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Our family has been making kombucha for years and this health-boosting drink is a favorite in our house. Many of my friends and family have been gifted a “baby kombucha” as my kids call the SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast).
What is Kombucha?
From a previous article:
Kombucha is a fermented sweetened tea that has been around for centuries. It is slightly tangy and slightly sweet, and a great treat on a summer day. Just as with water kefir, kombucha can be double fermented into a fizzy soda with a slight fruit taste.
Kombucha contains high levels of antioxidants, b-vitamins, probiotics, and glucaric acid. It has been reported to have a variety of health benefits including:
- liver detoxification
- improved pancreas function
- increased energy
- better digestion
- improved mood (helps with anxiety/depression)
- kills candida (yeast)
- helps nutrient assimilation
Kombucha has gained popularity in recent years and there are some pre-made commercial versions available. While they taste great, homemade versions are a much more frugal alternative (and equally delicious in my opinion).
Continuous Brew Kombucha vs. Batch System
For years I had been brewing with the batch system for making kombucha and while I still really like that method, I’ve found that the continuous brew method is easier to fit into our schedule now. As the names suggest, the batch method is where kombucha is brewed in batches and re-started with each batch by using the SCOBY “baby” and some of the liquid from the previous batch.
The continuous brew kombucha method involves removing only some of the liquid each time and replacing with the same amount of fresh brewed sweetened tea. Leaving at least 30% of the brew after each decant is ideal, but you can drink a little at a time and add tea when the level gets low.
This yields a fresher brew (in my opinion), helps it brew faster (good when there are 6 people consuming it each day) and takes up less room on the counter. This article from the Weston A. Price foundation talks about the benefits of continuous brew.
From that article:
The benefits of continuous brewing are both practical and nutritional. They include:
- Less risk of mold and other contamination in kombucha batches, as once established, the liquid maintains a far more acidic environment, more hostile to outside invaders because of smaller amounts of free sugar and a greater population of good bacteria and yeast.
- Less overall work to produce more overall volume.
- More consistent supply of kombucha (a few bottles every day or every few days rather than having a large batch all at once).
- A broader array of bacteria and other beneficial compounds in the final product.
Continuous Brew System
The main difference in the methods is that continuous brew uses a larger container with a spigot so some of the brewed kombucha can be removed, leaving enough mature brew to start again. This means the container, spigot, and other materials must be of proper quality for kombucha production.
To choose a good vessel for your homebrew, consider:
- Size. The best size for most families is between 2 and 5 gallons. It is important to have a larger capacity since at least half of the liquid will remain in the vessel at all times.
- Material. Kombucha is a powerful detoxifier and is best brewed in inert, food-safe materials such as porcelain, stainless steel, stoneware, or glass. Oak barrels are also a great way to brew up a batch of tasty booch! They have been used in fermentation since, forever! (I got my brewing vessel here.)
- Spigot. A continuous brew vessel works best with a spigot so kombucha can be drawn off easily into your bottles. It is important that the spigot be made of a quality material such as BPA-free plastic, stainless steel, or wood. Some cheap beverage dispensers have spigots covered in metallic paint that will chip off and give the brew an off flavor. Also avoid any spigots that use glues, epoxies, or other adhesives to attach to the vessel as you will want to remove the spigot at cleaning time. Be sure to test the container and spigot thoroughly for leaks prior to filling it with the kombucha mixture. (These are the spigots I’ve used.)
- Cover. The cloth cover is vital to prevent contamination from fruit flies while also permitting oxygen to penetrate the brew. It is important the cloth be of a tightly woven yet breathable material such as cotton. Cheesecloth has a loose weave that will allow fruit flies or ants to invade the brew. Make sure it is snug fitting so they can’t sneak in another way. While you could use a paper towel or coffee filter, we prefer to not waste paper products and use these cute fermentation covers instead.
Where to Get Fermentation Vessels
I have several friends who use a two gallon mason-type jar with a spigot or any of the fermentation crocks here. Really any glass or ceramic jar with a spigot works as long as the spigot is safe. Or, you can take the guesswork out by getting a complete brew package from here.
How to Get a SCOBY
SCOBYs are living and thriving colonies of bacteria and unfortunately, you can’t just pick up a high quality one at your grocery store. There are a couple of ways to acquire a SCOBY.
- If you know anyone who already brews kombucha, ask them for an extra SCOBY and they will probably be glad to pass one on. The SCOBY has a “baby” every batch or two and this baby can then be used to brew kombucha. This is the best way if you are able to find one. Just make sure to ask them to include 1 cup of the brewed liquid to use as a strong starter liquid in making your own. You’ll need one SCOBY and 1 cup of starter liquid for each gallon you plan to brew.
