25.2 Equipment

I use the following items for making kombucha.

  • Stock pot: A biggish one, mine is 8 quarts.

    • You can get away with a smaller one if you want to brew a stronger tea and then dilute it*. I did that for a bit, but got annoyed, so I got a bigger one. E.g. To brew 2 gallons with a 1 gallon pot: Brew 1 gallon, and then mix with 1 gallon water. Requires some algebra for more complex ratios, but it’s doable.

  • Tea diffuser: You don’t really NEED these, just if you want to use loose leaf tea. If you’d rather not, I think the ratio is roughly 4-6 tea bags per ounce of loose leaf. You’d want to look into that. I have two of these diffusers

  • Big fermenting jugs: This is the main thing, some big jugs for the tea to sit in and ferment.

    • I have 4 1-gallon jugs that I keep as “sets” of two. So each week I bottle two jugs and brew another batch to start them fermenting.
    • I think these are the ones I use.
    • I think they also sell as a 4-pack which might save a dollar or two.

  • Bottles: The main thing is making sure that you can get a good sealing bottle that can withstand pressure.

    • DO NOT USE SQUARE BOTTLES, they WILL explode.
    • I used these swing-top bottles. From a 2-gallon batch, I usually get 12 bottles. So I have 5 packs of these for myself.
    • I tried using mason jars for a bit, but the tops got dented from the pressure, and they didn’t carbonate well.

  • pH strips: If you want to measure that.

    • These are very much optional. I’m a nerd, so I wanted to test the pH.
    • Also, I guess you’re “supposed” to make sure that your starting pH is below a certain level, so that the good bacteria and yeast outcompete the “bad” kind.
    • The pH strips I used are these. They work okay, I guess. I’m not a chemist.

  • Misc items

    • A funnel. Pouring into the bottles is hard without one. I’ve been considering getting a siphon to make it easier. Not sure I want to clean that up though.
    • Measuring cups both for the obvious reasons, and for scooping the finished kombucha into the bottles.

I generally make 2-gallon batches, and this is enough to accomodate two people drinking approximately one bottle every day. I also have two batches fermenting at any given time, staggered by a week. Hence, the 2 tea diffusers, 4 fermenting jugs, and 30 bottles. If you anticipate less consumption, you won’t need as many bottles and fermenting jugs.