Our Kombucha Series
We are half way through our kombucha series! In a few days, you will be enjoying some delicious and healthy kombucha.
Here is a list of our full kombucha series:
- What is kombucha and why is it so healthy for you? {Part 1}
- Learn how to brew kombucha with this easy step by step tutorial. {Part 2}
- My kombucha is done, now what?…And how to bottle kombucha tea {Part 3}
- A collection of kombucha recipes {Part 4}
Where To Purchase A Kombucha Starter Kit
If you are just getting started, make sure that you buy your kombucha starter kit from a reliable source.
- I got one of my starter kits here.
So let’s dive into today’s lesson, my kombucha is done, now what…and how to bottle your kombucha tea.
Your Brew Is Finally Done Fermenting, Now What?
Yes, your brew has FINALLY finished fermenting and you have the desired taste that you are looking for…now what? There are several simple steps to follow and in a few short days, you will be enjoying your first homemade kombucha!
There are several things to note:
- Do not use anything metal from this point on. Use plastic utensils and a plastic funnel. Metal will react with the kombucha.
- Before you remove your SCOBY, sanitize your hands with white vinegar. Do NOT use soap, you could kill your SCOBY.
- Sanitize your bottle with hot water or white vinegar. I ran mine through the dishwasher with no soap, just hot water.
- Clear glass ONLY! You can buy clear bottles here. These bottles are the exact bottles that I use, and I love them!
Ok, now that we have the basics covered, let’s start bottling some kombucha!
Removing the SCOBY
The first thing you want to do is remove the SCOBY from your kombucha.
Note that I have the “mother” SCOBY and a “baby” SCOBY. The original SCOBY that you used has created a baby. You need to remove both of these. Simply reach in with your clean hands and remove the two SCOBY cultures.
Your mother and baby might still be attached, like this one. You can either leave them attached or pull them apart.
Here is what your SCOBY will look like after you have removed it from the kombucha tea.
Simply put it in a clean jar with 1/2-2/3 cups of tea from this batch cover with a lid and store in your pantry until you are ready to brew your next batch of tea. This is called a SCOBY hotel.
I just take my SCOBY and 2/3 cups starter (tea from this batch) and place it into a clean jar and start the process all over again and start brewing a new batch.
What’s That Stuff Floating In My Kombucha?
When you are adding starter tea to your SCOBIES, you might notice some sediment in your jar of tea or some stingy like substances hanging off your ladle…This is NORMAL and is harmless!
If this bothers you, simply run your kombucha through a sieve or sifter and this will remove all of your floating objects from you kombucha. I leave mine in the tea. You get used to it the more you drink the kombucha! 🙂
Bottling Your Kombucha
Now place a funnel into your clean bottle and pour your kombucha right into the bottle. Fill the bottle almost to the top, leaving a maximum headspace of 1″ or less. The less you have the more carbonation that you will have.
Please note, NEVER shake kombucha, as it can explode. The higher you fill the bottle, the more likely you are going to need to burp your kombucha to relieve the gas bubbles a bit.
Once you have filled your kombucha bottles, place the lid on your kombucha. You have three options from this point.
- You can drink the kombucha as is and put in the refrigerator. It will have less fizz with this method but still taste amazing.
- You can cap the kombucha and store in a warm, dark place and allow it to sit for 2-3 days. This will create a really fizzy kombucha.
- You can make kombucha soda (recipe coming in the final post in this series).
If you decide to ferment your kombucha to get it a bit fizzier, simply place the cap on the kombucha and store in a warm, dark place for 2-3 days. I stored mine in the pantry.
Where Do I Store My Kombucha?
After 2-3 days remove your kombucha from the pantry (or your dark warm place) and place in the refrigerator. If your kombucha developed a baby SCOBY in the bottle, remove and toss and then drink.
Do not leave your kombucha in the pantry past the 2-3 day period. It is very important to move it to the refrigerator. This will stop the fermentation process completely.
That is it! You now know how to make your own kombucha! Not hard at all, was it?!!
Later this week we will dive into making kombucha “soda” (so easy to make) and I will also have a great list of amazing kombucha recipes for you all to try.
Share Your Thoughts
As always, let me know if you should have any questions!
How about it, are you ready to tackle brewing your first kombucha?
Fun picture isn’t it (ha ha) Thought it might grab some attention 🙂
Hi Halle, after making my first batch do I use the mother and baby in my next batch?
