I Have a Sulfur Smell in My Kombucha?

A sulfur smell in kombucha isn’t harmful, but the taste can be very unpleasant. Here are a few reasons this can happen.

• The water source you’re using has hydrogen sulfide in the water giving it a strong taste of sulfur.
• The tea you’re using has nitrogen present in the tea leaves, which can cause a sulfur taste in your brew.
• Wild airborne yeasts have become a part of your brew and although this isn’t bad it can become a taste you don’t like.

What to do: Try changing to a new water source and tea source and see if it changes. You can also let it brew longer -allowing it to go to a more vinegar stage and see if it subsides. If the above don’t help then the smell and taste has gotten into your scoby and you’ll need to get a new one and dump your brew.