There is a common saying that good things take time. The same saying can be applied with brewing Kombucha at home. The process of making Kombucha from brewing the sweet tea, assembling your brew, fermenting, and bottling can take time depending on your goals.
Brewing Kombucha can take 7 to 30 days including the first and second fermentation. However, this duration can get shorter or longer depending on several factors like your preferred taste, brewing temperature, SCOBY health, brewing method, and the size and shape of your brewing vessel.
Identifying how long you should brew Kombucha can be tough especially because there are many factors that can affect the fermentation progress of your brew. But don’t be discouraged to start your own Kombucha ferments at home because once you get familiar with these factors, you can definitely brew your Kombucha with ease all the time. Today, we will be discussing all you need to know about how long it takes to brew Kombucha as well as other useful information that can help you have a successful brew.
Table of Contents
How Long Should I Ferment Kombucha?
Essentially, your Kombucha should be able to taste sweet and tart and finish fermentation within 30 days. However, this time can be shorter or longer depending on different factors.
Here are the factors that can affect the duration of Kombucha fermentation as well as how they can affect your brew.
Brewing Temperature
The best temperature for brewing Kombucha is at room temperature of 60℉ to 85℉. Brewing Kombucha in the warmer temperature range can promote yeast activity and make the fermentation time faster. Contrastingly, if you are brewing at a relatively cool temperature of about 60℉ to 65℉, the yeast can be less active and your fermentation time can take longer.
SCOBY or Culture’s Health
The health of your SCOBY plays a major role in the fermentation of your Kombcha. If your SCOBY is unhealthy, it will inhibit fermentation and may even stop the fermentation process. If you think that your SCOBY is unhealthy because it is taking a little while to convert sweet tea into Kombucha, you can help it go back to health.
To help your SCOBY go back to health, kombuchakamp.com suggests resting your cultures in some sweet tea and mature Kombucha liquid. However, this may take some time so it might be better to just use a new SCOBY rather than fixing your damaged one. This can save you more time and can guarantee better and more consistent results.
Sometimes, the SCOBY’s age can also play a part in how fast or slow your Kombucha ferments. Mature SCOBYs tend to have more active and strong cultures that can turn sweet tea into Kombucha quickly. On the other hand, a young SCOBY may need more time to ferment Kombucha as its bacteria and yeast are still few and not that strong for fermentation.
How to Find Out Preferred Taste When Brewing Kombucha?
Your preferred taste is another factor to consider when deciding how long you should brew your Kombucha. As a rule of the thumb, the longer you ferment Kombucha, the stronger and more acidic it will taste.
If you prefer Kombucha with a strong acidic taste, the fermentation time can take longer than 10 days for first fermentation and 14 days for second fermentation. However, if you prefer your Kombucha to be on the sweeter side, you can stop fermenting your Kombucha after 7 days during the first fermentation and 3 days during the second fermentation.
If you want to brew your Kombucha quicker, you can opt to only ferment your Kombucha once.
Second fermentation is not necessary to take advantage of the health benefits of Kombucha. You will also be able to enjoy the same tangy taste without this fermentation process. However, if you don’t complete a second fermentation, your brew will not have effervescence and will taste flat. If you want your Kombucha to taste fizzy even without second fermentation, Mad Millie blog recommends mixing a shot of Kombucha with a glass of sparkling water.
What is the Method in Brewing Kombucha?
There are two main brewing methods that are commonly done when home brewing Kombucha. These are continuous brewing and batch brewing.
If you are looking for a quicker brewing method, then the continuous brew Kombucha is the better brewing method for you. Continuous brew Kombucha continues to brew indefinitely and contains a relatively large amount of mature Kombucha liquid filled with good bacteria and yeast culture. With the abundance of the cultures, sweet tea turns to Kombucha a lot faster. Fermenting Kombucha using the continuous brew method can only take about 2 to 5 days.
In the case of batch brewed Kombucha, the culture needs to settle first in the brew before they convert the sweet tea into kombucha. Batch brewing Kombucha can take 7 to 12 days and more depending on desired acidity.
Size and Shape of the Fermentation Jar
Surprisingly, the size and shape of the vessel can also affect the fermentation time of this healthy beverage. The cultures in the Kombucha brew are living things that need oxygen to survive. Using a brewing jar with a wide surface area can provide the cultures more access to oxygen. The more oxygen there is, the healthier and more active the cultures become resulting in a faster fermentation process. So, you can expect Kombucha that brews in a jar with a 12-inch diameter opening to ferment faster than a jar with only a 5-inch diameter opening.
Moreover, SCOBYs like to grow and cover the surface of the brew. Fermenting in a large brewing vessel with a wide mouth can give the SCOBY a good surface area to expand and make larger SCOBY babies that can aid in the fermentation process.
How Do You Know When Kombucha is Ready?
If you are batch brewing your Kombucha, it should be ready to taste before or after 7 days of fermentation. On the other hand, if you are using the Continuous brew method, your Kombucha should be ready for consumption in as early as 2 to 3 days. After these days, your Kombucha would be less sweet and should have become acidic, however it may not be suitable for your taste yet.
Your Kombucha is ready to drink, store, or bottle when its taste is right for you. That means that your Kombucha is truly ready if you have already achieved that pleasant sweet and tang blend that is appealing to your taste. .
To taste your brew, you can use a straw to take some of the liquid, put the liquid in a small cup, and taste.
If you are batch brewing your Kombucha, you can start tasting your brew after 5 to 7 days. If your Kombucha has the right sweet and sour blend for you at this time, you can transfer your Kombucha into bottles. However, if you want a stronger acidic taste, allow your Kombucha to ferment longer.
How to Do Continuous Brewing Kombucha?
For continuous brewing, you can start tasting your brew for as early as 2 to 3 days. Just like in batch brewing, you can transfer the Kombucha to your bottles when you have already achieved the right taste for you or continue brewing.
Regularly tasting your brew will not just tell you if your brew is already ready but also give you an idea of how long you should brew your Kombucha to achieve your preferred taste.
This can help you guarantee better and more consistent results in your next batches of brew.
Apart from taste, some people like to test the acidity of Kombucha to know if it’s ready for drinking or bottling, however this can be misleading and will not tell you whether your Kombucha is ready to bottle or if the taste is already right for you. Measuring the acidity level will only tell you if your brew is getting acidic and the Kombucha is fermenting properly. So, if you want optimum results, we suggest tasting your Kombucha instead of testing the acidity.
Can Kombucha Be Ready in 3 Days?
If you are brewing your Kombucha using the continuous brew method, it is likely that the Kombucha will be ready for drinking and bottling in 3 days. If you are batch brewing your Kombucha, the earliest time for your Kombucha to be ready is after 7 days. However, this time can get shorter if you are brewing with a mature SCOBY and warm temperature.
Can You Ferment Kombucha Too Long?
Even if you like your Kombucha to taste very tart, it is still better not to ferment your Kombucha for too long. When Kombucha is left to ferment for too long, the Kombucha liquid can continue fermentation and turn to Kombucha vinegar quickly. While Kombucha vinegar is safe to drink, it can be too acidic and unappealing for regular consumption especially for newbies drinkers.
Hence, we suggest tracking the fermentation time of your brew through regular tasting through regular tasting to prevent it from fermenting for too long.