You can, it probably will be too difficult to split apart. When you can easily split the two scobies is typically when I split them (usually after about 3 brews). Hope this helps!
What does it mean to burp your kombucha?
It means u open it to release the pressure and reseal.
What do i do if I damaged the scoby when splitting it
U don’t damage the scobys when u split it. U can cut it up into several slices if u want and it won’t damage.
Is it safe to use sweetened sun tea, or is it necessary to boil water to brew tea? I avoid boiling water in the summer and just make tea in the blazing sun. But with kombucha, it seems there are many opportunities for contamination.
Hi
So I have a trusted source of ingredients but due to space/ travel constraints can’t do a scoby hotel. But am finding that I have lots of starter liquid for kombutcha. I add the sugars at bottling . But was wondering would this make the ferment less successful or is it that i am using to little starter, as I did have my scoby bottle explode. ( not cool when your rural)
Hello,
You should store your hotel with a cloth cover as you do with brewing. I only use a hard cover when I’m not going to be brewing for a while. Also don’t feed (add new sweet tea) your hotel if you’re not going to be brewing for an extended time. If there is no new sugar the culture goes dormant and the gases produced during brewing cease and there’s little to no chance of your hotel exploding if you forget to periodically release them (burp your container). Hope this helps.
Getting ready to start my first batch!
Don’t forget to add a store bought bottle of 16oz of regular tea Kombucha “without additives to your first batch. This will give it the help it needs to get going.
The pic is disGUSTING! My friend was over this wknd and I showed her my Scoby…she was literally gagging! Just saw part 2. I’m gonna have to order gallon jars I’m sure.
LOL Dana! I know it isn’t the prettiest thing to brew but hey sure does taste great!
Hey there
I was given a scoby today in a plastic container w lid. Ive put it in a plastic bag and in a cupboard. Im wondering if it will be ok like this for a few days? There doesnt seem to be a lot of fluid in there.
Tia
It’s best to store your scoby in glass. Can you put in a glass container with a lid? You will need 1/2 cup of liquid to make your tea. Do you have at least a 1/2 cup of starter?
I don’t understand why we have to worry about the tea exploding in the pantry but we don’t have to worry about the Scobey exploding. I am storing my scobey in a mason jar is that OK in my pantry indefinitely ?
Symbiotic cultures or scobies are not prone to explode. When brewing your using an open container. The only seal you have is the scoby sealing the top of the jar. Some Carbon dioxide is created in this fermentation. It will lift your scoby right out of the kombucha. When the scoby eats the sugar in the booch that is when carbon dioxide is created. Most of that Carbon dioxide escapes with the open container. The secondary fermentation or bottling is done in closed containers. The carbon dioxide has no was of escaping. Your kombucha is loaded with beneficial bacteria that continues to eat the left over sugars in your brew. With the sealed bottles that carbon dioxide has no way of escaping. You will notice a tiny scoby will form at the top of your bottles in the secondary fermentation. Burping the bottles could release the necessary Carbon Dioxide to prevent a mess from happening or an injury. Another warning don’t open your kombucha bottle especially if you haven’t been burping them with your face over the top of the bottle. Enjoy and brew on!
Store it in the refrigerator until your tea is ready and cooled down. It will hibernate
Until ready to use. Treat your Scoby like
a pet. Needs cane sugar and tea to survive. ALLergic to sunlight dust or mold. Also anything anti bacteriallike some dish detergents or hand soaps.
I just got a mother/scoby from a friend at work. Can’t wait to make my first batch!
Aimee let me know if you need any help along the way 🙂
ok, i just finished brewing my first batch of K. i bought a bottle of synergy original that was a bit out of date and it had a tiny scoby in it. i used this and some of the tea it was in to start my gallon batch. i was not able to keep it particularly warm…stayed perhaps around 65+/- degrees (i have since bought a brew wrap, but not in time for this batch). it brewed for 14 days. it tastes and smells good, but not knowing what a scoby is suppose to look like at the end, i’m a little freaked that i could possibly have screwed it up and we could be drinking bad stuff. i have looked up so many pics of it on internet, but there are a lot of conflicting opinions. is there a way to tell beyond just looking at it? my top scoby is very thin and before i disturbed it to harvest tea, it was puffy in a couple of places, varied in color and there was a small, thicker one forming underneath it, an individual one, not connected/layered to the top one. i saw a pic on internet that looked like the small one i’m describing and the article said those were “bad” and to throw out the whole batch, including scoby. what? when i took it out to examine, it didn’t have any black or blue or fuzzy looking spots on it, but how can i tell if it’s good/bad? please help! i love this stuff and want to make it myself. thanks!
