Brewing your own kombucha tea

[booch]

Hi everyone! Anyone here who have tried brewing their own kombucha? Last Saturday I tried brewing my own. How many days would it take for the tea to be ready to drink?

[naguere]

Years ago a colleague of mine was entranced by kombucha,  he gave me a 'mother' to look after. and nurture.

 

it was interesting, but green tea is better in every way.

[booch]

Years ago a colleague of mine was entranced by kombucha,  he gave me a 'mother' to look after. and nurture.

 

it was interesting, but green tea is better in every way.

I am actually using green tea as the starter tea for my kombucha. Let's see how this will turn out.

[Michael L.]

I do one week for the first fermentation and 2 days for the 2nd (bottle) fermentation. It just depends on how sweet you like your Kombucha, there isn't really a "right" time to stop it. There are many factors besides personal taste that will affect brew time: what kind of sugar you use (the less molasses the easier for the yeast to digest), how warm it is where you store it during the brew, the health of the SCOBY, etc.

 

I would taste it after a few days and see if you want to add more brew time. 

[booch]

I do one week for the first fermentation and 2 days for the 2nd (bottle) fermentation. It just depends on how sweet you like your Kombucha, there isn't really a "right" time to stop it. There are many factors besides personal taste that will affect brew time: what kind of sugar you use (the less molasses the easier for the yeast to digest), how warm it is where you store it during the brew, the health of the SCOBY, etc.

 

I would taste it after a few days and see if you want to add more brew time. 

Thanks for answering, Michael! I want the fizzy kombucha so I should let it ferment longer then.

[Kerry Beal]

I'm confused - your tag line says you teach Kombucha and yet you seem to know nothing about it?

[Michael L.]

Thanks for answering, Michael! I want the fizzy kombucha so I should let it ferment longer then.

 

Only the bottle fermentation adds fizziness to the drink so you'll need to keep it longer in the bottle before you put it in the fridge. You also only flavor the Kombucha during the bottle fermentation as any flavoring during the initial brewing may taint the SCOBY for future brews. I like to flavor mine with ginger and lemongrass.