I want to make this post to ask a few questions that arise during and after making my first ever batch of kombucha as well as mentioning what mistakes I already noticed making so someone planning to have their first go can learn from me.

Here was the recipe:
15 grams of black and green loose leaf tea mix.
180 grams organic beet sugar
300 ml SCOBY (+ pellicle)
2700 ml water

TLDR before the questions if you don't want to read.

I used a 3.3 liter wide glass jar from IKEA. I wanted to be extra cautious for my first go so I disinfected the jar by slowly heating to 100°C and holding for about 30min in the oven, although from what I've read this is quite unnecessary if your starter is acidic and healthy. I then let the jar cool down slowly to prevent cracking.

Then I brought 1000ml of water to a boil, let it stop boiling, and steeped the 15 grams of tea for 20 minutes.
After that I dissolved in the sugar, poured 1700ml of cold water into the glass jar and then the 1000ml of sweet tea. Next I put in the 300ml of SCOBY with the pellicle (I bought the starter from a local kombucha manufacturer so it came with a nice, thick pellicle), then I covered with a kitchen towel, tied it and put it in a dark spot which was at around 22°C.

I was too excited so I kept agitating the vessel for the first 3 days, but then left it alone. On day 4 I noticed a 1-2mm thick layer of yeast settled at the bottom, and small CO2 bubbles rising.
On day 5 I tasted it with a straw and it was very sweet so I left it and tasted it again on day 8. At this point it had noticeable acidity, but it was still clearly sweet and not even near too acidic for me (or at least so I thought) so I left it for 2 more days.
This was a mistake, since when I tasted it on day 10 it had gone slightly too acidic for me as I felt a good burn at the back of my throat when tasting so I immediately bottled in two 750ml glass flip-top bottles. Drank the rest raw.

I put in a fairly random amount of fresh apple slices and ground cinnamon, and poured in the kombucha after mixing it well to incorporate the yeast. The ground cinnamon ended up being a mistake, since it all just clumped up and did not mix well in the kombucha at all. I tried to leave very little air at the top of the bottles, but I probably could've fit 50-100 ml more before it would've been touching the cap.
I let the other bottle ferment sealed for only a day (about 30 hours) before opening and drinking and the other for 2 days.
The first bottle seemingly had a lot of pressure in it already and I slowly let it out by pressing on the flip top with my hand when releasing, but the actual kombucha had almost no carbonation. The second bottle had even more pressure and the kombucha had a small amount of carbonation visible at the sides of the glass I poured it in, but less than I would've hoped.

TLDR: Made 3000 ml of kombucha with 300ml starter SCOBY bought from local manufacturer. Agitated vessel throughout day 1-3 of F1. Tasted on day 8 of F1, left it for two more days after which it was a bit too acidic already. Bottled with apple and cinnamon in flip-tops and got low carbonation in 1-2 days.
All in all it was really fun to watch and it tastes great, although a bit too vinegary, so I will definitely be making more!

So now for the questions:

1. The kombucha only started forming a noticeable pellicle layer on the top by day 9 or 10 of F1 (the pellicle that came with the SCOBY wasn't as wide as my jar so it was growing a thin layer around the existing pellicle). Is this because of my agitation throughout day 1-3 or does the pellicle just begin to form later into F1? I know the pellicle isn't really necessary for kombucha.

2. Do you think I left too much room at the top of my flip-tops? Should I have left them to build even more pressure or should I have burped them and left for more days?

3. I took out 400ml of the raw kombucha and the pellicle and placed into another glass jar and covered with a kitchen towel again and left it in a dark spot. By now it has been 4 days after bottling so 14 days of fermenting for that 400ml of starter. What do I do to it now? I am sure there is pretty much no sugar left in it and it smells like straight up vinegar. Does it need to be placed in an air tight container and/or refrigerated until use?

I like tea and mainly black tea. I have been brewing using Lipton's tea bags for about two years with good taste results for me. As I make more and more kombucha I have started to look at different teas. I compared Lipton tea with a private label tea sold by our local Meijers, a big box store similar to Walmart. I brewed both teas to do a taste test and looked at the color of both brewed teas with the same amount of water and brewing time. Then I cut open tea bags and looked at what was inside. I liked the taste of the Meijers private label better than Lipton tea, but not a lot difference. The color of the two teas were similar. When I cut open the tea bags the Lipton tea had more finer particles. Not sure what difference all this make, but my next step is to make 2 one gallon batches of kombucha with each tea. I will try to post pictures of the color and contents of each tea bag. When I uploaded the pictures of the two teas my narrative vanished. Above is the narrative that vanished.

Is it time to be big sad?

I just saw a tour of a commercial kombucha company in England on YouTube. I learned a lot, but I have a question. During the brewing this company, which I thought was called Jar Kombucha, aerated their kombucha for many days during the 10 to 12 days of brewing. The owner recommended that home brewers stir their kombucha for a minute each day. My question is what effect does oxygen or mixing air into our kombucha have?

See alot of different recommendations which one for a more acidic brew?

