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The Big Book of Kombucha: Brewing, Flavoring, and Enjoying the Health Benefits of Fermented Tea
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Food & Cookbooks (2016)2016 Silver Nautilus Book Award Winner
Brew your own kombucha at home! With more than 400 recipes, including 268 unique flavor combinations, you can get exactly the taste you want — for a fraction of the store-bought price. This complete guide, from the proprietors of Kombucha Kamp, shows you how to do it from start to finish, with illustrated step-by-step instructions and troubleshooting tips. The book also includes information on the many health benefits of kombucha, fascinating details of the drink’s history, and recipes for delicious foods and drinks you can make with kombucha (including some irresistible cocktails!).
“This is the one go-to resource for all things kombucha.”
— Andrew Zimmern, James Beard Award–winning author and host of Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods
Brew your own kombucha at home! With more than 400 recipes, including 268 unique flavor combinations, you can get exactly the taste you want — for a fraction of the store-bought price. This complete guide, from the proprietors of Kombucha Kamp, shows you how to do it from start to finish, with illustrated step-by-step instructions and troubleshooting tips. The book also includes information on the many health benefits of kombucha, fascinating details of the drink’s history, and recipes for delicious foods and drinks you can make with kombucha (including some irresistible cocktails!).
“This is the one go-to resource for all things kombucha.”
— Andrew Zimmern, James Beard Award–winning author and host of Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods
400 pages, Hardcover
First published March 8, 2016
966 people are currently reading
3519 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews
November 8, 2016
This book is an absolute delight to experience, in every way. (Btw I wrote "currently reading" 'cuz it isn't the type of book you necessarily read cover-to-cover, it's more like a cookbook in that sense.)
"The Big Book of Kombucha" is first and foremost an excellent and informative how-to book on how to brew your own "booch." I've successfully followed the instructions therein and am now successfully turning out reliably high-quality kombucha on a regular basis, within just a few weeks of starting my home brewing practice.
[Full disclosure: I also purchased my brewing supplies from Hannah Crum's online store. Note that while the book does reference some of the products she sells, mostly fairly indirectly, this book is *not* in my opinion one of those whose primary purpose is to advertise the author's products.]
The book is absolutely informative. It gives lots of useful and easy-to-comprehend and easy-to-implement information about how to make kombucha. It answers, in my opinion, just about any question a person could ask or even think of asking about any and all details of brewing this delicious nutritious beverage, including a host of fabulous recipes for how to flavor and cook with kombucha. If this book were "merely" an extensive and informative "how-to" guide I'd give it very high marks.
But that's only the beginning. On top of that, the book is replete with a number of fascinating sidebars dealing with such things as the history of kombucha and its constituent parts (eg tea, sugar), scientific research into its health benefits, the beverage's chemistry, and many other tidbits I found most interesting, going well beyond the primary instructional aspects of the text.
Beyond this book's content, which is as impeccably-written as it is engaging and informative, is the way the book looks and feels physically. It's incredibly well-designed (in my opinion), with clean clear text, lots of bright colors and air space, and beautiful visuals (hand-drawn and photos) throughout.
A paperback, it also handles really nicely. Not a quality that always get top mention in book reviews, but this volume just has a really great feel. (I mean if "mouth feel" can be a criterion in talking about foods, it seems "hand feel" should be a quality worth mentioning in books. Maybe it is and I just don't realize it.) Anyhow this book feels really good in the hands: it has a nice heft yet the pages fall open nicely; they're coated or maybe just really excellent paper stock that makes it a pleasure to hold and to leaf through. It's also really easy to thumb through to "that one page" I keep referring back to. I really just enjoy the physical act of picking up the book and perusing it.
With excellent content and design, a wealth of interesting information that goes far beyond the basics (yet which the reader has the complete option to pursue in the moment, or to set aside for later), and a physical presence that's a real joy to hold in one's hands, I am truly impressed by every aspect of this delightful book.
"The Big Book of Kombucha" is first and foremost an excellent and informative how-to book on how to brew your own "booch." I've successfully followed the instructions therein and am now successfully turning out reliably high-quality kombucha on a regular basis, within just a few weeks of starting my home brewing practice.
[Full disclosure: I also purchased my brewing supplies from Hannah Crum's online store. Note that while the book does reference some of the products she sells, mostly fairly indirectly, this book is *not* in my opinion one of those whose primary purpose is to advertise the author's products.]
The book is absolutely informative. It gives lots of useful and easy-to-comprehend and easy-to-implement information about how to make kombucha. It answers, in my opinion, just about any question a person could ask or even think of asking about any and all details of brewing this delicious nutritious beverage, including a host of fabulous recipes for how to flavor and cook with kombucha. If this book were "merely" an extensive and informative "how-to" guide I'd give it very high marks.
