Kombucha Brewing Guides — Ratios, pH, Temperature & Bottling

All articles

Ten guides covering the parts of kombucha brewing that actually decide whether a batch works.

Beginner Basics July 14, 2026 14 min read

How to Brew Kombucha at Home: A Beginner’s Guide

A complete first batch from start to bottle: what to buy, how to brew the tea, how to keep the culture healthy, how pH tells you when it is safe, and what realistic expectations look like at every stage.

Mara Ellison

Culture & SCOBY July 22, 2026 11 min read

SCOBY Care and Starter Liquid: What You Need to Know

The pellicle is not the culture — the liquid is. This guide explains how to keep a SCOBY healthy, why starter liquid is a food-safety control, how to store a culture between batches, and when to throw one away.

Mara Ellison

Fermentation August 2, 2026 12 min read

Understanding Kombucha Fermentation Temperatures

Temperature is the strongest lever you have over how a batch tastes and how long it takes. What the 68 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit band really means in practice, and how to hold it in a normal kitchen.

Idris Vance

Safety & Testing August 11, 2026 10 min read

How to Test pH During Kombucha Fermentation

pH is the number that tells you whether a brew is safe, and it is the one measurement worth taking daily. How to read narrow-range strips, when to use a meter, and what to do when the number will not move.

Idris Vance

Flavoring & Carbonation August 19, 2026 13 min read

Flavoring and Carbonating Kombucha: A Complete Guide

The second fermentation is where flavour and fizz happen. How to add fruit, herbs and spices without over-sweetening, how much priming sugar to use, and how to get consistent carbonation you can trust.

Nadia Okonjo

Troubleshooting August 27, 2026 12 min read

How to Prevent Mold and Off-Flavors in Kombucha

Mould is not a flavour problem, it is a discard-the-batch problem. How to tell mould apart from a normal pellicle, what causes off-flavours, and the hygiene routine that prevents both.

Idris Vance

Ingredients September 3, 2026 11 min read

Sugar, Tea, and Ratio Basics for Consistent Brews

Three numbers decide whether your next batch tastes like your last one: tea dose, sugar dose and starter proportion. How to work in ratios, and why weighing beats measuring by eye.

Nadia Okonjo

Safety & Testing September 10, 2026 12 min read

Bottling Safety: Avoiding Over-Carbonation and Bottle Bombs

Over-carbonation is the most serious risk in home kombucha, and it is almost always preventable. Correct bottles, correct fill height, a measured priming dose, and a storage routine that keeps pressure contained.

Nadia Okonjo

Culture & SCOBY September 16, 2026 13 min read

Kombucha Health Claims: What Science Says and What It Doesn’t

Kombucha is often described as a cure for almost everything. This article separates what has actually been studied from what has been assumed, and explains why we do not make health claims on this site.

Dr. Helena Marsh

Ingredients September 21, 2026 11 min read

Scaling Kombucha Recipes for Small and Large Batches

Doubling a batch is not always a simple multiplication. How vessel size, surface area, starter proportion and temperature interact as you scale, and where the practical limits are.

Nadia Okonjo

How we write these articles

Our guides explain common home-brewing practice and the reasoning behind it. They are educational reference material, not professional brewing, food-safety or medical advice, and they cannot guarantee a result. Where a figure is a widely used rule of thumb rather than a firm limit, we say so. No article is sponsored, and no brand or product is recommended by name.

Kombucha contains trace alcohol and caffeine. It is not suitable for children, and anyone who is pregnant, breastfeeding, immunocompromised, diabetic or taking medication should consult a healthcare professional before drinking it. Kombucha is a food, not a medicine.