Beginners Guide To Fermentation: Kombucha Making 

My uncle used to make kombucha and he was really good at it. He usually sell and give them to his neighbours (he lived in a more elderly community). He passed away several months ago. I remember whenever we visit him, there's always a room full of kombucha bottles and jars being fermentated.This really eminded me of him and i miss him.

Just another small tip: I'd suggest mixing the sugar in with the brewed tea before mixing it with the additional 8 cups of water to cool it, sugar dissolves much better in warm liquids. Then pour the brewed tea and sugar both into the 8 additional cups of water to cool it down. You'll notice the sugar dissolves much quicker this way. Not really super important, but just a small thing to get used to doing to save a few seconds in every dish you dissolve sugar into ;)

A few years ago I started making kombucha in a gallon jar. By the end of the summer I was making 10 gallons a week which was roughly 60 bottles. I just gave it to friends and family and drank a lot myself. Healthiest I've ever been in my life! Even people who said they didn't like kombucha loved mine and would ask me for bottles. I've been wanting to get back into it and your video reminded me why I loved it so much! I probably won't be making it on that scale again but it was one of the few hobbies that I was actually extremely good at and I can't wait to get back into it.

Wow I know this vid is old but My firts batch was finally fermented today and OH BOY! I have been converted to Kombucha!! It is simply delicious! I just wanted to increase fermented food in my diet (so far i've made my own kefir, sauerkraut, and kvass) but this really feels like a treat ❤️

I think one of the most common Kombucha mistakes is getting the amount of sugar wrong. If you use too little, you end up with an insipid, bland drink that has no bite. It tastes like tea that has gotten a little too old. If you use too much sugar, it becomes unbearably sour while still being cloyingly sweet. Get the sugar right and by the time it gets a little bit sour, the sweetness is very mild and it's quite pleasant to drink. I use 1 cup of sugar per gallon or slightly more. 2 cups per gallon is too much sugar at least for my mix. If the taste of your scoby isn't right, it almost always means you need to tweak your sugar amounts. Vinegar is bad for your tooth enamel. If you use kombucha, even mild kombucha, or if you used vinegar, rinse your mouth out well with water afterwards. You may read that the bacteria and yeast eat the caffeine. Maybe they eat some of it, but by no means all of it. I don't drink it much past noon or it keeps me awake at night. Temperature has a HUGE effect on how fast your kombucha gets ready. In a hot environment (around 90 F) I've had a batch of kombucha go from fresh to too sour to drink in just three days. At a cooler temperature (maybe 60 F), I've had kombucha take well over a week to achieve peak flavor. When you get your kombucha just right, you really must refrigerate it. You're not going to drink it all before it becomes too sour if you don't refrigerate. A single day past its prime can really spoil the flavor. As seen in the video, kombucha stored in bottles can build pressure. Make sure whatever kind of closure you use can release that pressure before it builds enough to shatter the bottle. Avoid metal or long term exposure to plastic. Vinegar in the kombucha can dissolve trace amounts of metal VERY QUICKLY. This dissolved metal can be an extremely powerful antibiotic, killing yeast and bacteria. Silver is particularly strong in this respect. Simply stirring a mature kombucha with a silver spoon can bring about the scoby apocalypse. Plastic doesn't hurt if you just use it briefly, but if you mature your kombucha in a plastic container, kombucha is very good at leaching chemicals out of the plastic over time. Let's say your kombucha gets a little moldy. I don't know about the safety aspects of mold, but often you can just peel off the moldy layer and the acidic conditions in the kombucha will be too harsh for the mold to make a comeback. Usually this mold problem happens when the scoby floats so well that the top is outside of the acidic fluid in the open air. One you peel off that layer and let the scoby immerse completely, the mold problem is gone. Keep a back-up scoby, especially if you started your scoby with a hard to replace non-commercial scoby. You don't have to babysit your backup. You can let it go way past it's prime. From time to time, pour off some of the back-up and add some sweet tea. You may occasionally add fruit juice instead, but the kombucha needs those tannins in the black tea. If you only use fruit juice, some of your beneficial bacteria may die off. It will still look like your original kombucha and it may taste the same, but it won't be as good for you. The ultimate back-up is getting friends, neighbors, and relatives into it. When you empty your kombucha brewing container into bottles, I recommend leaving about an inch of fluid in the container with the scoby to keep it alive and well until you brew your next batch. Every time I find a new kombucha brand in a store, one that does NOT just list a few very specific bacteria, but says something like, "kombucha culture" under ingredients, I buy some, take it home, and add a little to my kombucha. If I lived in an area where people brew their own, I might do the same with friends and neighbor's cultures. Sadly I am in the kombucha boondocks.

