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| Used with permission from The Liberated Kitchen’s Real Food Ryan Gosling page. |
Does brewing kombucha seem overwhelming to you? Do you envision mason jars scattered all over your kitchen? Do you not have time to deal with it all? But do you still want to drink kombucha regularly without having to shell out $3-4 a bottle? I know I say things are simple a lot but this actually really truly is simple. Once you find the pieces, it takes a short time to get set up and running with very little maintenance. Can you boil water? You can make kombucha.
This is how I set up my Continuous Brewing System.
Equipment needed:
- Glass beverage dispenser, the kind with a plastic spigot at the bottom. You don’t want any metal in contact with the tea as it can damage the SCOBY. It should hold 1-5 gallons. Mine holds 1.5 gallons.
- Tea ball (if using loose leaf tea).
- 1 gallon jug to store sweetened tea.
Ingredients for 1 gallon of tea:
- 1 cup of sugar (1/4 cup per quart of water)
- 8 tea bags* (2 bags per quart of water)
- 4 quarts filtered water divided (or amount needed)
- 2 cups Kombucha starter tea (1/2 cup per quart of water)
- Kombucha mother
This makes enough tea for a 1 gallon container. Adjust the amount as needed to fill your container.
Add 1 quart of water, sugar and tea to a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Remove from heat and let steep for about 15 min. Remove tea bags. Add remaining 3 quarts of cold filtered water.
Once tea is cooled to room temperature, pour into your system and add starter tea and kombucha mother. Cover with a cloth, secured with a rubber band. Let set in a warm place for about a week. Taste test at this time. If it’s too sweet, let set a little longer. You might need to find a warmer place. I keep mine near my crock pot which is always running making bone broth. Kombucha can culture for up to 6 weeks.
*Black tea is best for the health of the SCOBY. Green tea works well too. If you want to use white tea, red tea or an herbal tea, use it in combination with black tea. My favorite is a 50/50 blend of English Breakfast tea with green tea. Avoid flavored teas (like Earl Grey) since they can damage the SCOBY. Add flavor during the second ferment.
Harvesting Kombucha
Once Kombucha is to your liking, drain off as much as you would like to drink for a few days and replace with more sweetened tea, prepared with the above ratios. When adding new tea, you don’t need to add more kombucha starter since it’s already in the container. Just make sure to always leave about 20% of the tea in the container.
I remove and replace about a quart at a time. Doing a small switch like this makes the kombucha culture faster. Culturing a ratio of 1 part sweet tea to 4-5 parts kombucha tea, as opposed to 1 gallon to 2 cups, goes faster and is usually done in a matter of just a couple days.
**Time saving tip: I keep a gallon jug of sweetened tea in my fridge so I don’t have to make it every time I drain off kombucha**
You can drink the tea as is or do a second fermentation with juice, fruit and/or spices to add some fizz and yumminess. See my recipe suggestion page: http://www.picklemetoo.com/kombucha.html
That’s all there is to it! Just gently add sweetened tea as you drain off your kombucha. Your SCOBY will grow, covering the entire top of your brewing system. If it gets too large, you can always gently remove it and with plastic utensils, cut off portions to share with friends.
Part of Friday Food Flicks, Freaky Friday, Fight Back Friday, Fat Tuesday, Traditional Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday, Kombucha Challenge
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So easy! I do kombucha each week but not in a continuous brew. I need one of those jugs.
I was so happy when I found this jug while shopping. Though I think I need to get a bigger one. I'm running out of kombucha before my next batch is ready.
I love my continuous brew system! I started out with several 1 and 1.5 gallon jugs with spigots but we drink so much of it, it was a pain to keep them all refilled and at the stage we like. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed Sam's had 3.5 gallon containers with spigots. They're plastic so I know some won't care for them but I'm loving them. Until I can afford big ones that are glass, these will do nicely. I have two of them (the 3.5 gallon ones) for kombucha tea and one for kombucha coffee. Yum!
3.5 gallons sounds like the perfect size! Kombucha coffee is something I can't wait to try. I've been waiting for my SCOBY to get a little bigger before splitting. I think it's about there.
I have never done a continuous system but some people I know were talking about it. So, I linked to this from my fan FB. Great post!
Thanks for sharing it Melissa!
hello! I am actually starting to grow my own mother (it Is about 1/8″ thick) and would love to do this…thanks for the tips!
