When it’s no longer overly sweet and has a nice tangy flavour, it’s ready.
What If I Forget About It?
Honestly…
This is exactly how my “neglected SCOBY” happened.
Life gets busy and sometimes your kombucha gets forgotten for a few weeks.
Most of the time that’s completely okay.
The liquid usually becomes very vinegary, but that actually makes excellent starter tea for your next batch.
As long as there’s no mould, you can generally keep brewing as normal.
Keep a SCOBY Hotel
If you’re taking a break from brewing, don’t throw your SCOBY away.
Simply leave it sitting in mature kombucha inside a clean glass jar.
This is called a SCOBY hotel.
Store it somewhere out of direct sunlight at room temperature and, if you’re leaving it for several months, feed it with a little fresh sweet tea every month or so.
My neglected SCOBY was basically living in its own little SCOBY hotel and I didn’t even feed it for 9 months! 🫣 Not recommended but it was completely fine. Kombucha is one of the most forgiving ferments there is.
Tips for Success
- Always let your tea cool completely before adding your SCOBY.
- Use clean glass jars and bottles.
- Don’t use metal containers for long-term fermentation.
- Keep your kombucha out of direct sunlight.
- Taste it rather than relying on the number of days.
- Save at least one cup of mature kombucha as starter tea for your next batch.
- Every batch usually grows another SCOBY, so don’t be surprised if your collection starts multiplying!
Troubleshooting
My SCOBY sank.
That’s completely normal.
It might float, sink or sit sideways. A new SCOBY will usually grow on the surface regardless.
Brown strings are hanging from my SCOBY.
Perfectly normal.
Those are yeast strands and are a sign your kombucha is actively fermenting.
My kombucha smells like vinegar.
That’s usually because it fermented longer than intended.
The good news? It makes fantastic starter tea for your next batch or you can use it in cooking or salad dressings.
I can see white bubbles or a thin white layer.
That’s usually a new SCOBY forming.
A fuzzy layer that’s green, blue or black is mould and the whole batch should be discarded.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make kombucha completely from scratch?
Not quite.
You’ll need an existing live culture to begin, either from a SCOBY, a kombucha starter kit or plain raw kombucha.
My kombucha turned into vinegar. Can I still use it?
Yes!
As long as there isn’t any mould, very vinegary kombucha makes brilliant starter tea for future batches.
Can I use white sugar instead of raw sugar?
Absolutely.
Raw sugar is my personal preference, but white sugar works just as well.
What tea is best for kombucha?
Black tea, green tea or a combination of both.
Avoid herbal teas and teas with added oils or flavourings for regular brewing.
Why did another SCOBY grow?
Because that’s exactly what healthy kombucha does!
Each batch usually produces a brand new SCOBY that you can either keep, gift to a friend or add to your SCOBY hotel.
How do I make fizzy flavoured kombucha?
That’s done during the second ferment.
I’ve put together a separate guide that walks you through exactly how I naturally carbonate and flavour my kombucha.
👉 Part 2 coming soon…
I have so much SCOBY. What do I do with it?
Welcome to the club! Every batch of kombucha grows a new SCOBY (also called a pellicle), so before long you’ll probably have a stack of them.
The good news? You don’t need to keep every single one.
You can:
- Compost it – SCOBYs break down beautifully in the compost.
- Feed it to chickens – Many backyard chicken owners offer chopped SCOBY as an occasional treat.
- Keep one or two as backups – Store them in a SCOBY hotel with mature kombucha in case you ever need to restart a brew.
- Share them – Give a SCOBY and some starter tea to a friend who wants to learn to brew kombucha.
Remember, it’s the starter tea that’s the most important part of brewing. The SCOBY helps, but you don’t need a growing pile of old ones to keep making great kombucha. If your SCOBY is getting very thick, you can simply compost the older layers and carry on brewing as normal.
💡 Did you know? The rubbery disc we call a “SCOBY” is technically called a pellicle. The real SCOBY, the living community of bacteria and yeast, is mostly in the kombucha itself. That’s why the starter tea is the key ingredient for a healthy brew.
Final Thoughts
Making kombucha at home might seem intimidating at first, but once you’ve brewed your first batch you’ll realise how simple it really is.
It’s one of those little kitchen rituals that quickly becomes second nature and even if life gets busy and your SCOBY gets a little neglected (like mine often does), it’s surprisingly resilient.
So don’t overthink it.
Brew the tea, add your SCOBY and let nature do the rest.
Happy brewing! 🍵
