Kombucha is a non alcoholic fermented beverage which is produced using a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) and sweetened black tea. You can do batches of Kombucha or setup a continuous brewing, this blog will describe the process of continuous brewing.

First you need to get hold on a SCOBY, you can either buy one online or grow one by your self. To grow one your self you need to get hold on a unpasteurized Kombucha drink. I found one local producer here in Sweden of Kombucha and used that for the starter with success. The starter takes about 2-3 weeks to build up a potent SCOBY.

Starter recipe

• 1l water
• 1dl table sugar
• 1.5 tablespoon black tea
• 20cl unpasteurized Kombucha

1. Boil the water and dissolve the sugar

2. Steep the tea for 10 minutes and let the tea cool off to room temperature

3. Pour the Kombucha into the tea and put into mason jar which you cover the top with some textile to keep bugs out

In about 2 weeks you will see a transparent gooey layer building up on the top of the liquid. This is the SCOBY.

Continuous brewing

Continues brewing of Kombucha is a process where you produce new Kombucha continuously by harvesting two thirds of the Kombucha and then add new sweetened tea.

First you need to create the initial batch:

• 3l water
• 3dl table sugar
• 3 tablespoons black tea

1. Boil 1l water and dissolve the sugar

2. Steep the tea for 10 minutes

3. Add 2l of cold water to drop the temperature

4. Add mixture to a glass jar with at least a volume of 4.5 liters

5. When the tea is room temperature, add the SCOBY from the starter with 0.5l of the liquids

When to harvest the first 1.5l is a personal preference, Kombucha is tart and some people want to have some sweetening left in it. After five days take a sample and decide for what you like the best. I like it tart and 7 days fermentation is enough for me.

When you harvest, prepare 1.5l sweetened black tea to replace the 1.5l you harvest. Follow the process of producing the black tea but with following measures:

• 1.5l water
• 2 tablespoons black tea
• 1.5dl table sugar

Finally, do this continuously over and over again. If you don’t continue the Kombucha will convert into vinegar and preserve the SCOBY. This is called a SCOBY hotel. You can then restart by creating a starter batch with a small amount of the vinegar and the preserved SCOBY.

Bottling

When bottling you can prime with table sugar or fruit juices etc. to build up carbonation. Same process as for any bottle primed beverage for carbonation, 6-10g sugar per liter.