Set speed to 1.25 You're welcome

"There's living stuff in there, give it a prayer, " I love this mindset!

Metrics 1 Scoby 4 Litres Filtered water 16 Tea Bags 400g white sugar 250g natural kombucha Temperature Between: 20'C - 30'C

I can confirm that this works well with green tea from the dollar tree (100 1g tea bags for $1). Best one has been ginger and blueberry. Second has been ginger. Other ones were good- raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, unflavored.

WARNING NEVER USE JUST ANY JARS TO STORE KOMBUCHA or they may BLOW UP & cause serious injury!!!! You need to use glass made for pressure building drinks, beers bottles are great for that !!! Happy Brewing !!!!

You’re totally right about kombucha being a great healthy replacement for soda cravings. I am intrigued to try this recipe.

He’s right about don’t be clingy. I left mine for like 3 months this winter in a good dark spot and forgot about it. When I remembered about it and checked it was honestly doing great.

I love how you take your time in explaining everything and giving all the tips clearly and not speedy which is easier to observe and remember and don't have to pause and rewind several times to grasp on what you're saying. Great series. Waiting for the bread yeast because it never worked with me and I'm stuck on dry yeast 😖

Who else laughed when he said “definitely don’t fuck with paper towels!” I didnt expect that

Thank you so much! I loved your simple and easy explanation! I was afraid to start, but after watching your video, I'm ready! Thank you

I was able to grow my own SCOBY by taking a bottle of store bought unpasteurized raw kombucha (GT brand - Trilogy because I could not find unflavored). I poured it into a jar, covered with breathable cloth and kept it at 85 degrees. In 8 days I had a nice SCOBY. I am fermenting my first batch of kombucha now and the first SCOBY has attached to the new layer on top of the new kombucha. This has been a really fun experiment.

You did such an amazing job with this video! I'm on my fourth batch using the how to from this video and I love my kombucha!! Thanks so much for the video!!!

I love his kitchen! The pot rack and all the shelves for seasonings! My apartment kitchen is a little bigger but not nearly as compact.

Just finished my first batch ever and its glorious!

Awesome! Thank you! I’m making my first batch ever tonight and this was so supportive!

Right on man, thanks for the info. Im a beer maker / brewer and this is a very similar process to making beer, but less intense!

Smart fella. The pace is appreciated especially for folks who are brand new to this. This dude should be very proud of the hard work placed into making this video.

I really enjoyed your video, thank you!! So informative and you have so much chill lol!! 👏 I appreciate you n this! ✌️

Love all your videos! Thank you for being a passionate and excellent teacher!

coffee filters , COVER with coffee filters. gnats can get into the cheese cloth

So glad you have a recipe for this! Just got my gallon mason jar and fermentation bottles, so finally ready to make kombucha. I have trepidation due to worries over explosions and the like. Thanks for your help!

You explain this so well and I have learned more from you on Kombucha than any others!! I am excited to make it, and then flavor it in the bottles! Good job!!

I like how you anticipate the questions that beginners like me will have. Thanks for the help! I'm excited to start this journey

Great clear and simple video! Love, love, love this video! In addition, if you want to make your own SCOBY: buy some plain, organic Kombucha and pour it into a large glass. Remember to rinse your glass well after washing it. Soap is the enemy. Let it ferment in a cupboard at room temp for 2 - 3 weeks and your SCOBY will be formed - easy as pie!

I love your delivery, you remind me of my son who lives in Brooklyn

For the problem with the cloth you can use a water lock, for example like the waterlock on sauerkraut vessels. It is also a failsafe method against mold or bad bacteria as long as you cleaned the vessel properly

PLEASE do a video on how you designed your small kitchen! LOVE ❤️ it! I have a tiny kitchen and I love to cook. Show us how you organized yours! Great kombucha video!!

My goal is to make a perfect soda clone from this. He is spot on when he says there are an unbelievable amount of flavor combos.

Great vid. I use washed Muslin cloth to cover on my gallon jar. Use muslin for coffee filters too, they're washable & reuseable too.

I did my first batch!!! It was awesome!!!