You’re welcome! Isn’t it fun to watch grow?
it is indeed! i was wondering though…it looks like yours is kept covered and out in the open. i just got a glass container to put mine in, and it would certainly be easier if i could just set it on my counter and cover it with the appropriate lid, but the other sites i was looking at seem to have cheesecloth covering theirs and have them somewhere dark. could you clear up my confusion at all?
Thank you!
Hmm, I didn’t talk about that in the post, did I?
It’s only there for the sake of a pretty picture. Dark places don’t take good pictures. I did have it covered for a time with the lid that came with it because it is far from air tight but kombucha does like good air flow so a cheese cloth, piece of fabric, coffee filter or paper towel do a better job of letting air in.
Thanks for your quick response! My continuous brew setup is now residing in one of our cupboards and topped with cheesecloth
hopefully no mother was harmed in the making of this setup haha
Thank you again! I will be harvesting my third batch tomorrow, and am loving it!
[...] 1 quart kombucha already brewed (my brewing instructions here) [...]
So, I am assuming that the metal tea ball should not be used right? Is there any other kind of tea ball other than metal? EEK. Maybe I will go find some tea bags.
Nope, a metal tea ball is fine! You just don’t want metal in contact with the kombucha. Brew your tea, remove the tea ball before adding your mother and starter culture and you’ll be fine.
Hmmmm. What do you heat the water and tea in? Most use metal pots and therefore using a metal ball to seep tea is perfectly fine. I’m always amazed at the logic of some instructions.
Also you can wash your containers with soap! . The containers people often use for making continous and non continous kombucha batches are non porous, with the exception of a oak cas for example. So just rinse your soap washed containers VERY thoroughly and your scoby will not suffer.
Hope this helps.
The tea is fine to be in contact with metal, it’s the scoby and brewed kombucha that should avoid contact with corrosive metals.
I agree with the soap thing. Using soap on glass is fine as long as you rinse it off very well.
i just started my first batch a week ago. i started my own mother from a bottle of store bought. it is still not quite strong enough but hoping it will turn out good. excited to see how this works out and of course for the health benefits!
Hi Melanie! I have made kombucha in the past, but used the large cracker jars and really liked them. I am wondering about the continuous system. Doesn’t the sugar not get consumed enough this way? We have candida issues so I am thinking that this might not be the best for us. Are you basically saying to put it in the glass beverage container and then wait until it is fermented enough and then fill it up w/ more tea?
Do you ever need to clean the whole thing out? I wonder if this would be enough for a 4 person family. I found a pretty good deal on a beautiful container at Costco. It holds 2 gallons. So it just might be pretty good.
Thanks in advance!
Hi Adrienne! Very good question. If you need to avoid sugar consumption, I wouldn’t drink and replace tea on a daily basis. Some harvest a little daily, some do it every few days and some (like me) wait until the kombucha is done to their liking. I was harvesting it every few days but I like my kombucha less sweet. Now I give it about 10 days, tasting it occasionally. I drain off about 80% and then refill it. The advantage to doing it this way is easy bottling with the spigot and no need to clean it out. Ive had my system running since Christmas and haven’t seen a reason to clean it yet. So I guess technically its not a continuous brew but just using a a jar with a spigot. The mother does get pretty big though
. I had to take it out and divide it this week so it wouldn’t take over the container.
I am just starting to brew kombucha and I’m really excited to have found your website. I found a 4.5 gallon glass beverage dispenser with a plastic spigot that I thought would work great for continuous brewing. Do I need to do anything to keep the spigot from getting clogged? Thanks for all your info.
I was actually just wondering the same thing since the spigot on one of my containers drains slowly (always has though). That might be the one reason to clean out the container occasionally. I would only foresee it being needed a few times a year. I’ve had mine running for a few months and they don’t seem clogged at all yet.
Thanks so much for the quick response. I can’t wait to go home and get started.
Thank you for your good advice. I have just started brewing. Have not ventured into continous brewing yet. Hope to try it later.
I’m interested in doing continuous brewing and already found a nice ceramic vessel with spigot.
The only thing is that the spigot is made from stainless steel. I know that metal utensils are big NO in making process of kombucha tea but from other kombucha sites, the only metal allowed to be used is stainless steel. I appreciate some advise. Thank you.
Yes I’ve heard stainless steel is fine for use with kombucha since it’s non-reactive. I haven’t used it myself but I wouldn’t hesitate to.
I also found that I prefer to harvest about 80% of my 2 gallon glass jar and then top it up again like in the continuous brew method.
