Choosing the right kombucha brewing vessel
In the market for a good F1 brewing vessel? Here's what to look for — and the materials to skip.
Kombucha Basics: Brewing Vessels · Watch on YouTube
Quick refresher: brewing kombucha has two phases. First fermentation (F1) takes around 7–12 days, while the starter culture and SCOBY transform sweet tea into unflavored, largely un-carbonated kombucha — that's what these vessels are for. Second fermentation (F2) is when you flavor and bottle for carbonation; those containers get their own guide.
Tips for F1 brew vessels
- Glass is great. Ange uses 1-gallon clear glass jars.
- Other sizes work — just adjust your ingredient proportions accordingly. Some brewers report that much larger vessels take longer or shift the final flavor.
- Clear glass wins because you can monitor the brew without opening the cover or moving the jar around.
- Ceramic is also great — as long as it's food-grade and not glazed with paint that could leach into your brew.
- Food-grade stainless steel is OK (grade 304 or higher).
- Skip plastic and other metal containers — they can leach when exposed to kombucha for long periods.
Covering your brew vessel
While it ferments, cover the vessel with a clean, breathable cover that allows good airflow but keeps dust and insects out — secured with a rubber band so it can't shift. Options:
- Clean cotton cloth. Ange honestly uses an old t-shirt she never wears anymore, cut into vessel-sized pieces. Bandanas work well too.
- Fine-weave cheesecloth is OK — only if the weave is genuinely tight. Flies can burrow through open or loose cheesecloth, and shedding cloth treated with bleach or chemicals is bad news for a brew.
- Coffee filters work, as long as they cover the whole opening.
What about continuous brew (CB) vessels?
The recommendations above are for batch brewing. Ange doesn't personally continuous brew, and doesn't recommend it for folks just starting out or anyone who wants more control over their brew cycle — so no deep CB tips here, sorry! (For the trade-offs, read batch vs. continuous brew.)
If you are shopping for a CB vessel: food-grade glass, ceramic or stainless steel — and most importantly, make sure the spigot is food-grade too, since plastic or mystery-metal spigots can leach into your brew.