Kombucha is amazing and magical

The best home made "kambooha" flavors I ever had were ginger and white grape with tarragon leaves. With the ginger flavro, simply fine die some some fresh ginger and get a garlic crusher and just simply add the juice from the ginger right into the bottles one at a time. Best ever and so simple. Next, take like 5-6 FRESH tarragon leave and put them into each bottle and crush white grape juice into each. Let it sit over night or at least 6 hours and then pass through a tight screen strainer to remove the leaves. your'er welcome in advance :D

Thanks so much for this super helpful video, Mike! I just received my first SCOBY and can't wait to get started! 🤗

Thanks mate, I made my first sauerkraut last month thanks to your vid, and next on the list with your help - kombucha baby 👊😎

Thank you so much!!! I have been looking for a healthier alternative to "Coca Cola" lol. I love kombucha but expensive. I also learned how to save money by canning (pressure canner) milk to make evaporated milk to drink in coffee. Pennies on the dollar vs buying organic half and half!!! You are a great teacher. The best I have found. Thank you for breaking down the recipe. God bless.

every time you say kambucha instead of kombucha, it drives me nuts, haha.

Lol and i thought i was the only one to lose my head of the "kambucha" pronunciation lol

Thanks for your videos! I always enjoy them. I am not sure if anyone will see this. But you may get a good laugh. a number of years ago, 6 or so, I tried my hand at making Kombucha. I never aquired a taste for it. Had made several batches and basically gave it to a couple of my friends that liked it. Well we have a root celler, down there earlier this week straightening things up. Low and behold in a far corner of the shelfing was a couple of bottles of Kombucha. I looked at them and could not see any mold in them. So decided to open one of the bottles. It has the flip top. Well I flipped it . Did have it pointing aweay from me. If it would of been corked I could of put someones eye out I am sure, Anyway at least half the bottle fizzed out. So going to put the other bottle back and hopefully I will remember next spring to take it out and see if my grand daughter will film me opening it! I laughed so hard.

I have decided to make my own kombucha, and this is the first video I have watched (i love utube for learning how to do stuff) Thank you! Your video is informative and entertaining.

love your energy and enthusiasm. good and precise video. I appreciate the little blessing. way more powerful

you're awesome dude, thanks for making this video, very informative! Just bought my scobe from Fermentation Farms in Costa Mesa in Socal, sick of paying 3-5$ everyday for my kombucha drinks, can't wait to get started!

Dude, you rock! Love your informative videos, there's no fat, it's all great instructions.

Thank you for sharing, very well explained.🙏🏾

Thank you so much!!! I love this stuff!! I needed to learn how to make it.

Kombucha Hack - the little glob in a GT Original Kombucha will start a colony for you. $4 for a Kombucha and your starter. Win/Win

I would not use cheese cloth to cover your mix. The weave is too big and fruit flies will find their way in. Don't ask me how I know... I use a teacloth.

I made rootbeer kOmbucha. Its awesome! Strawberry and mixed berry too. I used green and black tea.

I know my kombucha is ready when I see bubbles around the scoby. My first ferment is very fizzy. The key to getting it fizzy is simple. When it is time to make a new batch and you remove the scoby, gently stir your booch. It will stir up the yeasts and microbes that are settled on the bottom of the vessel. Then pour out your starter amount. If you do this each time, you will have batch after batch of fizzy booch.

I just made a homemade skobi and watched this video-Great video, funny, easy to listen and understand, fun environment. Looking forward to watching your "flavoring" video and more on fermenting in general.

Thanks heaps for the reply and tip Ruth. Cheers!

Thanks for the recipe! This is my first time trying to make kombucha!

I bet he drives a Toyota Komry.

Just wanted to come by and say thank you! I used your recipe for my first batch ever last month. I've been spending like $20+ a month on the store bought stuff. Anyway, it came out great!

This is such an awesome video! Love all the helpful tips!

This is the easiest guide that I watched! Thank you! You can make noodles out of scoby. Schezuan style or pickled stuff

But who made the first scoby!?

Dude, thank you. Gave me a great deal of confidence to start. BTW, having lived in NYC, I knew right away from you kitchen that you were in NYC.

FYI - To Manually lower the tea basket: hold down the “basket” button on the breville tea maker for a few seconds it will lower the basket. Press the button same to lift it back to the top.

Very nice,definitely I’ll do it.

Lol. My husband says "kambucha" :D We are massive booch fans. I just shared my Christmas booch recipe which is a major winner!

OK, I just made my first batch and... It's AWESOME!!! I must admit, I was a little reluctant but excited at the same time AND THIS STUFF IS AMAZING! I had 10 empty bottles of GT's which I was able to fill up 7. ANOTHER really cool thing, I started with a scoby that I purchased on eBay. It was like a triangular piece. After the first fermentation process, it was completely round, but growing on the bottom of the scoby was another perfectly round scoby. I just thought that was crazy.

First batch turned out pretty dam good. Thanks man ❤️

This was very helpful, thank you!

I'm drinking kombucha rn it's hella nice

Will you do a video on the guide to doing the second fermentation

Justs started making kombuča, it is something soooo good. My brother was the initiator, he makes now kombuča for more than year!