The spigot on my water crock was getting slow so I did a complete clean out and disassembled it. Turns out it was a scoby forming on the rubber stopper that was slowing it down. Now my favorite method is to siphon directly into flip top bottles using a wine bottling wand. I won’t try to explain how I use a filtered silicone sippy lid on the inlet of the siphon tube. Instead, I would suggest to sacrifice a tea ball to stick the tube into for a filter.
[...] Kombucha Continuous Brewing System [...]
[...] is also a page on setting up a continuous kombucha brewing system, which makes kombucha brewing seem easy enough for me to give it another [...]
can stevia be added instead of sugar? I am diabetic
Hi Linda, sorry but stevia doesn’t feed the culture and it would just die. I do know that many diabetics can have fermented beverages like kombucha and water kefir as long as they have fermented for a longer period of time. Many will test it before drinking with a hydrometer or a refractometer to measure the amount of sugar left.
Thanks, for much Melanie, I have never heard of a hydrometer or a refractometer, where are they sold? Do you have a link. thanks Linda
Hey,
You need a cover that breathes, cloth, not a closed glass cap and no metal on the spigot. Just FYI. Best of luck.
Yes, in the body of the post I do say to cover it with a cloth. It was just for the picture. I’m going to replace the pic because it is misleading. Spigot is actually plastic, still not the best. I wish we could find wooden spigots or stainless steel (stainless steel is fine for kombucha).
Oh goodness, I don’t say to use a cloth cover. Thanks for pointing that out! Fixed!
You mentioned storing sweet tea in the fridge to add as needed. Can you add it cold from the fridge or do you have to let it warm up a bit. Also, I understood that a Scoby could only do so many batches. How is this handled in continuous brew? Do you just occasionally peel the older part off?
I do add my tea cold. It warms up to room temp fast enough. SCOBYs actually last indefinitely. I’ve never had one poop out on me. With each batch they form a new SCOBY anyway. I separate my SCOBY every so often otherwise it would just take over the whole pot.
I just separated my 5-deep SCOBY after continuous brewing for several months. It was scary! LOL I didn’t want to hurt “her”s [I took out 3 of them].
) That is why I SOOOO appreciate your posts…gave me the knowledge & the confidence. Thanks! 
)
Questions [many...sorry!]: How do I store the peeled off SCOBYs for future use? I know they need to be stored w/kombucha they came from, but do I keep them in a sealed jar? In a plastic bag? Is there an “expiration date” of how long I can keep the peeled off SCOBYs in storage? Do I need to keep feeding new tea to them?
I don’t know if/when I’ll use them for different kombucha batches,and no one I know wants any right now, but I hate to throw them away. Hoarding tendencies creep over into kombucha brewing, I guess. LOL! Like the 4th extra set of dishes I just can’t get rid of “just in case,” I can’t bring myself to throw any SCOBYs away! Just in case…
)
THANK YOU!!
Hi Suzanne!
Storing SCOBYs is pretty simple. I make a “SCOBY Hotel”. It’s just a large glass jar that I put my extra SCOBYs in that is topped with kombucha and covered with a cloth. They’ll last quite a long time that way. Every so often (like 2 or 3 months), I’ll drain off some of the kombucha vinegar and add some fresh sweet tea.
I hate throwing mine out too. They’re kind of like pets. They are living after all! I gift extras to friends and give them to my chickens to eat which they love. I hear other pets like SCOBYs too. I’ve heard of people dehydrating them into a kind of jerky that is supposed to be good. Haven’t tried it myself yet.
Love your site! Been doing continuous brew for several months, and all is going well…minus the excess CO2 I can’t seem to stop getting… But my question is re: separating the SCOBY. We have a 1.2 gallon glass dispenser w/spigot, and the SCOBYs are getting too many/too thick.
When separating to “thin” the SCOBY out, do I peel off the top or bottom? Or do I cut a portion off, like slicing a cake?
Do the CO2 “dried up” bubbles on the top of the newest SCOBY cause a concern for success of future brews after separating the SCOBY?
Thank you for tending to so many questions!
) Appreciate it very much.
Hi Suzanne!
The easiest way to separate the SCOBY is to peel them apart. Top or bottom is fine. If it tears, it’s still perfectly fine. The dried bubbles should have no effect on the kombucha so no worries. Normally if I see a big bubble forming, I’ll tear a small hole in it to let the air out. Small bubbles I don’t worry about.