But that's only the beginning. On top of that, the book is replete with a number of fascinating sidebars dealing with such things as the history of kombucha and its constituent parts (eg tea, sugar), scientific research into its health benefits, the beverage's chemistry, and many other tidbits I found most interesting, going well beyond the primary instructional aspects of the text.
Beyond this book's content, which is as impeccably-written as it is engaging and informative, is the way the book looks and feels physically. It's incredibly well-designed (in my opinion), with clean clear text, lots of bright colors and air space, and beautiful visuals (hand-drawn and photos) throughout.
A paperback, it also handles really nicely. Not a quality that always get top mention in book reviews, but this volume just has a really great feel. (I mean if "mouth feel" can be a criterion in talking about foods, it seems "hand feel" should be a quality worth mentioning in books. Maybe it is and I just don't realize it.) Anyhow this book feels really good in the hands: it has a nice heft yet the pages fall open nicely; they're coated or maybe just really excellent paper stock that makes it a pleasure to hold and to leaf through. It's also really easy to thumb through to "that one page" I keep referring back to. I really just enjoy the physical act of picking up the book and perusing it.
With excellent content and design, a wealth of interesting information that goes far beyond the basics (yet which the reader has the complete option to pursue in the moment, or to set aside for later), and a physical presence that's a real joy to hold in one's hands, I am truly impressed by every aspect of this delightful book.
January 21, 2016
Kombucha, if you've never heard of it, is fermented tea. I'm sure you've heard of fermented foods before, right? I've dabbled a bit with making my own fermented pickles, and they are a food unlike any you've ever tasted before, and they are great for your gut, too. Living with IBS, I know how good fermented foods are for me, but I don't make my own as much as I should. I'm a lazy cook, and canning is enough fun for me.
The book begins by telling how the authors got into kombucha in the first place, the health benefits of drinking it, the science behind it, and just why fermented foods are becoming popular again.
One negative I did see is that the authors seem to repeat themselves a lot - they repeatedly mention not using dehydrated SCOBYs for example (quickly counting I noticed five mentions of that fact). There is a lot of information to devour in the book, definitely this is meant to be a resource book for those that are serious about making the brew.
The book does include a ton of high quality photographs throughout and the pages are decorated with water-color like artwork.
The book begins by telling how the authors got into kombucha in the first place, the health benefits of drinking it, the science behind it, and just why fermented foods are becoming popular again.
One negative I did see is that the authors seem to repeat themselves a lot - they repeatedly mention not using dehydrated SCOBYs for example (quickly counting I noticed five mentions of that fact). There is a lot of information to devour in the book, definitely this is meant to be a resource book for those that are serious about making the brew.
The book does include a ton of high quality photographs throughout and the pages are decorated with water-color like artwork.
December 20, 2022
I enjoy Kombucha. I have a little bit of a sludgy gallbladder due to some medication I'm taking and instead of getting it removed I looked into foods that can help with that. One of the best things is fermented foods like Kombucha, sauerkraut and kimchi. Since Kombucha is relatively easy to work into my daily routine it won out. I already was eating yogurt so I figure that wasn't quite enough for my new dietary needs.
This book starts with all the benefits of eating fermented foods, a history lesson and how it affects your gut biome. There are a lot of pages on benefits and honestly I skimmed or skipped most of those as I already was well aware.
Making a scoby for the first time. I had never done this and there were some step by step instructions and pictures and a basic recipe. I started with that. There was a lot of the different kinds of teas and such but for first timers they should have said just go with black.
There is a lot on choosing the right containers and where to store. THIS IS A REALLY LONG BOOK...like 1000 pages on how to brew so some/a lot of it is really skimmable to get to what you need.
Chapters 6 7 8 are important for the different kinds of brewing you can do. Then flavoring in chapter 10 was what I'm really interested in. It wasn't as recipe like as I would have liked but there are some good ideas to start with.
Then there is a what to do section if you screw something up. Since the first scoby takes about 4 weeks to start that seems like something I'm going to need someday
After that the book is full of stuff I really wasn't insterested in right now. Like cooking with kombucha, smoothies and kocktails. But maybe later. Along with other chapters again dedicated to the story of Kombucha and three appendix the some of the stuff from the earlier chapters.
This book has some good stuff in it but also a ton of stuff I just don't care about with history and personal stories. Still you can skip to the stuff you need well enough in ch 6 -10
Okay for a beginner but you could probably find a lot of the same info on youtube in a more streamlined way.
This book starts with all the benefits of eating fermented foods, a history lesson and how it affects your gut biome. There are a lot of pages on benefits and honestly I skimmed or skipped most of those as I already was well aware.
Making a scoby for the first time. I had never done this and there were some step by step instructions and pictures and a basic recipe. I started with that. There was a lot of the different kinds of teas and such but for first timers they should have said just go with black.
