What You Need

  • SCOBY: Available from health food stores, online (eBay, Facebook groups), or a friend who brews kombucha. Always comes with starter liquid.
  • 1 litre brewed black or green tea (2–3 teabags steeped 5–10 minutes)
  • 100g (1/2 cup) white sugar
  • 1 cup starter liquid (from previous batch or the liquid the SCOBY came in)
  • A 2-litre glass jar
  • A breathable cloth (muslin, cheesecloth, old T-shirt) and rubber band

First Ferment (Making the Kombucha)

  1. 1

    Brew sweet tea and cool completely

    Steep tea bags in 750ml of boiling water for 5–10 minutes. Remove bags. Dissolve 100g of white sugar into the hot tea. Add 250ml of room-temperature water to speed cooling. The tea MUST be completely cool (below 30°C) before adding the SCOBY — heat kills it.

  2. 2

    Add SCOBY and starter liquid to a clean glass jar

    Pour the cooled sweet tea into a clean 2-litre glass jar. Add the SCOBY and 1 cup of starter liquid (acidic starter prevents mould). Stir gently. Do not use metal tools — acids in kombucha react with metal.

  3. 3

    Cover with cloth and ferment 7–14 days

    Cover the jar opening with a breathable cloth secured with a rubber band. The cloth allows gas exchange while keeping insects and contaminants out. Place in a warm spot (22–28°C is ideal) away from direct sunlight. The SCOBY may sink, float or grow a new layer — all are normal.

  4. 4

    Taste from day 7 until pleasantly tart

    From day 7, taste with a clean spoon daily. Early kombucha is sweet and mild. As fermentation progresses it becomes more tart and vinegary. Bottle when it tastes pleasantly tart — like a mild vinegary apple juice. Warmer rooms ferment faster (7 days); cooler rooms take 14+ days.

Second Ferment (Adding Fizz and Flavour)

  1. 5

    Bottle with fruit or juice for carbonation

    Remove the SCOBY and save 1 cup of the kombucha as starter for the next batch. Pour kombucha into airtight flip-top bottles. Add flavourings: 1–2 tablespoons of fruit juice, a few pieces of fresh ginger, or a tablespoon of mango puree per bottle. Seal tightly. Leave at room temperature for 2–3 days. The natural sugars in the fruit feed remaining yeast, producing CO2 and carbonation. Refrigerate to stop fermentation. Open carefully — bottles can be pressurised.

Mould vs normal appearanceA SCOBY and its layer of growth can look strange — brown stringy yeast strands hanging below, white patches on the surface, new rubbery layer forming. This is normal. Discard if you see fuzzy growth in green, black or pink — this is mould. A healthy brew smells vinegary-sweet. If it smells foul, discard.

Frequently Asked Questions

In Australia: health food stores (often in the refrigerator section), online via Etsy or eBay (dehydrated SCOBYs are also available), Facebook kombucha groups (many brewers give away excess SCOBYs for free), or friends who brew. Alternatively: buy a bottle of raw, unpasteurised commercial kombucha (like Remedy Kombucha or Fix Kombucha) and use it as starter liquid — with time and the right conditions, it can grow a SCOBY from the active cultures in the bottle.
Yes — the acidic environment of properly made kombucha prevents harmful bacteria from growing. The starter liquid (which must be included) ensures the brew starts acidic enough to be safe. The main risk is mould, which is visually obvious. Use clean equipment, include sufficient starter liquid, keep the cloth covering tight against insects, and trust your senses — healthy kombucha smells pleasantly tart, not foul.