You’re most welcome!
Oops…made my “Reply” one post too early… Please see Jennifer’s post above. :-}
Have been brewing kombucha with a mother I got from a friend but think it’s not working so well (I think she was brewing with herbal tea). So I just purchased a scoby from Kombucha Kamp and want to try the continuous method. I have a 2.5 gallon container but assume I should start off making about a gallon since I only have the 1 scoby? How long until I can start making 2 gallons with it? Thanks!
Hi Lisa, as long as you have enough starter tea, you can start with 2 gallons just fine. If you don’t have enough starter tea, just one 1 gallon batch should be all you need. You can make 2 gallons with the next batch (you’ll have enough starter tea and the baby SCOBY to use with the original mother).
Hi! A friend has gotten me interested in trying this, but I was wondering, if you get used to having Kombucha every day, what do you do when you travel? Take some with you? and get a friend to come over and feed your pet Kombucha while you’re gone? Also, in looking around my kitchen for where to put something like this, it seems that on my counter next to the trash can would be an easy spot, but would keeping it next to a trash can be ok?? Would that affect it adversely at all? Thanks for any advise! I’m excited to try this!
Hi Angela! What you do with your kombucha while traveling depends on how long you are gone. If you’ll be gone for just a week or 2, make a fresh batch before you go and it’ll be ready by the time you come home. If it’ll be longer than that, you can just store the mother in some kombucha for quite a long time. Or if you get a fresh batch starter, you’ll come home to a great batch of vinegar that is great for salad dressings and as a hair rinse. I do bring a few bottles with me usually when I go anywhere (driving).
As far as keeping it next to the trash can, while not appealing, as long as the trash is covered I would think it should be ok. Just make sure it is out of the sun and in a warm place.
Thanks for all the helpful info. I started a 1 gallon continuous brew, but it wasn’t enough, so I bought a 5 gallon bucket with spigot and harvested my first 1/2 gallon today. It is delicious. I messed up the thin mother and it floated down into the bucket. I’m assuming this is ok and I look forward to having “too much” kombucha instead of not enough.
I don’t think there is such a thing as “too much kombucha”. Lol!
[...] Kombucha Continuous Brewing System [...]
[...] go through about two gallons or so each week since there are four of us drinking it. There are continuous brewing systems out there…I just haven’t gone there yet, and I have two separate jars going – one [...]
I love your site and all the great information. I think I made a mistake. My scoby is in the frig till I was ready to begin the process. Did I kill it?
Chances are it’s ok. They are pretty sturdy. It might take some time for it to wake up.
[...] This is a recipe using already brewed kombucha. It’s not recommended to add flavor during the first fermentation phase since the oils can damage the SCOBY and the spices and zest can get stuck in it. To read about how to brew kombucha, check out my kombucha page and my post about a continuous brewing system. [...]
[...] Kombucha Continuous Brewing System @ Pickle Me Too – Melanie’s system keeps about one gallon of kombucha going at all times, drawing of a quart at a time as needed. She keeps a gallon of sweetened tea in the fridge to add to the brew as she draws off the finished kombucha. [...]
[...] can take between 1 and 3 weeks depending on the temperature and how tart you like it. Getting a continuous brewer set up reduces the amount of time it takes to brew significantly. When you first set up your [...]
[...] you don’t already make kombucha, you’ll need to learn how to make kombucha first. This typically requires obtaining a “mother” kombucha SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of [...]
Is there an ‘ideal’ temperature for continuous brewing?
Is organic turbinado cane sugar OK to use for my sweet tea?
The best temp seems to be between 72-80F but it will ferment outside those temps as well. Higher than 110 and some of the bacteria will start to die, lower than 60 and it will take forever to ferment. The warmer it is, the faster it will ferment.
Organic turbinado is perfect. That is what I prefer to use myself. Sucanat or rapadura work too but it leaves a molasses-y flavor that most don’t like.
You said that you keep a gallon of tea in your refrigerator for when you need to add more tea to the brewing system-if I get busy and don’t have time to make tea from scratch, can I just add sweet tea from the store? (Not previously bought kombucha tea but regular sweet tea) or do I have to make the tea from scratch since it has to have the correct proportions of sugar for the kombucha?
Thank you in advance, your website has been a tremendous help to me.
I wouldn’t use the pre-made stuff just because I don’t know how much sugar they use in it. Sure would make things super easy though, wouldn’t it?