scoby

How to make Kombucha SCOBY from scratch using simple ingredients. Then brew kombucha at home 30 times cheaper.

Kombucha Scoby

water

tsp loose leaf black tea (preferably organic)

tbsp organic cane sugar

store-bought plain kombucha

In a small pot, bring 2 cups of water to boil. Turn off heat and add 1 tsp tea and 3 tbsp sugar, stir and let cool completely (place in a sink filled with cold water to speed things up).

In a quart glass jar, pour previously made tea discarding the leaves (use a mesh strainer) and 1 cup of store-bought kombucha along with any brownish strands from the bottle.

Cover with paper towel secured with a rubber band and set away from direct sunlight spot(counter or pantry) with temperature above 21C or 70F. It takes 2-4 weeks to grow a SCOBY. You can look but try not to disturb the jar as SCOBY is forming on top. See my post for video and pictures what SCOBY should look like and troubleshooting.

SCOBY is ready when it is at least 1/4" thick and white in colour - a jellyfish like mushroom you can take out of the jar and hold in your hands.

Now you can brew some kombucha.

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/PfFvR98F.mp4

How to make Kombucha SCOBY from scratch using simple ingredients. Anyone can do it by following our easy video. Then brew kombucha at home 30 times cheaper

How to Grow Kombucha Scoby

To make this effervescent fermented tea, you will need a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast that is known by its acronym, Scoby. Also some already-brewed kombucha that you will most likely receive from the same source as the Scoby — a friend or the Internet. You'll need very clean glass jars in which to brew your sweetened tea and ferment it with your Scoby, and very clean clamp-top bottles into which to funnel it when you’re done. You’ll need flavoring agents for that second fermentation. Start with apple juice, perhaps, and ginger. With later batches you can try turmeric, pomegranate, cayenne, orange, whatever you like. Welcome to the kombucha lifestyle.

Kombucha

sugar

black tea

unpasteurized, unflavored store-bought kombucha

Scoby

orange or apple juice

Bring the water to a boil in a pot, then remove from heat, and whisk in the sugar until dissolved.

Add the tea, and allow it to steep on the countertop until the sweetened tea is almost room temperature, at least an hour. Discard the tea bags.

Strain the sweetened tea into a very clean 1-gallon glass or ceramic jar (or 2 half-gallon jars), followed by the kombucha (divided equally if using 2 jars).

Using very, very clean hands, gently place the Scoby into the jar (if you’re using half-gallon jars, you can cut your Scoby in two with scissors or a knife that has been thoroughly cleaned and rinsed in hot water). Cover with a clean dish towel, and secure with a rubber band or a length of string.

Set the jar or jars somewhere dark and cool, and allow to ferment 8 to 14 days, tasting occasionally after 1 week. The longer the tea ferments, the more sugar will be eaten by the Scoby and the less sweet it will be. Aim for a light fermentation and a slightly vinegary taste.

Using very, very clean hands, transfer the Scoby to a jar, then pour 2 cups of the fermented kombucha on top. (You can save this mixture for the first fermentation process of another batch. You could also peel off the newer second layer from the Scoby, separating the “child” from the mother to double your production of kombucha, give it to a friend or discard it, as you like.) Strain the remaining fermented kombucha through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a large bowl for use in the second fermentation.

Strain kombucha again, and whisk in the juice. Pour it through a funnel into 4 very clean quart-size fermentation bottles with swing-top caps.

Add 1 piece of peeled ginger to each bottle, and seal tight.

Let sit somewhere dark and cool for 3 to 7 days, checking after 3 to taste how bubbly the kombucha has become, then place in the refrigerator until ready to drink, to stall fermentation.

How To Grow A Scoby

black tea bags (or green tea bags or 1 tablesppon of loose-leaf tea)

grandukated sugar

Kombucha (raw and unflavoured (store-bought))

Boil the 2 cups of water and steep the tea bags or loose tea for around 10 minutes. Stir in the sugar until it dissolves. Allow the tea to cool to room temperature.

In your glass jar, mix the cooled tea with the 1 cup of store-bought kombucha.

Place a cloth or coffee filter over the top of the jar and secure it with a rubber band or string.

Put the jar in a warm, dark area where it won't be disturbed for 1 to 4 weeks until you see a 1/2-inch thick SCOBY form on the surface of the liquid. Check every week to see how it's going.

Top 3 scoby recipes from across the web

The most viewed scoby recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Kombucha Scoby

Kombucha

How To Grow A Scoby

Top 3 scoby recipes from across the web

The most viewed scoby recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Kombucha Scoby

Kombucha

How To Grow A Scoby

The most viewed scoby recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine