Since bottled kombucha pretty much costs the same as an electric car, many of us 'booch fans (and yes, we know how silly that sounds) are home-brewing to get our fizzy fix. But homemade kombucha is as much a science as it is an art—and there's a lot that can go wrong in the process. Listen to to BA Test Kitchen manager and booch-master Brad Leone's words of warning: These are the most common mistakes people make when brewing kombucha.
1. Using the Wrong Kind of Tea
Black tea is ideal for kombucha, explains Leone, because the SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, also known as the "mother"; essentially, what makes the tea fermented and "alive" with active cultures, like yogurt) likes the tannins in the tea. Green tea also works, but Leone prefers to cut it with black. He uses an 85 percent:15 percent black-green ratio. White tea, and lower-caffeine teas, like yerba maté won't activate the SCOBY when used solo, so make sure you're using in tandem with black tea. Avoid tea with added flavorings (like, say, a fruity green); you can add your own flavoring later. Both looseleaf and bagged tea work, but if you're going to go through the trouble of making your own kombucha, "Why not?" use high-quality loose leaf tea, he says.
2. Getting All Fancy with the Sugar
Kombucha seems like it'd go hand-in-hand with raw honey, or single-tree maple syrup, but these are not the best options for feeding the SCOBY and bumping up the fermentation process. Plain old granulated white sugar is most easily digested by the yeast and bacteria. You'll need about 1 cup of sugar for 3 1/2 quarts of tea. If you're worried about consuming tons of refined sugar, don't be: By the time your kombucha is ready to drink, most of that sugar will have been eaten up by your SCOBY.
Yep, that's a SCOBY. Do not be afraid. Photo: Flickr/irisphotos
3. Not Giving the Booch Room to Breathe
Once you've combined the SCOBY, the steeped and strained tea (make sure it's cooled to room temperature so it doesn't shock the bacteria), and the sugar, bottle it in a wide-mouthed glass jar and cover it with cheesecloth. The cloth keeps out pesky things like bugs, but allows it to breathe. Without ventilation, the kombucha won't ferment. Once you've secured the cheesecloth lid with a rubber band, store it in a dark place that'll stay at a constant 70-73˚.
4. Letting It Ferment Too Long (or Not Long Enough)
"You should taste your kombucha daily," says Leone. This allows you to monitor the batch's progress closely. Let it ferment too long before straining it from the SCOBY and bottling it, and the yeast will die off as it runs out of food (sugar). This will result in a very funky, vinegar-tasting product. But stop the fermentation process too soon, and you've essentially made a sweet tea. "I taste for the perfect blend of tart, funk, slightly sweet and faint taste of tea," explains Leone, which will take anywhere from 7 days to a month, depending on the environment, the strength of your SCOBY, and your personal preferences. Additionally, if your kombucha is bubbling, that's a good sign! It means the fermentation process is working. After you've deemed it "just right," you'll need to transfer it to a bottle with a tightly-fitting lid for the second fermentation (which takes 1-2 weeks, on average). This second fermentation allows for more carbonation buildup (a.k.a. BUBBLES), and is also an opportunity to add flavorings, like fresh ginger or fruit juice.
5. Working Dirty
It's important not to introduce potential contaminants like dirt or unwanted bacteria (your SCOBY is made up of good bacteria) to your 'booch, as it is a fermented and living product. This means "working clean" during each stage of the process. This starts with using spotless glassware to store the kombucha. When Leone tastes the batch each day, he does so by dipping a straw into the side of the jar to minimize disturbance. If you're bottling the finished kombucha into individual jars, be sure the funnel and jars are spotless. If your SCOBY acquires mold during any part of the process (which will happen if it comes in contact with BAD BACTERIA 🙅 or is handled excessively), mourn its loss, toss it, and start over. It takes a lot of hard work and trial-and-error to become a master booch brewer but as the saying goes: GT's wasn't build in a day.
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