- You can order a SCOBY (or two) from an online source. Just make sure the source is reputable. I’ve seen SCOBYs on sites like eBay or Amazon, but prefer a trusted site like Kombucha Kamp
Once you have a SCOBY, the actual process of making kombucha is very easy! You’ll also want to make sure you have the correct amounts of tea and sugar for your container size.
Courtesy of The Big Book of Kombucha, here is a handy chart for batch and container size:
How to Make Continuous Brew Kombucha
It’s easy to get started, and if you are a regular kombucha drinker, you’ll save so much money!
Equipment
There’s a few things you’ll need before making a continuous brew, including:
- Brewing vessel – you’ll need a 2-5 gallon brewing vessel and spigot of a safe material. Check this page out for lots of options
- A stirring utensil – for making the sweetened tea
- A fermentation cover – you can use a coffee filter and a rubber band, but I love these reusable breathable fermentation covers
The Recipe
Continuous Brew Kombucha Recipe
Servings
Ingredients
- tea this is my favorite blend for a delicious finished brew
- sugar
- starter tea from a previous batch of kombucha
- one kombucha SCOBY rehydrate first if you order a dehydrated one online
- filtered water preferably free of chlorine, chloramines, and fluoride
Instructions
- Prepare the sweet tea. I use 2 Tablespoons of loose tea, 2 family size tea bags, or 8-10 small bags per gallon of water. Add 1 cup of regular sugar per gallon. Do not use raw honey!
- Let tea cool to room temperature and make sure it really is cool! This step is very important as too hot of tea can kill your SCOBY.
- Once tea is completely cool, pour into glass jar, leaving about 20% of the room at the top.
- Pour in the correct amount of liquid from a previous batch of kombucha or if starting from a dehydrated SCOBY, pour in ½ cup from a store-bought bottle of kombucha. If you don't have starter liquid, vinegar can be used instead.
- With very clean hands, add the SCOBY. The SCOBY may sink or float, it makes no difference, as the new SCOBY will eventually form on the top.
- Cover the jar with a fermentation cover or coffee filter and rubber band.
- Put the jar in a warm (around 75-85 degrees is best) corner of the kitchen where it is at least a few feet away from any other fermenting products. If your kitchen isn't warm enough, it may help to use a heating mat on the side of the brewing vessel.
- Let sit to ferment for around 7-21 days, though the length of time may vary depending on your temperature and batch size. You can taste test the kombucha to see if it is done. It should taste tart but still very slightly sweet also.
- At this point, kombucha is ready for a second ferment to add carbonation. If you aren’t doing the second ferment, just pour the kombucha into another jar or jars with airtight lids and seal until ready to drink.
- For continuous brew, we dispense into several quart size mason jars with plastic storage caps (don't use metal!), leaving about 20% of the room on top.
Nutrition
Like this recipe? Check out my new cookbook, or get all my recipes (over 500!) in a personalized weekly meal planner here!
For more specifics, here is a helpful video from my friend Hannah (the Kombucha Mamma) and you can watch the full series of tutorial videos here:
Second Ferment (How to Make Soda!)
Kombucha can be consumed as soon as it is done brewing, but adding fruit juice or fruit can make kombucha carbonated and slightly sweeter, which is often more appealing to kids. It is an easy second step too!
- Dispense the kombucha into mason jars with plastic lids or these type of Grolsch beer bottles, leaving about 1/5 of the room at the top for add-ins.
- Add fruit juice to almost fill the jar, or fresh fruit of choice and then cap tightly to allow the mixture to carbonate.
- Leave at room temperature for 2-3 days to allow to carbonate, but check it carefully as pressure can build up and break the jars if left for too long.
- Store in refrigerator until ready to drink.
My favorite add-ins:
- minced ginger root and blueberries
- ½ organic lemon (quartered) and ½ tsp grated ginger (tastes like Sprite)
- minced ginger root and citrus
- ¼ cup fresh or frozen berries
- mango
- prunes and vanilla (Dr. Pepper/Cream soda type taste)
Special Notes for Continuous Brew
Continuous brew can be even easier than the batch method and is my method of choice. It just requires a few small tweaks for best flavor:
When to add sweet tea?
You can add it right away after decanting, or wait until you are ready for more kombucha. After adding the tea, wait at least 2 days and then begin tasting. The more mature the brew is, the faster it will turn that sweet tea into kombucha, so when you first start the continuous brew, it may take a little longer to be ready. The longer it ferments, the more tart the brew will be, so harvest when you like the flavor.
Flavor is the key!
The brew is ready when you like the flavor, that is the most important factor. If you don’t like the taste, you won’t drink it! Of course, the longer it brews, the less sugar is present, so those who are concerned with keeping sugar content low should ferment a few extra days until the flavor is more sour. Trust your taste buds to let you know.
Less cleaning…
One of the great things about continuous brew is not having to clean the vessel between each brew. However, every couple of months it will be time to clean out the vessel, remove excess yeast from the spigot, and even cut down the SCOBY so that it doesn’t take up too much room in the vessel.