Air bubbles were wild in this F1, resulting in a pelicle that was literally suspended and only dropped when I picked up the jar to take this photo. Should I be concerned?

My husband has a cleaning OCD and despises my kombucha set up on the counter. He’s moved it, to clean around it a few times already (it’s only been a day) Will the movement inhibit my brew?

Hi guys,

So I have a beginner's knowledge of kombucha making (I've done it like 2 times).

For my most recent batch, I did the first fermentation (the one in the big jug, if I'm understanding correctly). However, soon after starting it, I also started nursing school, and my poor kombucha fermentation sat alone, scared, and ignored...for months.

Now that nursing school is almost up for the semester, I'm hoping I'll have the time and mental bandwidth to get back into it, because I really do enjoy the fermentation process.

I was wondering if the brew I still currently have would be able to be viable as a starter for the next batch. If not, that's okay - I still already need to buy more loose-leaf tea from the same source company anyway. If possible, though, I would prefer to use the current batch as a starter, instead of having to get a new SCOBY.

Picture attached for reference. The temperature is measured at 80 degrees, which I believe (just my foggy memory) is within range?

Thank you for any advice!

https://preview.redd.it/m23el80icgxc1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3d61f070bdedad93052d22e340a486ee68411e89

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1F was half green jasmine and half black teas. Left it a wee less acidic than I like.for 2F I added roughly 1/4 cup of Martinellis unsweetened not from concentrate apple juice with a 2T apple syrup that I made using the method for a cheong rather than simple syrup. I think 2F needs more time, I only gave it 24 hours and put in the fridge as I’m in the experimental stage. Left it out today for another 24 hours, but the results are very close to what I’m looking to achieve for hubs. I may reduce the syrup in the next batch and/or let 1F go a day longer, but he likes his tea a bit on the sweet side. The apple flavor is excellent though and doesn’t resemble ACV.

On day 4 of fermentation and it taste sweeter than when i added everything on day 1

Temperature 80f on heat mat???

1 cup of white sugar 2 cups of strong starter A large pellice 12 cups of(twinnings) black tea

So I’m type 2 diabetic and trying to loose weight. My gut health isn’t the best and I’ve been wanting to fix it for ages. I have been wanting to try Kombucha. But upon reading how it’s made I’ve realised that it has sugar in it. I wanted to ask if it’ll be a good drink for me given I’m trying to restrict me sugar intake for weight loss. I was hoping to find replacement for water in some sense because I have a lot of trouble drinking water regularly.

It's my first time trying to make kombucha and I am really unsure about the situation going on here. It's been going for 5 days now at around 21°C and was placed in wooden cupboard. Is this mold? Thanks for your help!

Store bought kombucha was opened and then stored in fridge for over a year. Still safe?

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I added fig leave tea to my black tea F1–it’s so good! Tastes like a tropical coconut tinged kombucha. My new fav. I used dry fig leaves.

Or is it just bubbles and the new scoby forming? I’m pretty new to this so thanks for your help :)

I'm very excited for this batch of Strawberry kombucha! (fire extinguisher included in the picture for comedic effect)

Each Sunday I empty my fermenter and start a fresh batch. Trying a new tea variety, Assam Black Tea. A variety that comes from the Northwest part of India. I normally use Black Pekoe loose leaf tea. Thursday or Friday I will see how it turns out.

Has anyone used fruit cordials such as those that are sold by Frostbites Syrup Co. for your F2? We have various of these in the house already as we used them for mixed drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), but recently someone suggested I use them for making flavoured kombucha.

Reading the ingredient list for one that I have on-hand (Strawberry Cordial), it's: water, organic cane sugar, strawberries, strawberry puree, and lime juice. Some varieties have citric acid though as a final ingredient -- will this be a problem?

I've looked online for recipes for using cordials in the F2, but haven't found anything.

Pineapple 🍍😋 I use Thyphoo Black Tea for my first ferment. 6 tea bags for a 2L brew. Let it sit for average 7 - 12 days (or whenever I get to it 😅) transfer it to my sealed jug with an airlock for average 3 - 5 days then bottle it into two 1.5 L swing top bottles and let them sit for 2 days. I'm pretty happy with the process and I usually don't have to wait too long to enjoy my creations.

After trying out many different flavourings, the lone pineapple is definitely my favorite.

I hope you enjoy my first post 🙈

 I started making kombucha years ago using Lipton tea bags. Worked just fine. As I read more about fermented tea I learned that using loose leaf tea had better results. A trip to the local Asian market solved that. I purchased 6 oz. of Black Orange Pekoe loose leaf tea in a tin.
 The loose leaf tea did improve the finished flavor of the kombucha. I prefer to drink my kombucha right after the first ferment. So the quality and flavor of the tea is important to me. 
 My question revolves around a recent purchase I made. I purchased some Assam Black Tea, whole loose leaf. I used it in the same way as the Orange Pekoe. After steeping in 6C water (170°F/ 77°c) and adding 1C of sugar the Assam tea has a deeper tea flavor than the Black Pekoe with a dryer and more tannin finish. I see how it turns out in 5-7 days. 
 What has been your experience with Assam tea ?