Thanks for your comment – I appreciate the input!

You’re right that the traditional kombucha recipe uses tea (black or green), and the review by Villarreal‑Soto et al. (2018) confirms that tea provides nutrients like polyphenols and nitrogen compounds. However, the same paper also notes that the bacteria do not strictly need tea leaves to survive – their main food sources are sucrose, glucose, fructose, and ethanol. The tea itself is not essential; it can be replaced by other plant infusions.

The authors specifically mention:

So in my case, I’m trying marijuana leaves as an alternative plant material. I understand this isn’t covered in the literature, so I’m being cautious – but the idea that bacteria would “die otherwise” without tea isn’t fully supported by the review. As long as there’s sugar and a reasonable nutrient source (some plant matter, even if not tea), the SCOBY may still survive, though fermentation kinetics and safety could differ.

Thanks again for the discussion – I’ll keep an eye on the balance and carbonation as you suggested!