To clean, remove the large SCOBY and remaining liquid to another vessel or bowl, then remove the spigot and rinse all elements clean. If soap is used, rinse again very well to prevent any residue from causing issues with the brew. Then trim down the SCOBY as needed (you can use a knife or scissors as brief contact won’t be a problem) and re-start just as before.
FAQs and more info
If you would like more detailed instructions, I highly recommend The Big Book of Kombucha as the ideal resource for all your kombucha questions. Or you could choose to get an online kit that includes the book, videos, and complete instructions, as well as the supplies. They have taken out all the guesswork!
For even more on the science and lore of kombucha, check out my podcasts with Hannah Krum:
- 269: Kombucha Questions Answered: Alcohol, Candida, Pregnancy, and More With Kombucha Kamp
- 36: Getting Started With Homemade Kombucha
Do you make kombucha? Ever tried this method? Share below!
I just bought the large container you have, from the link you also provided. After re-reading, I realize you write that you don’t recommend using a crystal container although the one you use, and the one I bought is crystal. So, no problems with that?
Thanks in advance
It has been fine for us
The starting gravity of that recipe is 1.023 which in any other fermentation would yield 2.17% abv. Is the SCOBY yeast that different somehow or does the bacteria eat the alcohol? Just curious about the science? Nice site by the way.
Hi. You stress no metal lids, why is that? Thanks
Amanda
Because the acid will leach the metal from the lid.
I have been drinking kombucha for years, making my own off and on. I recently heard that it is full of fluoride, due to the teas (black and green) it is prepared with. Just wondered what your thought are on this–I LOVE kombucha and am hoping it is not bad for my health!
I don’t think so. I came from Vietnam and it’s very hot & humid there. My family did it in Vietnam and it was fine.
I am interested in this discussion, I have tried green tea kombucha in a tea bag from yogi teas, is this the same thing? I am extremely sensitive to any form of sugar, even using a little too much stevia can affect my insulin levels and cause low blood sugar reactions. Any idea how much sugar remains after fermentation? I am anxious to increase my probiotic use, my immune system suffered a major blow 10 years ago when I developed staph osteomyelitis in my spine after back surgery. I had major hemorrhaging requiring emergency surgery and 6 weeks of IV antibiotics but was left permanently disabled (previously was a family physician and distance runner) and susceptible to every infection that comes along. I have to severely restrict carb intake due to hyperactive insulin response so yoghurt is out. I take probiotic capsules but want to go with natural homemade solutions whenever possible so I have more control over quality. I found this website a few weeks ago and have been enjoying trying homemade health, skin and hair products. I still would love to get my husband converted but he is an engineer and thinks homemade can’t possibly be as good as commercial products. We do some organic gardening, but it has taken 30+ yers to get him this far.
Hi MaryAlma,
I’m assuming you are not diabetic, but rather you are just sensitive to sugars and carbohydrate, right? I have type 1 diabetes and have never had to take insulin for kombucha, though I do have to take a lot for yogurt. In fact, the more I drink probiotics like kombucha and water kefir, the less insulin I have to take total. But I also have fewer lows, so basically, my numbers are more stable. I have never noticed taking probiotic capsules having any effect on sugar levels.
Your response to stevia sounds like your body puts out insulin in response to taste, rather than sugar content, as stevia tastes sweet but has no sugar. Unless the kind of stevia you use is mixed with sugar alcohols (like most of the popular brands are), in which case, you might be sensitive to the ingredients added in with the stevia. Or maybe it is whatever you are putting the stevia in (for example, plain coffee causes blood sugars to rise and then drop).
If you are worried about it, just try a bottle of store bought kombucha before starting your own brew. (My favorite brand is LiveSoda, which incidentally, made a scoby when my husband left out a bottle with about 1/4 cup of Kombucha in it.) Watch how you respond. It does not raise my blood sugar at all, so maybe it wouldn’t have enough sugar in it to bother you. But the only way to know is to try. Good probiotics and enzymes tend to help digestion, and I hope it helps you!
I ordered a scoby online to start my first batch of continuous brew 🙂 would you recommend starting with adding some store bought kombucha that has been flavored and is fizzy or should I stick with vinegar?
I’d stick with the instructions with your SCOBY and add the flavors for a second ferment
I have used your instructions with great success and I’m very pleased with the Kombucha tea. We never have enough tea between batches because we like it so much. I want to increase my vessel size. I wanted to make 5 gallons continuous in a stainless steel 7.5 gallon pony keg. Will this vessel work for me?
