How to Make a Kombucha Scoby

I started drinking kombucha in the form of Yogi Tea’s Green Tea Kombucha a couple of years ago and enjoyed the refreshing and smooth taste of it.  It was only after I started with the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) that I decided to jump into the kombucha bandwagon and start brewing my own.  For those unfamiliar with kombucha, it is made with tea that has been sweetened and allowed to ferment with the help of a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (scoby).  It tastes tangy and I find that it helps with my digestion.  The scoby usually looks like a disc of whitish gelatin and is essential in brewing kombucha.  It is also known as a kombucha starter culture.

So I found some articles online on how to make your own scoby from store-bought raw kombucha and decided to give it a try although American brands like GT’s Kombucha had apparently reformulated their kombucha such that it was impossible to get a scoby out of them anymore.  I was not prepared to order a scoby online and figured I had nothing to lose except for a couple of bags of green tea, sugar, and a bottle of kombucha and gave it a go with GT ‘s Classic Organic Raw Kombucha (original flavour).  I bought two bottles, enjoyed one (it’s really good with a nice clean taste!), and used the other bottle to experiment.  Sure enough, after 2 weeks of patient waiting, there was no sign of a scoby developing at all.  Slightly disappointed, I tossed that batch and did more research and found that a readily available Canadian brand of kombucha called Rise Kombucha could be used to make a scoby.  I had not considered this brand previously as all their kombuchas come flavoured and I had thought that a scoby could be grown with unflavoured kombucha only.  But their site instructions convinced me otherwise and so I decided to give it another go.  I’m not sure how easily available Rise Kombucha is around Canada or the States but it can be found in many health food stores here in Quebec City.

I got the ginger flavoured one as advised by the health food store salesperson as she noted that the ginger flavoured kombuchas usually have more active signs of baby scobys forming, though any flavour can be used.  As usual, I bought 2 bottles – one to enjoy and one to brew 😉 I love the ginger taste and was almost tempted to finish both bottles!

About 2 years before starting AIP, I had a phase of intensive cake/cookie baking and experimenting with gluten-free flours and had amassed a sizeable quantity of 1 litre mason jars for the various flours needed.  These jars have found a new purpose and come in handy for water kefir and kombucha brewing.  I followed the instructions on Rise Kombucha’s site and poured a bottle of ginger flavoured kombucha into a 1 litre mason jar, fastened a folded piece of cheesecloth over the jar opening and left it in the cabinet over the refrigerator for a fortnight.

Two weeks later I was greeted with the sight of the baby scoby forming – it was really exciting to see that it had grown!  I had a taste of the starter liquid and it had the unmistakable taste of tangy kombucha (kind of like cider vinegar).  Thus the kombucha brewing adventures have begun… next post will be on how I started brewing my kombucha!

(Disclaimer: I don’t work for any of the companies mentioned above, I’m simply detailing my personal experiences)

How to make a kombucha scoby (adapted from Rise Kombucha’s site)

Items needed:

•  1 355mL bottle of Rise Kombucha (I used ginger flavour and used it straight from the refrigerator)
• 1 1L mason jar  (I used the Canadian brand Bernardin)
• 1 small piece of cheesecloth (large enough to cover the opening of the jar)
• Elastic band or screw band

Method:

• Empty contents of the kombucha bottle into the mason jar (please do not shake the kombucha bottle or it will fizz everywhere like soda!)
• Cover with cheesecloth and fasten with an elastic band or screw band
• Leave in a dark corner for 2 weeks – do not disturb!  After 2 weeks, a baby scoby should have developed
• Proceed to brew kombucha with the baby scoby/ kombucha starter culture