The YBK Library
Every guide, video and tool on one page — the whole table of contents, 93 topics strong. Search it, filter it, or just wander. Choose your own adventure.
Start Here: the roadmap
The three key steps, a two-week timeline, and the mistakes to skip.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoWhat Is Kombucha?
Fermented sweet tea with centuries of history — plus Ange's honest take on the health claims.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoGuide to First Fermentation
The master recipe — sweet tea to kombucha, with every why explained.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoWhat to Expect During F1
Day-by-day: specks, films, strings, and why it's all fine.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoWhen Is It Ready to Bottle?
The taste test, the signals, and why pH strips can't decide for you.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoGuide to Second Fermentation
Flavoring, bottling and building fizz — the fun part.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoTop 10 Mistakes Home Brewers Make
Skip a year of trial and error — the ten errors behind almost every struggling brew.
Read + watch → VideoUltimate Guide to Homemade Kombucha
F1 + F2 in one 38-minute masterclass — Ange's current process.
Watch → VideoQuick Start Guide (original)
The classic first-fermentation walkthrough that started it all.
Watch → Guide + VideoThe YBK Home Brewing Philosophy
Why this site exists and how to think about conflicting advice — with the philosophy video.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoIngredients 101: Tea, Sugar, Water
What feeds a culture well — and what quietly sabotages it. Three videos inside.
Read + watch → GuideThe Build-Your-Own Starter Kit
Skip the $40 kit: every jar, tea, bottle and gadget Ange actually uses, with honest notes.
Open → Guide + VideoChoosing the Right Brewing Vessel
Glass, size, wide mouths, covers — and what to avoid.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoChoosing the Right Bottles + Caps
The purchase that decides whether your kombucha fizzes — flip-tops to F217 caps.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoRemoving Labels from Bottles
Recycle store bottles into brewing bottles — no Goo Gone required.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoCleaning Your Materials
Between-batch hygiene without culture-killing residue (or vinegar cures).
Read + watch → Guide + VideoTemperature Control
The 65–85°F window, winter fixes, summer fixes, and the strips Ange swears by.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoChoosing a Brewing Location
Airflow yes, direct sun no, cupboards rarely — and what to keep your jars away from.
Read + watch → VideoQuality Tea for Kombucha
How far better leaves take your brew.
Watch → Guide + VideoHoney in Kombucha?
Why it belongs in jun instead — and what sugars actually feed a culture.
Read + watch → VideoPlastic, Steel or Wood?
Sifting through the metal-contact controversy.
Watch → VideoUpgrades for High-Volume Brewing
When one gallon stops being enough.
Watch → VideoHeat Mats for Faster Fermentation
The cold-kitchen fix.
Watch → VideoWhere Ange Gets Specialty Bottles
Sourcing the good ones in bulk.
Watch → Guide + VideoHow to Avoid Bottle Explosions
Pressure-rated bottles and calm nerves — the written checklist and the video.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoWhat Is a SCOBY?
Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria & Yeast — why the liquid matters most, and what to do with extras.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoSCOBY Care & SCOBY Hotels
Keep your culture healthy, build a backup supply, brew super-charged starter tea.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoHow to Get a Quality SCOBY
What reputable sellers do differently — and the red flags to run from.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoGrow Your Own SCOBY
From a bottle of raw kombucha to a working culture in 4–8 weeks.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoHow to Share or Transport a SCOBY
Baggie vs. jar, temperature rules, and what to do when one's shared with you.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoShould You Refrigerate SCOBYs?
No — and here's the mold-shaped reason (plus tips if you insist).
Read + watch → Guide + VideoDehydrated SCOBYs: a Good Idea?
Spoiler: no. Here's why fresh wins every time.
Read + watch → VideoDo SCOBYs/Pellicles Expire?
Age, color and when to retire one.
Watch → Guide + VideoSCOBY Hotel Food Recipe
Keeping the residents fed — the recipe, written and on video.
Read + watch → VideoFeed a Hotel with Spent Tea
A thrifty pro tip.
Watch → VideoJust Received a SCOBY?
What to do before you're ready to brew.
Watch → VideoDoes SCOBY Size Matter?
Starter strength beats pellicle diameter.
Watch → Guide + VideoWhy Didn't My Brew Grow a SCOBY?
Cold rooms, jostled jars, and why it's usually fine.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoFlavorings Touched My SCOBY
Why it matters, and damage control for a common slip.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoIs a SCOBY Even Necessary?
The pellicle-optional experiment — strong starter tea does the heavy lifting.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoHow to Flavor Kombucha
Purees, juices, syrups, herbs, jams, even more tea — technique and amounts.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoFlavor Ideas Library
30 combos from Ange's kitchen, filterable by mood — plus her grocery list.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoPrepping Fruit Flavorings
The detailed fresh-fruit walkthrough.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoPrepping Herbs, Spices & Flowers
Bruise, tuck, poke below the liquid line.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoMaking Fruit Syrups
Concentrated flavor that keeps.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoPassionfruit: the House Favorite
The fruit that pairs with everything.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoShould I Strain My Kombucha?