I just drew down by first batch from a continuous brew so I could bottle it. The newly formed SCOBY that was on the top ended up on the bottom as I drew the liquid out, sitting atop its Mama. When I added the new bath of sugared tea (to replace the old) the baby stayed on the bottom of its Mama in the bottom of the container. Now, obviously, a 3rd SCOBY will form on the top. Did I do something wrong? Is there a way I could have added the new sugared tea without disturbing the top SCOBY so that one just grew a little bigger and stayed on top?
so, I really don’t know what I am doing but I have caused mine scoby to sink and with in a few days it is back floating on top. So, I made my scoby from store bought raw GT. What I did was drank all but about 1/4 of an inch. let it sit for a couple days longer in the fridge ( no method to my madness, just worked out I had no time for it til then). I brewed up some sweet tea with similar ratio of sugar to tea. And when it had cooled I filled up the GT bottle , covered with towel. and waited Took about two weeks but it worked. I have slowly moved up in the size of bottles. I am using a 1/2 gal jug which gives me about
3 – 16oz bottles. I am ready to move on to a gallon now. But I do have a question about splitting up the mother scoby. Do you cut any special way. How much do you need to move to the next one that will make the kombucha in a realtive amount of time?
I would like to report that after reading the discussion board, I have successfully grown my own SCOBY from store bought Kombucha. I looked for bottles that had the .05% Alcohol content. It has been really exciting to watch it grow. It has been a slow process as I started growing it in a very small batch due to the high cost of the store bought kombucha. Once I grew a small SCOBY in an old pasta sauce jar, I transferred all of the kombucha and the SCOBY to a large glass container like the one shown above. I am now growing a large SCOBY that will allow me to produce large amounts of kombucha. I can’t wait to drink it. Thanks for all of your posts.
thank you for this post. I was concerned about the container you are using to brew and I found this on the Cultures for Health website:
“Crystal: Crystal contains lead. do not use crystal to brew Kombucha”
I’d love to start fermenting but I am nervous it would turn bad and get us sick if I don’t notice it. I live in Puerto Rico, is there such thing as too humid and too hot for fermenting?
I just made my first batch i had to use vinegar to start with and i waited 11 days until another scoby grew. It taste little carbonated but very vinegary, with almost no sugar taste. My question is, do i seporate scoby from the tea and leave it in the fridge until im ready to make another batch? Or do i live it in the tea and store the whole big jar in the fridge until im ready to brew another batch?
My friend gave me her baby scoby a week ago and I’ve had it in my fridge ever since. Is it sill ok to use? I just haven’t had time to purchase a container.
Should be. Take the cover off though
I bought the 3 gallon container you recommended from Amazon, the Westbury witha plastic spigot and when it turns out it is crystal. It is the one you show in the picture but I am reading that crystal is not recommended. I am confused.
HI i recently got a gift a nice big healthy scoby. when i got home (i live very remote and the nearest store is an hour away by boat) i had nothing to properly keep it in, and put it in a sterilized tub that is about 1.6 litres big. that was 3 days ago. I have found a nice 2 litre jar now and am wondering if i should move it now or wait till the week is up to move it? the tub its in is food grade plastic and i am not super worried about the plastic leaching, i am more worried about the scoby being unhappy. any advice is greatly appreciated and needed asap. btw the scoby is doing fine in there and looks to be doing its job so i am reluctant to move it but i also want it to be in the best environment for long term brewing! thank you in advance!
A lower tap would be preferable…
If the spigot is metal but at the bottom and never actually touches the scoby is this a problem? Does it harm the brewed kombucha also??
As long as it is a non-reactive metal such as stainless steel then it is fine. Stainless is fine to use with kombucha, as a container, as a strainer, to scoop out the scooby. The cannot use metal comes from people using other metals then stainless, which react to the acidic environment kombucha creates, that is the only reason people are scared off of metal.
Hi there! I’m new to Kombucha and excited to try continuous brewing. Based in the UK I’ve been looking at the following two vessels. Could you please tell me which you think is more suitable? (I’d like to begin brewing on the small side). The first vessel’s tap is higher up. I wonder if this is an advantage as it allows room beneath for yeast sediment to build up undisturbed and it seems you only need to draw off half of the liquid anyway?
Any advice would be much appreciated!
What if your scoby has been brewing for up to 3 months- ?? Is it still safe to use? I’ve not fed it this whole time-
I’d probably rescue the scooby, and a bit of the liquid and use it to start a new batch, unless you like the strong vinegar flavor. It probably isn’t harmful as long as there is no bad bacteria spots on the surface, but it probably won’t taste all that good. 🙂
Have you heard concerns related to the teeth and drinking Kombucha? It’s very acidic, from what I understand – is it ok to drink it daily, weekly, monthly?
I drink it through a wine straw. 🙂
I’m on my 2nd continuous brew and I’m wondering if I can remove the scopy->divide it-> then return part to continuous brew and start another. My question is, is it ok to remove->cut->return the scopy to the continuous brew container without cleaning it out?
Yes… even a piece of a scoby will grow a new one…