There is a lot on choosing the right containers and where to store. THIS IS A REALLY LONG BOOK...like 1000 pages on how to brew so some/a lot of it is really skimmable to get to what you need.
Chapters 6 7 8 are important for the different kinds of brewing you can do. Then flavoring in chapter 10 was what I'm really interested in. It wasn't as recipe like as I would have liked but there are some good ideas to start with.
Then there is a what to do section if you screw something up. Since the first scoby takes about 4 weeks to start that seems like something I'm going to need someday
After that the book is full of stuff I really wasn't insterested in right now. Like cooking with kombucha, smoothies and kocktails. But maybe later. Along with other chapters again dedicated to the story of Kombucha and three appendix the some of the stuff from the earlier chapters.
This book has some good stuff in it but also a ton of stuff I just don't care about with history and personal stories. Still you can skip to the stuff you need well enough in ch 6 -10
Okay for a beginner but you could probably find a lot of the same info on youtube in a more streamlined way.
March 12, 2020
2 things:
First, I guess reading The Big Book of Kombucha makes me officially an enthusiast now.
Second, the authors of this book are Evangelists-- a fact you might infer about anyone who takes the time to write The Big Book of Kombucha .
Their enthusiasm carries them right up to the "panacea" threshold, but they are very careful to never step over, and I appreciated this responsibility on their part. They implicitly state at several points that kombucha will not cure cancer. Some of their enthusiasm however, gets a little corny. But, this goofiness is steeped in good information and it does keep the process approachable. I'm still working with my first SCOBY and with all the solid information and color commentary in this book, I feel like I've got a pretty good handle on it.
This book is a solid choice for anyone who wants to give kombucha brewing a try.
First, I guess reading The Big Book of Kombucha makes me officially an enthusiast now.
Second, the authors of this book are Evangelists-- a fact you might infer about anyone who takes the time to write The Big Book of Kombucha .
Their enthusiasm carries them right up to the "panacea" threshold, but they are very careful to never step over, and I appreciated this responsibility on their part. They implicitly state at several points that kombucha will not cure cancer. Some of their enthusiasm however, gets a little corny. But, this goofiness is steeped in good information and it does keep the process approachable. I'm still working with my first SCOBY and with all the solid information and color commentary in this book, I feel like I've got a pretty good handle on it.
This book is a solid choice for anyone who wants to give kombucha brewing a try.
April 6, 2016
The Big Book of Kombucha is an excellent introduction to everything kombucha - the history, health, brewing techniques and a vast array of recipes beyond your imagination. I thought I knew a lot about kombucha already and still I learnt so much from the authors - it is clear they have a passion for the topic. Whether you are new to kombucha or an experienced brewer I highly recommend checking it out.
*I receied an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
*I receied an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
June 21, 2016
Excellent. I have made the Oolong Tea Kombucha, also green mate. The sourdough that I made with Kombucha yeast is the very best I have ever tried.
April 11, 2018
This IS my "go to book" for all things Kombucha/SCOBY related. This only book, along with Zero Waste Chef blog, are my only resources of my knowledge about kombucha, how to grow and maintain healthy scoby, how to brew to my liking and what are other things, besides kombucha drink, that I can make with my scoby.
If you're new to kombucha brewing this is a book I would definitely recommend, actually I would recommend it to anyone! Simple and clear language, lots of questions answered, even more problem solving techniques. Almost each and every step is supported by a photo - so you know exactly how it should look like and behave (something so important when you're new to all this, and see scoby "live" for the first time in your life!).
If you're new to kombucha brewing this is a book I would definitely recommend, actually I would recommend it to anyone! Simple and clear language, lots of questions answered, even more problem solving techniques. Almost each and every step is supported by a photo - so you know exactly how it should look like and behave (something so important when you're new to all this, and see scoby "live" for the first time in your life!).
November 12, 2016
This is one good book. My partner was buying her kombucha from a local supplier costing us fifty or more dollars a week. I went on the internet and found this book and it is awesome. love how it explains all about it, its beginning how it came to be, different flavors and how to do your own. I would and have recommended it anyone who asks about my drink my little warming spot and my flavours. Keep up the good work and THANK YOU for all the info and ideas
January 26, 2018
I checked this out of the library first to see if it's something I'm likely to refer to regularly and the answer is yes! Will definitely buy the book!
October 4, 2016
This could easily be called The Kombucha Bible, as it pretty much covers anything you might ever need to know about making, storing and using kombucha tea! Having dealt with severe stomach issues for quite some time, out of desperation I tried kombucha. The results were amazing!! The pain disappeared, as did the heartburn and other issues. I couldn't believe how quickly and how well it worked!