Baby SCOBYs in bottles: gulp, strain, or minimize — all fine.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoThird Fermentation
Flavor first, strain, then bottle — for pulp-free pours.
Read + watch → VideoFlavor Fails: the Worst Flavors
So you don't have to brew them.
Watch → Guide + VideoFix Too-Sweet or Too-Sour
Rebalancing a batch that drifted.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoCan You Fix Bland Kombucha?
More fruit, better prep, a hit of lemon.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoHow to Mellow Out Kombucha
Softening a brew that's too intense.
Read + watch → VideoKombucha Cocktails
Your new favorite mixer.
Watch → VideoKombucha Mocktails
Zero proof, full ceremony.
Watch → VideoGifting Homemade Kombucha
Share the habit, keep the SCOBY.
Watch → Guide + VideoThe Carbonation Guide
Every fizz lever, in the order to pull them.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoIs Burping Necessary?
The anti-burp case — written in full, tested on video.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoRe-Carbonate Flat Kombucha
Flat isn't forever: wake the yeast back up.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoMinimizing Fizzy Messes
Open cold, open slowly, and the plastic-bag trick.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoDoes Kombucha Expire?
Months in the fridge — and aging as a feature, not a bug.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoDry, Aged Kombucha
Sour-beer energy for patient brewers.
Read + watch → VideoKombucha on Tap (Kegerator Mod)
Force-carbonated booch at home.
Watch → GuideTroubleshooting Hub
Every panic question with its fastest fix.
Open → Guide + VideoIs This Mold?
The two-question test, a side-by-side table, and the recovery plan.
Read + watch → GuideQuick-Answer FAQ
The recurring questions, answered in a breath.
Open → VideoMold-Resilient Batches
Extra prevention, extra peace of mind.
Watch → Guide + VideoWhat's That Stringy Thing?
Meet your yeast. It's friendly.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoWhy Other Vinegars Don't Belong
Kombucha is its own vinegar culture — the full nuanced story.
Read + watch → VideoUsed Vinegar by Mistake?
How to recover your culture.
Watch → Guide + VideoSmelly Vessels & Fizzy Messes
Cleanup and prevention tips.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoGetting Rid of Fruit Flies
Tight-weave cloth is the whole battle — plus the trap.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoKombucha & pH
What pH can and can't tell you (hint: not doneness).
Read + watch → VideoCan You Over-Ferment?
What 'too long' actually means.
Watch → VideoCan Moving House Affect Your Brew?
New home, new microclimate.
Watch → Guide + VideoBatch Brew vs. Continuous Brew
Two valid systems, honestly compared.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoBrewing in Different Seasons
Summer speed vs. winter patience — and how to adapt.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoHow Much Kombucha Should I Drink?
Start small, listen to your body — plus notes for special cases.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoIs Kombucha Good for You?
The hype-free take: it's fermented tea, and every body is different.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoIs Kombucha Alcoholic?
Trace alcohol, honestly explained.
Read + watch → VideoHomemade vs. Store-Bought
Real talk on what the shelf can't give you.
Watch → VideoDifferent Teas, Same SCOBY
Rotating teas over one culture.
Watch → Guide + VideoTaking a Break from Brewing
Pause without losing your culture.
Read + watch → VideoRestarting After a Long Break
Waking the hotel back up.
Watch → VideoKombucha in a Beer Fermenter
Scaling up with homebrew gear.
Watch → VideoA YBK Kombucha Company?
Commercial vs. home brewing, and why Ange stayed home.
Watch → Guide + VideoDIY Kombucha Beauty Products
SCOBY face masks, scrubs and toner.
Read + watch → Guide + VideoHomemade CBD Kombucha
An infused experiment — water-soluble CBD, dosed your way.
Read + watch → VideoHomemade Tepache
The Mexican fermented pineapple drink.
Watch → VideoJun vs. Kombucha
The green-tea-and-honey cousin.
Watch → VideoHomemade Jun
Brewing the 'champagne of kombucha.'
Watch → VideoCoffee Kombucha (Koffucha)
An experiment for the brave.
Watch → GuideAnge's Tea Corner
Loose leaf, Gong Fu Cha, and the tea obsession behind YBK.
Open → ToolPrintable Brew Log
Track every batch like a friendly science experiment — one branded page per phase.
Open →Guide + Video topics give you both: a written walkthrough on this site with the video embedded right there — read it, watch it, or both. Guide pages are written walkthroughs; Video cards jump straight to the YBK YouTube channel for topics best shown on camera. Either way, you're getting the same process from the same brewer.