How much starter tea do you need to brew kombucha?When brewing kombucha, the most important rule of thumb is the sweet tea to starter tea ratio.The sweet tea to kombucha starter tea ratio is 9:1 or 90% sweet tea to 10% kombucha starter tea.Obviously, this applies to both the standard imperial measurement and the metric system. By adding 10% kombucha starter tea, your kombucha brew should be inoculated with enough beneficial bacteria and yeast for a successful brew. It also helps by bringing down the pH of your kombucha to safe levels. If you don’t fully understand the relation between pH and kombucha, see ourquick guide to kombucha pH. To figure out how much to use, find the total batch size and times it by 10%. The remaining amount will be the amount of sweet tea needed.
Pro Tip –When buying a kombucha SCOBY, be sure you are getting the proper amount of starter tea for your batch size. Different sources use different measurements, so it can get confusing on what you are getting. If you are provided measurements in cups rather than ounces, just know that you will need 1.5 cups of kombucha starter tea per gallon. One cup per gallon is often sold to use for a gallon batch, don’t settle for this.