This book is great how it walks you through each step of the process. Everything is explained, and photos abound. There are delightful recipes for using your kombucha other than just drinking it straight or with juice. Try a Kombucha Kefir Smoothie, a Rootbucha Float, Chai Latte Float, and even cook with it! You'll be amazed at all the ways you can use this amazing drink!
I received a copy of this book from Storey Publishing for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This book is great how it walks you through each step of the process. Everything is explained, and photos abound. There are delightful recipes for using your kombucha other than just drinking it straight or with juice. Try a Kombucha Kefir Smoothie, a Rootbucha Float, Chai Latte Float, and even cook with it! You'll be amazed at all the ways you can use this amazing drink!
I received a copy of this book from Storey Publishing for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
March 9, 2018
I just bottled my first batch of Kombucha thanks to this book. The authors make a complex process easy with clear directions and photos. Growing a scoby is daunting, it looks like nothing you’d want to grow, let alone ferment your tea. Being able to look at the pictures of various scobys was very reassuring. While I won’t be making a scoby change purse which the authors say is easy, I will be using their book for other recipes.
May 3, 2016
Very concise and informative!
June 17, 2019
Damn, this truly is the BIG book of kombucha! It literally has everything you need to know about anything kombucha related. From the history of kombucha to starting your own company, it's in here. I was thoroughly impressed. I even ended up photocopying a lot of the recipes for future use since I took this out from the library. If you're looking for a new hobby this book is an excellent way to get started.
May 25, 2020
Amazingly thorough book great for first time brewers and seasoned veterans looking for some additional reference material. A really solid section on the technical aspects of both batch and continuous brewing, as well as a ton of information on flavoring, different teas, cooking recipes, etc.
January 15, 2018
This book has it all.. beautiful photos, in depth directions, and a plethora of information to guide you through brewing kombucha for the first time.. love it!
July 20, 2018
I remember my grandma took a beverage from this thing. She said that was a magical drink who take off the illness. Who knows?
August 24, 2018
Bought it as I think it's a great resource for beginners and some seasoned brewers. Looks like it has a great recipe section too, so I look forward to trying some out.
March 23, 2019
I have just started brewing my second batch of Kombucha and have found this book a very useful source of information. It not only contains recipes for brewing but also for cooking.
January 4, 2019
Lots of recipes; explains how Kombucha works—helpful!
February 4, 2023
Feeling empowered with the info I new to keep brewing and experimenting!
April 6, 2025
Short overview: this should have stayed a cookbook and not tried to play doctor as a medical authority. I agree adding natural foods included home-made fermented foods can help people with nutrition and the benefits of improved nutrition. I disagree with the misinformation repeated throughout this book and cherrypicking published articles to play medical expert.
I found the photos and brewing information helpful. The book copy & pastes the same information a few times so the book is a bit padded for length and they makes the mistake of using color to convey information in a few infographics which is less helpful to people who are colorblind. It would have been more responsible to write some people experience benefits from adding kombucha tea to their diet; they could have leaned more into home brewing being fun. Tasty home brewed batches, saving money on store bought products, and mentions of KT as an alternative to soft drinks do come up. I believe the authors care about the health of other people; they are trying to punch way above their weight class which is why our totally unregulated Alternative Medicine field can be dangerous to those who are desperate to solve a medical issue and are fending for themselves without access to professional care.
Statements that kombucha tea is not a cure for anything and to see a doctor as needed are directly contradicted by statements directing how to use kombucha tea medicinally.
Long Take:I have a science degree. This book likes to cite journal articles to uphold contemporary Crunchy, recycled 1960s counterculture, New Age ideologies too much. The theme is "nature good, chemicals bad!" for most things including a fear of flouride in drinking water, iodine in table salt, artificial sweeteners. These popular Crunchy themes ignore the days when people were losing their teeth at 30, were wrecked by goiter [feel free to Google Image Search that], and that we have an ongoing diabeties crisis. The authors like to make statements of fact in places where research says: is possible, points to, seems likely, is supported by our data which are not necessarily statements of fact. Also, research can be overturned by later studies, and I have personally read a peer reviewed journal article where the research was fake. Primary research is an ongoing process: slow, expensive, and kind of messy at times but proper efforts make science self-correcting over time.
Currently popular Crunchy health fad, nebulous meaning buzzwords are thrown around: body out of balance, free radicals, detoxifying. Detoxifying is a favorite concept in the USA since we have huge distrust in our industrial food supply chain and for-profit medical systems; it is also a word that does not mean anything in particular outside of rehab for chemical addictions or poisoning cases, which is from where the word detoxifying was taken.
Brief critique of informaton presented in the book with free to access online citations:
Covering pseudoscience and misinformation for the whole book would be time prohibitive because concepts like detoxifying among others are repeated throughtout its pages. There are some items below that are outright incorrect, literally not facts. I would recommend just skipping the first 29 pages and dive into the how-to cookbook information, try to ignore any medical diagnostic statements and Crunchy ideology. I'm all for the healing power of crystals and if you want to do Reiki with your houseplants; I'm against publishing that information as if it they are scientific treatment methodologies.