Hi,
Sounds like yours is totally fine. It will take awhile to build a scoby like the ones in the pictures. The only thing you have to worry about is mold. This whole throw out the whole batch (…and buy another scoby….) is nonsense.
If the kombucha tastes good…its good.
My 2nd fermentation is not fizzy… is that ok?
questions Angela…feel free to ask away!
I left my scoby in the fridge for about a year and have left it in the counter for about three weeks, is it good or bad? Hour do I tell?
I have been making Kombucha for few years now. I notice when I put in panty or cool place for few days after bottling , I have had a few bottles explode. WOW WHAT A NOISE !!!! I was wondering if it has something to do with very hot summer. Also I wondered if I could use plastic bottle, with different bottle for new batch. Can you please help as I don’t want to stop taking it as it has been very beneficial to me. Thankyou Kay NZ
Usually smaller and square edge bottles explode, use round bottles, I use the 2L IKEA bottles, never an explosion, use clear glass only. Very hot weather also affects it
how much should you drink a day? Can you drink to much? I think I could drink it all day long it tastes so good!
kayleeh It is recommended to only drink a few ounces a day and work your way up to more. I do just fine drinking about 8-12 oz a day 🙂
If you all are interested in the first and second posts in this series here they are.https://wholelifestylenutrition.com/recipes/drinks/what-is-kombucha-why-is-it-so-healthy-for-you/https://wholelifestylenutrition.com/recipes/drinks/learn-how-to-brew-kombucha-with-this-easy-tutorial/
The fourth post is coming out next week and it will be a series of kombucha recipes
Is there a reason why we can’t use amber or cobalt blue jars?
@Renee the color in the glass can leach into your kombucha….it is best not to use colored glass.
hallecottis ewww…. thanks! We stay away from artificial colors, but I never thought of it leaking from glass.
of course, it is a complete rubbish, about colour leaking.
Dark glass it more suitable for kombucha
people who have time to create all these “healthy” websites usually do not have a proper education
Ha, yeah.
The color from the glass will NOT leech into your booch. Beer is also fermented and is ONLY bottled in amber glass. If you know anything about glass, the color is PART of the glass, not merely painted on the inside.
If the glass is colored with a metal, as is often the case, it is possible for the metal to be dissolved by the acid in the kombucha.
Kim, I know this is an old post but thanks for your reply. I have watched several videos on making kombucha on YouTube and no-one ever mentioned using only clear bottles. The ones I have at home are amber & I was afraid to use them until reading your post. They are going to have to do until I can invest in some clear ones.
Pauline! I have been searching and searching for info on Clear vs Amber glass, and there isn’t much verbiage on it. Additionally, there isn’t much danger to health, my only concern is light affecting the batch, or the newly bottled Kombucha. 7/10 people use clear, but there is no really explanation as to why. HELP!
Actually, if you look around, a lot of Kombucha companies actually brew – and sell – in amber bottles. This is so that the light doesn’t get in. This protects the Kombucha and helps to stop any further fermentation. That is why numerous liquid medicines are sold in dark amber bottles (or even plastic – not that you would ever put Kombucha in plastic! lol). Peeps – your Kombucha is safe is colored glass bottles – but not painted glass bottles. How long is it gonna sit there for anyways?! You’ll be drinking it within a week! 😉
I use green ones that I got from second hand store which used to be beer bottles and have no problems with them
They sell kombucha in brown bottles. Color from glass does NOT leach into your beverage!
What if I use it to save the average not to brew it?… Also what of I used less water to brew? And after brew can I use plastic container?
questions, how can the color leach from the glass? people use amber bottles for beer and green for wine and ive never herd of the color bleeding into the drink?
how long will my kombucha stay good for in the fridge?
kombu It will keep for some time in refrigerator. Don’t have exact time, but mine is gone in 2 weeks or less 🙂
Can I use Ball or Mason glass jars to bottle my brew and just change the metal cap to a plastic one?
Amie Simpson Sure can. Might not be as fizzy but mason jars will work just fine.