Half Black, Half Green House Blend Recipe: 5 to 31 Gallons
Black tea for body, green tea for brightness. A lot of commercial kombucha starts from a blend like this because it takes fruit well.
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Half Black, Half Green House Blend at a glance: Black tea for body, green tea for brightness. A lot of commercial kombucha starts from a blend like this because it takes fruit well. Rounder than green, brighter than black: the most versatile base.
Bräu Supply recipe · Kombucha
Half Black, Half Green House Blend Kombucha
First ferment · for 5 gal
| 4.27 gal (16.2 L) | Filtered water | |
| 45 g | Half black, half green, loose | 9 g/gal |
| 2.2 lb (1 kg) | White sugar | 200 g/gal |
| 0.6 gal (2.3 L) | Starter liquid: plain kombucha from your last batch | 12% |
| 1 | SCOBY |
Second ferment: flavour and fizz
| 7.5 tbsp | White sugar | |
Process
- Steep: 185°F (85°C) for 10–15 minutes, then dissolve the sugar
- Cool: below 85°F (29°C) before the culture goes in
- Culture: starter and SCOBY; pH below 4.6, ideally 4.2 or lower
- First ferment: 78°F (26°C), open under a cloth, 7–10 days, to pH 3.0–3.5
- Second ferment: 75°F (24°C), sealed, spunding valve at 12 psi, 2–5 days
- Cold crash: 36°F (2°C) for 1–2 days
- Carbonate: 2.8 volumes: about 13 psi at 36°F
Make it in
Per US gallon of finished first-ferment kombucha. Water allows for the room the sugar takes up and the water the tea holds back. Sugar in juice and fruit varies: taste, and watch the gauge in the second ferment.
How to make it
- Fill the fermenter with the full batch of filtered water, heat it to 185°F and steep the tea in the basket for 10–15 minutes. Lift the tea out and stir in the sugar.
- Cool the batch below 85°F, through a counterflow chiller or overnight with the lid sealed.
- Add the starter liquid and the SCOBY. Check the pH: below 4.6 right away, ideally 4.2 or lower.
- Ferment open to the air under a tight cloth at 78°F for 7–10 days. Taste from the sample valve from day five; it’s ready when sweet and tart balance, around pH 3.0–3.5.
- Dump the yeast from the cone and save starter liquid and the SCOBY for the next batch.
- Add the second-ferment ingredients through the top, seal the lid and set the spunding valve to 12 psi. Hold 75°F for 2–5 days, tasting as you go.
- Crash to 36°F for a day or two, then set CO₂ to about 13 psi to reach 2.8 volumes, or keg it and carbonate in the keg. Strain out fruit and herbs before kegging.
Making a different amount, or your own flavour? Open this recipe in the kombucha calculator: it scales the tea, sugar and starter, and works out the second-ferment sugar, carbonation pressure and alcohol.
Tips
- Weigh the two teas separately, half and half by weight, and steep them together at 185°F (85°C).
- This is the best base for fruit: use it for any flavour in the second ferment.
- Shift the blend toward black tea in winter for a rounder kombucha, toward green in summer for a lighter one.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use tea bags?
Yes. Four to five standard bags per gallon equal about 9 g of loose tea. Cut the tags off and put the bags in the basket.
Does the blend change how long it ferments?
Not much. Expect 7 to 10 days at 78°F, the same as black tea.
Is there alcohol in homemade kombucha?
A little. The first ferment usually leaves 0.2–1% ABV, and every gram of sugar per litre that ferments in the second ferment adds about 0.065%. In the US, 0.5% ABV or more is regulated as alcohol, so if you sell kombucha, crash it cold, keep it cold, and test every batch. The kombucha calculator shows how much your second ferment can add.
Related
How to make kombucha in a stainless fermenter, the kombucha calculator, ginger lemon kombucha, raspberry hibiscus kombucha, pineapple mint kombucha.