To recap, we know what kombucha is, what you need to prep/clean for it, and how to brew the tea. This next step is actually pretty easy. It’s just kind of waiting.
You want to place your jar in a warm place, around 74 degrees F, and out of direct sunlight. I’m pretty sure that my house is definitly not this cold. My kombucha turned out pretty well, (and each subsequent batch turns out even better than the last,) But I can’t help but wonder if it would be better if it was warmer. My kombucha isn’t very fizzy, and I think it may be because it’s not warm enough. Do any of you kombucha experts know?
I love love love being able to share this process on my blog, because I get so much great advice! I’d be so lost without ya’ll!
Soon, your Scoby will start to grow a new layer on top.
You want to let if ferment for 5-14 days. It all depends on your taste. I tasted mine throughout the whole process, but ended up leaving it sit for the full 14 days. The longer it sits, the less sweet and more bubbly it gets. (Or is supposed to get… as I explained at the lack of bubbles in mine earlier) So just taste it as time goes on, and stop when you like it.
You can also check the pH of your kombucha if you have pH strips. You want the pH to be between 2.7 and 3.2. But just to let you know, I don’t test the pH. I don’t have strips. So it’s not necessary.
A funny thing happened to mine after a couple days though… My scoby turned sideways…
And the new part just started growing on top like normal… This didn’t hurt my kombucha at all, but in my next batches I made sure to pay more attention to how I set the Scoby on top of the liquid, so it wouldn’t be as likely to turn. You want the new film to start growing on the old scoby.
So this post was kind of short, but there you go. At this point there’s really not much you can do but wait. Tomorrow I’ll post about bottling and flavoring the kombucha, which is my favorite part.
Random Question du jour: What’s your favorite drink? This is a toughie for me, as my tastes change all the time, one day it’ll be chocolate (almond) milk, and the next it’s apple cider. Spiked with rum. Obvi. (kidding!!)
Loving this adventure! thanks for posting it all
My fave drink is probably freshly squeezed apple and ginger juice! (my fave alcoholic drink is a cosmopolitan!) x
So cool!
Can’t wait to see the flavoring process tomorrow.
Hmm favorite drink is probably my mom’s homemade strawberry lemonade. It tastes SO good in the Texas heat!
I LOVE kombucha! I hate how expensive it is. :/ Now I have to try this… THANK YOU!
What a great project! I used to drink kombucha nearly every day until it got almost cost prohibitive. Currently my favorite drink is probably the cranberry tea recipe I posted, but that’s just during the holidays. Beyond that a soy latte or a grapefruit la croix are both pretty standard drinks for me.
I’m with you on the drinks! Chocolate almond milk or, now that it’s cold, hot apple juice with some cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves thrown in. Another good seasonal one is cinnamon-spiced hot vanilla almond milk. Kinda like eggnog but less thick and… eggnoggy. Still pretty rich though!
Looking forward to the next post. Flavoring sounds fun!
yum, I’ll have to try that hot almond milk, sounds good!
Can’t wait to see part 4! My favorite drink is water. Seriously all I can drink and if I drink something else I have to drink water right after. Just because everything leaves a funky aftertaste in my mouth, but water doesn’t. I’m weird, but at least I’m healthy!
haha, very true! My brother never sees a reason to drink anything else but water, he says if he needs 8 glasses a day, why should he drink anything else, lol.
Sweeeeeet. Convince me to make this, please!
I tried this a year or two ago and my husband made me throw it out because it smelled up our kitchen!! I might just be ready to give it another go now…thanks for the inspiration!
I’ve never made kombucha myself, but I imagine the lack of fizzy bubbles would very likely have to do with temperature or where you’re leaving it to ferment.
It’s kind of like bread in the sense that you can make it and leave it to rise until doubled in size, right — but the fermentation will take longer if your room is 10′F colder than it ought to be. Since this is also a fermentation process, I suspect that something similar is happening.
The other possibility is that maybe you’ve put it somewhere too drafty — I know that sparkling wines and beers go flat faster if they’re left somewhere with more air circulation. Maybe you’re losing fizz that way?
those are both really good possibilities… It is out of direct sunlight, but it’s kind of out in the open too.. I’ll have to change the location around a bit. I should hide thermometers all over my house to find the warmest spot.
You really have me intrigued with the kombucha now girl!!! I can’t believe this thing grows, fizzes and then we drink it! LOL
xxoo
Right?? Sometimes I try to explain what it is to people who don’t know, and I stop and think to myself, “that sounds so gross” lol