Do you want to learn how to make a SCOBY? Allow me to show you the simple steps you need. If you have dreamed of making your own kombucha but don’t know where to begin, this awesomely fun project is the place to kick off from.
I confess I was really baffled when I first set out to make my own Kombucha Brew at home to save money. There seemed to be so many lengthy and confusing instructions.
That's why I have created this post to show you just how simple it is to grow a SCOBY and begin your own kombucha brewing journey.
Jump to:- Why grow your own?
- Ingredients
- Equipment
- Steps
- What does a SCOBY look like?
- Weeks 1-3
- Help - my SCOBY sank
- How to use
- Scoby Hotel
- Expert tips
- FAQ
- Related recipes
- ? Recipe
Why grow your own?
- Save money
- No hidden ingredients
- Rewarding project
- Teach your friends and relatives and share SCOBYs.
SCOBY, what a funny name. You will want to memorize it because “symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast” is too long, don’t you think? You’re probably more interested in learning how to make a SCOBY and why you need it to make homemade kombucha.
Well, just like yogurt and sourdough bread need a mother culture to grow the beneficial bacteria that create wonderful flavors and healthful nutrients, kombucha needs a mother culture.
A SCOBY is the starter that makes it possible to brew plain kombucha. You can enjoy this first fermentation as is. Or, you can use it to do a second fermentation and make fizzy, refreshing Fruit-Flavored Probiotic Drinks.
Ingredients
I use Gt's Classic Original Raw Kombucha as the starter liquid for this recipe. However, you can use other brands or homemade plain raw kombucha as long as you verify a couple of things.
When you choose your starter kombucha, make sure that it has live probiotics and doesn't have any fruit, flavorings, color, or additives. These requirements are a must.
Equipment
- Small pan
- Fine-mesh strainer
- Quart jar
- Tight weave breathable cloth
- Rubber band
Steps
Setting up a jar to start a SCOBY takes less than 30 minutes. After that, it grows at varied rates in different environments.
SCOBYs for kombucha thrive in temperatures between 75 and 85 degrees. With that warmth, it takes about 2 weeks to grow a ¼ inch thick kombucha SCOBY.
What does a SCOBY look like?
Trust me, when you learn how to make a SCOBY you will be able to impress all your friends and relatives with its slippery texture and intriguing appearance. Don't worry, it’s a lot more pleasant to touch than it looks!
Whether you call this rubbery disc beautiful or beastly, a SCOBY is your ticket to the best tasting and most affordable kombucha you have ever had. Plus, it can be used to make many future batches of gut-healthy brews.
In a sense, it lives indefinitely because new top layers continue to grow. It's fun to know the older layers can be peeled off the bottom and given to friends to start their own homemade kombucha.
Help - my SCOBY sank
A brand new baby will form at the top of the jar and grow to fit the new container. This seals off the top of the liquid and helps keep beneficial microbes in and bad bacteria out.
How to use
Once your SCOBY is ready you can use it to brew kombucha at home. My post on Brewing Kombucha For Pennies gives you everything you need to know to brew a gallon of cost-saving kombucha rich in antioxidants and live probiotics.
For now, here's a list with a short summary of the steps:
- Brew a fresh batch of sweetened tea.
- Cool and pour tea into a large jar.
- Add a SCOBY and its growing liquid to the jar.
- Cover the jar with a cloth and a rubber band.
- Place in a dark cupboard for 1-2 weeks until ready.
Scoby Hotel
If you don't use your SCOBY right away to make kombucha or end up with extras, you might wonder how to store them.
SCOBYs will continue to grow as long as they have enough tea and sugar to feed on. Thus, basically all you need to do is replenish the liquid they are growing in.
You can start a SCOBY hotel to maintain them until you are ready to brew kombucha or share the extras with friends.
Start by combining equal parts sweetened tea from the recipe below and plain kombucha. You can also mix sweetened tea with the liquid your SCOBY grew in. Make enough to fully submerge your SCOBYs in a jar.
Then, all you need to do is cover the jar and place it in a cupboard away from direct light just like you did when growing a new kombucha mother.
Expert tips
Equipment
- Use clean equipment with no traces of cleaners, mold, or bacteria.
- Use a tight-weave cotton cloth that breathes but keeps small insects out.
Ingredients
- Use bottled spring water or filtered water without chlorine or additives.
- Use unflavored black tea that is not decaffeinated.
- Use plain, unflavored kombucha starter liquid.
- Make sure your kombucha is raw with live bacteria and not pasteurized.
Preparation
- Cool tea and sugar mixture to lukewarm or less before combining with kombucha.
- Temperatures below 60 degrees and above 90 degrees will slow or destroy SCOBYs.
- Store jar in a dark cupboard away from light.
- Check as often as you like, but avoid jostling or moving the jar while SCOBY grows.
- Scoby is ready when it's ¼ an inch thick, but it's fine to let it grow thicker if you like.
Storage
- Don't refrigerate or freeze SCOBYs.
- Instead, store them in a SCOBY hotel, as described in this post and recipe card below.
FAQ
Ready to grow a SCOBY with the recipe below? From there, you can use it to Brew Kombucha For Pennies. Effervescent, refreshing, and addictive are words that describe this second-ferment flavored and carbonated kombucha you will definitely want to make.
Related recipes
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