OK now I am going to make years of work and student loan debt work for you for totally free:
Pseudoscience and misinformation:
• Page XIII paragraph 2
Raw milk is not safe to consume. “Raw milk can carry dangerous germs such as Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria, Campylobacter, and others that cause foodborne illness, often called “food poisoning.””
Source: https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-se...
• Page 14, paragraph 5
Stress does not cause stomach ulcers. Barry J. Marshall and J. Robin Warren proved stomach ulcers are caused by he bacterium Helicobacter pylori which is infectious in 2005 and received the Nobel Prize for their research.
Source: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/med...
The Big Book of Kombucha copyright is 2016 so there is no excuse for not looking up this information.
• Page 15, paragraph 4
Warns of “detoxification symptoms and a healing crisis” which is not a medically recognized concept.
Source: https://www.health.harvard.edu/stayin...
• Page 17, paragraph 5
Page 20 & way more
The paragraph opens with “Poor dietary choices and chronic stress are the root causes of many modern diseases” which ignores genetics, behavior, aging, environmental factors like pollution; stress has been shown to have impacts on the body that make it more vulnerable to disease rather than being a cause.
Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-li...
Earlier the book [p.15] states there are no longitudinal or medically accepted studies on kombucha tea having health benefits then in this paragraph goes on to claim kombucha tea will “strengthen the immune system, and assist in removing impurities from the blood and organs.”
• Page 18, paragraph 3
“Anecdotally, kombucha drinkers find that once they begin consuming booch, the frequency and duration of common illnesses decrease.” This is a common Logical Fallacy: concurrence is not causality. Any number of other lifestyle changes could have happened in this time frame for this claim with no source.
• Page 20, paragraph 2
Claims “Herxheimer reaction” as a “healing crisis” related to a body out of balance and “detoxification” which takes a medical condition, a Jarisch–Herxheimer reaction, out of context. A Jarisch–Herxheimer reaction is a negative reaction to antibiotics used to treat a number of diseases similar to an allergy to antibiotics and this medical diagnosis is taken completely out of context in the book.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarisch...
• Pages 22 - 24
This section is filled with proscriptive uses of kombucha tea for pregnancy, menstruation, and small children. OMG Citations Needed! Any OB/GYN and Pediatrician MD can have at it. If you need to know why this section is dangerous, please read Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover whose parents were running a cult based around their family folk medicine practice.
• Page 364
Journal article Current Evidence on Physiological Activity and Expected Health Effects of Kombucha Fermented Beverage, 2014 is a scientific literature review and not a source of primary research. This article is not specifically stated to have been peer reviewed by any entity other than its own editors. This literature review of other published research articles simply says kombucha tea contains active compounds its cited research reports have found to promote health. I really don't like when people use literature reviews as if they totally uphold what they want them to uphold when a literature really just says here is all thecurrent studies we could find, there is a basis for information beyond random occurance in these studies which points to more research being a good use of time and money. We do not release a new drug on the market without human subject testing and far more rigorous methods than a literature review.
Source: https://doi.org/10.1089/jmf.2013.0031
I found the photos and brewing information helpful. The book copy & pastes the same information a few times so the book is a bit padded for length and they makes the mistake of using color to convey information in a few infographics which is less helpful to people who are colorblind. It would have been more responsible to write some people experience benefits from adding kombucha tea to their diet; they could have leaned more into home brewing being fun. Tasty home brewed batches, saving money on store bought products, and mentions of KT as an alternative to soft drinks do come up. I believe the authors care about the health of other people; they are trying to punch way above their weight class which is why our totally unregulated Alternative Medicine field can be dangerous to those who are desperate to solve a medical issue and are fending for themselves without access to professional care.
Statements that kombucha tea is not a cure for anything and to see a doctor as needed are directly contradicted by statements directing how to use kombucha tea medicinally.
Long Take:I have a science degree. This book likes to cite journal articles to uphold contemporary Crunchy, recycled 1960s counterculture, New Age ideologies too much. The theme is "nature good, chemicals bad!" for most things including a fear of flouride in drinking water, iodine in table salt, artificial sweeteners. These popular Crunchy themes ignore the days when people were losing their teeth at 30, were wrecked by goiter [feel free to Google Image Search that], and that we have an ongoing diabeties crisis. The authors like to make statements of fact in places where research says: is possible, points to, seems likely, is supported by our data which are not necessarily statements of fact. Also, research can be overturned by later studies, and I have personally read a peer reviewed journal article where the research was fake. Primary research is an ongoing process: slow, expensive, and kind of messy at times but proper efforts make science self-correcting over time.