Thanks for the simplicity of this

the kombucha mush- room pe- ople sitting a- round all day

I'm a begginer, and I appreciate this video.

I am a little confused about the ratios. It says to make 2 gallons of kombucha you need 16 cups of water etc. However 16 cups of water is 1 gallon. So do we need to double up the tea and sugar and water to make two gallons or are those ratios correct but the water amount isn't?

Thanks for your thorough assessment. I’ve had problems. Once I had thought that the yeast and bacteria from the air would be enough. It wasn’t. So I used a bottle of Kombucha from Stop&Shop. This has worked. I use cane sugar that time but it doesn’t matter. White sugar will do. I’m looking for a good glass bottle with a spigot at the bottom.

Great, healthy drink!👍😁 whole year around!!! All my incestors , including me made Tea fungus 😁 (kombucha), this how we call in my land 😁. Definitely, your digestive system will thank you for it❤. Namaste 🌼

Well I just tried my first batch! Made blueberry flavored kombucha and its the best kombucha I have ever had! Thanks for the great video btw, had to come back and thank you. This is soooo good lol

Definitely watching this video helped me a lot.... to just keep on buying it ready....

Oh! I have enjoyed your explanation! The music background I don’t like. Your kitchen is so practical, I love it! Thank you! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼❤️

Hey Mike! I made my first batch and it turned out great!!! But where do I keep my scoby after putting it aside with leftover bouch? The fridge or cupboard?

You can grow your own scoby. I love the stuff so much I have 2, 1 gallons going all the time

Thanks for posting this very informative video. Clear and concise direction. 👍

Thank you for giving me the super gist of how to make kombucha!

4:30 I didn’t know 16 cups of fluid could make two gallons, your kitchen must be magic!

9:12 ahah give him a lovely warm hug too!

Brilliant video!!! Great job my friend✨💜✨

I came here for the kombucha info but got the added bonus of beautiful kitchen design 😍

so to make kambucha I have to buy kambucha. the things I do because of RU-vid

Recommend using a lychee tea for your base!!! So amazing 😍 my favorite summer drink and if you toss in a spoon full of mango puree over ice you are set for days

How many of you are coming here to check about kambucha??? After watching jungkook V LIVE💜😂

So well explained! Thank you so much 🙏🙏🙏

To reduce contamination, Use distilled vinegar to clean the jug and also add vinegar to your tea to lower the PH prior to introducing the Scoby. I would suggest boiling your tea extremely hot to sanitize it while you add the sugar to make sure it fully dissolves. Once brewed, your objective is to cool it cleanly and quickly with a lid on and inside a refridgerator. You may add the scoby to it cold from the fridge and let it come to room temp later. It is important that the SCOBY is introduced to a sanitary environment so that it has no competitors and can propogate quickly enough to dominate the microenvironment before anything else can get large enough to compete with it. It is also important to keep it in the dark to prevent any photosynthetic organisms from forming in your jar. Once the Scoby has completely dominated the jug, it is particularly hardy and will not become infected easily so long as it stays healthy. If this were to occur it is likely that there is a problem with your starter culture or improper ventilation. The SCOBY will require good airflow and gas exchange so putting it into an area where it has space is a good idea. Tyvek paper works well as filter paper. How long you continue to ferment it is merely a matter of taste. I would use a jug that has a sieve on the bottom so that you can taste how your tea changes over time without removing the filter. The SCOBY will produce more ethanol as a byproduct of fermentation but it is not enough to make a very alcoholic drink. Its probably just enough ethanol to appreciate the health benefits of drinking without any fun or unhealthy intoxication. I would avoid testing the PH of the SCOBY since it is not necessary and will simply create room for error and contamination. PH levels do not greatly fluctuate in a closed environment and the SCOBY will naturally adjust the PH of the fluids as it continues to ferment.

Love your clips, but kŏm″boo͞′chä″′

i made a succesful batch using your recipe so thank you n keep up th good work. scratched my head about the 2 gallon thing but thats all good

Thanks glad I watched this beforehand.

I’ve definitely made my own Scoby many many times by using the store-bought kombucha and adding sugar in tea so it does work and then you just keep on using it keep on feeding it it grows and grows and the more you use it in the more you take off a piece the less of the store-bought is still in it and you have your own Scoby

Make sure that the culture is in the proper temperature range (68-84 degrees), as being too cold or hot can inhibit scoby growth. Also, keep in mind that the first time brewing with the kit is usually the slowest.

I had to use a gingerberry kombucha to start mine with because I couldn’t find an unflavored one. I’m on my first bottle of raspberry kombucha now and it’s great! Way easier to make than keifer water.

I love how you gave it a love pat after you put it in your closet haha.