Currently popular Crunchy health fad, nebulous meaning buzzwords are thrown around: body out of balance, free radicals, detoxifying. Detoxifying is a favorite concept in the USA since we have huge distrust in our industrial food supply chain and for-profit medical systems; it is also a word that does not mean anything in particular outside of rehab for chemical addictions or poisoning cases, which is from where the word detoxifying was taken.
Brief critique of informaton presented in the book with free to access online citations:
Covering pseudoscience and misinformation for the whole book would be time prohibitive because concepts like detoxifying among others are repeated throughtout its pages. There are some items below that are outright incorrect, literally not facts. I would recommend just skipping the first 29 pages and dive into the how-to cookbook information, try to ignore any medical diagnostic statements and Crunchy ideology. I'm all for the healing power of crystals and if you want to do Reiki with your houseplants; I'm against publishing that information as if it they are scientific treatment methodologies.
OK now I am going to make years of work and student loan debt work for you for totally free:
Pseudoscience and misinformation:
• Page XIII paragraph 2
Raw milk is not safe to consume. “Raw milk can carry dangerous germs such as Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria, Campylobacter, and others that cause foodborne illness, often called “food poisoning.””
Source: https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-se...
• Page 14, paragraph 5
Stress does not cause stomach ulcers. Barry J. Marshall and J. Robin Warren proved stomach ulcers are caused by he bacterium Helicobacter pylori which is infectious in 2005 and received the Nobel Prize for their research.
Source: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/med...
The Big Book of Kombucha copyright is 2016 so there is no excuse for not looking up this information.
• Page 15, paragraph 4
Warns of “detoxification symptoms and a healing crisis” which is not a medically recognized concept.
Source: https://www.health.harvard.edu/stayin...
• Page 17, paragraph 5
Page 20 & way more
The paragraph opens with “Poor dietary choices and chronic stress are the root causes of many modern diseases” which ignores genetics, behavior, aging, environmental factors like pollution; stress has been shown to have impacts on the body that make it more vulnerable to disease rather than being a cause.
Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-li...
Earlier the book [p.15] states there are no longitudinal or medically accepted studies on kombucha tea having health benefits then in this paragraph goes on to claim kombucha tea will “strengthen the immune system, and assist in removing impurities from the blood and organs.”
• Page 18, paragraph 3
“Anecdotally, kombucha drinkers find that once they begin consuming booch, the frequency and duration of common illnesses decrease.” This is a common Logical Fallacy: concurrence is not causality. Any number of other lifestyle changes could have happened in this time frame for this claim with no source.
• Page 20, paragraph 2
Claims “Herxheimer reaction” as a “healing crisis” related to a body out of balance and “detoxification” which takes a medical condition, a Jarisch–Herxheimer reaction, out of context. A Jarisch–Herxheimer reaction is a negative reaction to antibiotics used to treat a number of diseases similar to an allergy to antibiotics and this medical diagnosis is taken completely out of context in the book.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarisch...
• Pages 22 - 24
This section is filled with proscriptive uses of kombucha tea for pregnancy, menstruation, and small children. OMG Citations Needed! Any OB/GYN and Pediatrician MD can have at it. If you need to know why this section is dangerous, please read Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover whose parents were running a cult based around their family folk medicine practice.
• Page 364
Journal article Current Evidence on Physiological Activity and Expected Health Effects of Kombucha Fermented Beverage, 2014 is a scientific literature review and not a source of primary research. This article is not specifically stated to have been peer reviewed by any entity other than its own editors. This literature review of other published research articles simply says kombucha tea contains active compounds its cited research reports have found to promote health. I really don't like when people use literature reviews as if they totally uphold what they want them to uphold when a literature really just says here is all thecurrent studies we could find, there is a basis for information beyond random occurance in these studies which points to more research being a good use of time and money. We do not release a new drug on the market without human subject testing and far more rigorous methods than a literature review.
Source: https://doi.org/10.1089/jmf.2013.0031
January 11, 2026
Really irritating that there has been no effort to help those of us not in the US and add conversions for recipes. Not a huge ask since it’s freely available for sale over here (GB) so I feel there should’ve been a different edition produced. All ingredients are for a gallon of kombucha, not litres.
However, this important grumble aside I’m finding it a wealth of information and very clearly written
However, this important grumble aside I’m finding it a wealth of information and very clearly written
July 21, 2016
Good information on brewing dos and don'ts and how to... what a SCOBY should look like, how to store it, etc. There are lots of recipes and pics.
Honestly, I don't think I'll try a single recipe in there (laziness), but it gave me plenty of ideas. And they've done a nice job of making a beverage people tend to say "ew ick!" about look downright pretty. It's a good book for people like me who are beginners who'd like a reference in hand and some creative ideas.
While the book warns that Kombucha is not a panacea, it still seems a little biased in that direction. I can't get behind any idea of it as a health aid at this point, but as an interesting, fizzy, tart drink that I can enjoy in lieu of alcoholic beverages, definitely.
March 23, 2017
Kombucha, you sound delicious but I'm not a fan. Maybe I had a bad bottle, but I just think it's not for me. The thought of a drink I could make and enjoy at home sounded fun. Turns out, I just like sweet tea.
This book was full of all kinds of useful information about brewing your own. If you are interested in doing that, this is the book for you.
This book was full of all kinds of useful information about brewing your own. If you are interested in doing that, this is the book for you.
January 20, 2017
The Big Book of Kombucha is not only a well-researched, clearly organized, invaluable resource for anyone interested in brewing fermented tea, it is downright beautiful. What a joy to read and dream of what could be produced in my own kitchen.
October 4, 2016
I love kombucha. I brewed it with a friend's help this summer and wanted to learn more about different ways to brew and different flavoring. This was exactly what I needed!
June 30, 2023
If there is one dietary change (aside from going plant-based) I would urge people to make, it's to incorporate fermented foods into your diet stat. Getting that good bacteria into your gut, vis a vie probiotics, is a revelation to your body, aiding it to function at its best. I've made my own fermented sauerkraut (SO much better than store bought) and attempted (but failed, though I'm at it again) to make my own pickles. Though my introduction to kombucha, since moving here to Oregon, is next level fermentation, if you ask me. In France kombucha is often referred to as the 'elixir of long life' and I could not agree more. It is a tonic for your body and when I drink it, it feels as if I've hit the reset button. My energy levels go up and I feel more alive. I know I'm getting a bit hippie dippie hokey here but I swear by this shit. Unfortunately a bottle of kombucha often goes for $4+ a pop and, knowing how much cheaper it is to make it yourself, I had to brave into the world of brewing my own booch. So I started with this book to get the complete run down of how to make my own kombucha.
I read this book a couple of weeks ago cover to cover, loved it so much I went to Powell's and got my own copy, and have since gone back through and marked the shit out of it. I have explored other books on kombucha and this one is by far the bible-o-booch. While there are recipes in the back, it is packed with so much information. In it you learn the history of kombucha, its affect on your health, a detailed exploration of the SCOBY, a breakdown of the main ingredients (tea, sugar, water) and which types work best, the two different brewing methods, techniques, flavoring, troubleshooting, super helpful charts for amount calculations, plus the many recipes for flavoring, use with smoothies, cocktails, cooking with it and so much more. Let's also note how beautifully laid out this book is, well planned, photographs that aid in the learning process and are professionally done. I cannot recommend this book enough if you are looking to make your own kombucha.
I have since purchased all of the needed tools/ingredients for making my own. Seeing that I plan to be a daily user, for a beginner brewer, I'm going all in with two 2 gallon vessels (though the reviews say they're more like 3 gallon each) and adhering to the continuous brew method. I'm just waiting for my SCOBYs to come in and I'll be onto brewing. Wahoo!! I'll do an update to this review once my first brew is done.
I read this book a couple of weeks ago cover to cover, loved it so much I went to Powell's and got my own copy, and have since gone back through and marked the shit out of it. I have explored other books on kombucha and this one is by far the bible-o-booch. While there are recipes in the back, it is packed with so much information. In it you learn the history of kombucha, its affect on your health, a detailed exploration of the SCOBY, a breakdown of the main ingredients (tea, sugar, water) and which types work best, the two different brewing methods, techniques, flavoring, troubleshooting, super helpful charts for amount calculations, plus the many recipes for flavoring, use with smoothies, cocktails, cooking with it and so much more. Let's also note how beautifully laid out this book is, well planned, photographs that aid in the learning process and are professionally done. I cannot recommend this book enough if you are looking to make your own kombucha.
I have since purchased all of the needed tools/ingredients for making my own. Seeing that I plan to be a daily user, for a beginner brewer, I'm going all in with two 2 gallon vessels (though the reviews say they're more like 3 gallon each) and adhering to the continuous brew method. I'm just waiting for my SCOBYs to come in and I'll be onto brewing. Wahoo!! I'll do an update to this review once my first brew is done.
June 5, 2017
Quite possibly the most comprehensive, thoughtful, and well organized resource for someone brewing Kombucha. Hannah Crum (The creator of Kombuchakamp.com) has compiled her extensive knowledge and experience in this beautiful book.
There is an absolute wealth of free information on brewing Kombucha available online. But if you're wondering whether it's worth spending money for this book I can confidently recommend you pull the trigger. Having watched hours of youtube videos, website articles, and free e-books on brewing Kombucha I still found a plethora of interesting facts snd helpful tips on brewing in this book.
The star of the book for me is without a doubt the recipe section. There is a huge selection of flavor combinations that she writes with great detail about. Every Herb, Fresh/Dried Fruit, Tea flavor, etc. I could think of was included with her favorite recipes on each. Most helpful is that she specifies the exact amount of the ingredient is need to flavor the Kombucha, saving many hours of trial and error experimentation. From Lavender Blueberry to Chamomile Mango my mind bursts with new recipes to try and experiment with every time I open the book.
Give this book a shot if you want practically everything you could ever want to know about Kombucha in a well photographed and lovingly written book.
There is an absolute wealth of free information on brewing Kombucha available online. But if you're wondering whether it's worth spending money for this book I can confidently recommend you pull the trigger. Having watched hours of youtube videos, website articles, and free e-books on brewing Kombucha I still found a plethora of interesting facts snd helpful tips on brewing in this book.
The star of the book for me is without a doubt the recipe section. There is a huge selection of flavor combinations that she writes with great detail about. Every Herb, Fresh/Dried Fruit, Tea flavor, etc. I could think of was included with her favorite recipes on each. Most helpful is that she specifies the exact amount of the ingredient is need to flavor the Kombucha, saving many hours of trial and error experimentation. From Lavender Blueberry to Chamomile Mango my mind bursts with new recipes to try and experiment with every time I open the book.
Give this book a shot if you want practically everything you could ever want to know about Kombucha in a well photographed and lovingly written book.
March 14, 2025
A comprehensive guide to the world of kombucha! This book earns a solid 4 stars from me. It dives into a lot of detail, and while I'm not entirely convinced that every health benefit mentioned is backed by rigorous scientific research (some aspects feel a bit esoteric), the book undeniably achieves its primary goal: teaching you how to make kombucha.
Having brewed kombucha for over a year using just a single page of instructions I found online, I can confidently say this book will significantly enhance my brewing experience. That being said, I probably won't utilize everything right away. Many of the flavoring techniques and recipes seem geared towards more experienced brewers, so I'll likely revisit those sections in the future as my skills develop.
This is definitely one of those books that you can pick up and glean valuable insights from time and time again. It's probably not a book you'd read cover-to-cover, but rather one to consult as needed. Key takeaways for me were the continuous brew method, the concept of a kombucha hotel, and the critical importance of a well-fermented, acidic starter liquid for preventing mold. If you're interested in brewing Kombucha I would definitelly recommend the book!
Having brewed kombucha for over a year using just a single page of instructions I found online, I can confidently say this book will significantly enhance my brewing experience. That being said, I probably won't utilize everything right away. Many of the flavoring techniques and recipes seem geared towards more experienced brewers, so I'll likely revisit those sections in the future as my skills develop.
This is definitely one of those books that you can pick up and glean valuable insights from time and time again. It's probably not a book you'd read cover-to-cover, but rather one to consult as needed. Key takeaways for me were the continuous brew method, the concept of a kombucha hotel, and the critical importance of a well-fermented, acidic starter liquid for preventing mold. If you're interested in brewing Kombucha I would definitelly recommend the book!
October 2, 2017
Best book on Kombucha I've read!
I played around with kombucha for a while in the 1970's, consistent with my "hippie" lifestyle. I was a healthy 20-something single mom, going to college full time and working full time. Somehow I also had an active social life too, so the kimbucha brewing went on the wayside. I've just recently gotten back on the bandwagon, and its like falling in love with your undergrad boyfriend all over again. We knew so little in the 70's about this amazing beverage, and I may have gotten a less than health Scooby, because I really don't remember it being so delicious. I've since read a bit about it, but this book is amazing! I've read it in just a few days and it will be a well used reference from now on. It's the reference for all things kombucha. Who knew you could make jewelry from scobys? I'm at the beginning of a great adventure! My body feels better than it has in years, despite a chronic pain condition, and now I can push on to many new experiments with my new favorite beverage. I'm already passing on my new formed habit to family and friends. Read and enjoy this book-and your own new brewing project!
I played around with kombucha for a while in the 1970's, consistent with my "hippie" lifestyle. I was a healthy 20-something single mom, going to college full time and working full time. Somehow I also had an active social life too, so the kimbucha brewing went on the wayside. I've just recently gotten back on the bandwagon, and its like falling in love with your undergrad boyfriend all over again. We knew so little in the 70's about this amazing beverage, and I may have gotten a less than health Scooby, because I really don't remember it being so delicious. I've since read a bit about it, but this book is amazing! I've read it in just a few days and it will be a well used reference from now on. It's the reference for all things kombucha. Who knew you could make jewelry from scobys? I'm at the beginning of a great adventure! My body feels better than it has in years, despite a chronic pain condition, and now I can push on to many new experiments with my new favorite beverage. I'm already passing on my new formed habit to family and friends. Read and enjoy this book-and your own new brewing project!
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