making scoby from bought kombucha

[Guest guest]

Thanks everyone for the quick answers on making a scoby with bought

kombucha. I think I can do this now. Never tried this before so let me see

if I have this right.

you say you take 2 cups distilled water, 2 organic tea bags(I only have

family size so do I need to just use 1)and 2 Tablespoons sugar and when it

is cooled down add the whole 16 oz bottle of raw kombucha. Cover and put in

a dark place for three weeks. Is that correct?

I orginally was given a scoby and I made Kombucha for years but within the

last few months I kept noticing it looked funny and had little mold spots on

top so I didn't take a chance on it and dumped it out. That's why I need to

start over with a brand new baby. Hopefully I will get one out of this.

Thanks all for your help,

Faye

> 5a. Re: making scoby from bought kombucha

> Posted by: " clayoquot2000 " clayoquot2000@... clayoquot2000

> Date: Tue Dec 29, 2009 6:07 pm ((PST))

>

> good evening faye.....i can tell you exactly how i did it.....it worked

> and my first gallon is brewing as we speak and looks just fine

>

> first off i used a glass pitcher that i washed with soap and hot water and

> rinsed well.....i then wiped the inside with a vinegar wash and let it

> dry.....the top of the pitcher was covered with a piece of muslim held

> tight with a rubber band.....it sat in a place in the kitchen that was

> about 71 to 73 degrees.....i took a plastic milk jug and cut it to make a

> " cover " that went around the pitcher and spray painted it black.....i did

> this to keep it dark but to have the top open to allow it fresh air.....it

> sat for exactly 3 weeks before it had a " mushroom " that was about 3/8 inch

> thick

>

> i used 2 cups of distilled water.....2 tea bags ( organic.....1 green tea

> and 1 black tea ).....2 tablespoons sugar ( organic turbinado ).....the

> water was boiled to steep the tea and dissolve the suger and i let it cool

> to 85 degrees.....i kept this covered too with a paper towel to keep it

> sanitary.....when it cooled down i added 1 bottle ( 16 oz ) of GT's

> organic raw kombucha

>

> that's how i did it and my first batch has been brewing for 2 weeks

> tomorrow and has a new " mushroom " that is about 1/4 inch thick.....this is

> my first attempt so maybe there will be others who will share their advice

> with you too.....best of luck to you.....peace, mary

[Guest guest]

hi faye.....yes, that is what i did.....by covering the pitcher with the painted

black milk jug i was able to keep it on my counter top and it was protected from

sunlight.....as jahjet said, by covering the top with muslim ( or whatever clean

cloth you have ) it was able to get air.....i was very pleased with the

results.....by the way, i did taste some of this " starter " after 3 weeks and it

tasted just like the GT's.....let's hope that my first batch is as good

.....let us know how this works for you ok ?.....peace, mary

[Guest guest]

good evening jahjet.....as far as why i used 1 tablespoon of sugar per cup goes,

i looked at different places on the internet ( food renegade, recipe places etc

) and there were different amounts of tea, sugar and water recommended so i just

took what seemed to be an average amount of sugar and the best advice from

different sources and ran with it

now you have a different way that works too and i'll bet that others have other

ways that work too.....isn't this exciting ?.....i did like being able to start

my own scoby for $3.70 using my own ingredients and it is good to know that i

can start a new one when i might need one

one other interesting thing that happened ( i find this to be such a neat

adventure ! ) is that when i used my scoby and 2 cups of starter for my gallon

batch i still had some tea left in the pitcher.....i didn't know what to do with

it so i just put it back where it had been for 3 weeks.....2 weeks have passed

and it has another beautiful mushroom about 1/4 " thick.....will this be a

viable new scoby like the first one ?.....peace, mary

[Guest guest]

Hi, Faye. The directions you have from are how to make

kombucha once you already have a SCOBY!

To make a SCOBY from a bottle of " raw, " unpasteurized kombucha

(such as GTs, preferably a non-flavored bottle), all you have

to do is this:

1) Pour the kombucha that you do not drink into a clear

glass container (jar, bottle, bowl, measuring cup, etc.).

The liquid should be two to three inches deep, at minimum.

2) Cover the container with a paper towel or coffee filter.

3) Secure the covering to the container with a rubber band.

4) Set the container aside in a low-traffic area where it

won't get jostled for approx three weeks. (Preferably away

from direct sunlight.)

This should produce a SCOBY. Doesn't matter if the SCOBY

is big, little, thin, thick or mottled; it will work just

fine to make kombucha. Which leads me to this:

> ...last few months I kept noticing it looked funny and

> had little mold spots on top...

Chances are it was not really mold. (Tho' if it was, you

were right to throw it away.) If you purchased your SCOBY,

the person probably made a " perfect " looking SCOBY the same

way as I described. It is totally normal for SCOBYs to

take on all kinds of weird appearances! (The only time you

need to worry about spots is if they are *FUZZY*.)

Best of luck, and let us know how your experiment succeeds!

:-)

Vicki in Orlando

>

> Thanks everyone for the quick answers on making a scoby with bought

> kombucha. I think I can do this now. Never tried this before so let me see

> if I have this right.

> you say you take 2 cups distilled water, 2 organic tea bags(I only have

> family size so do I need to just use 1)and 2 Tablespoons sugar and when it

> is cooled down add the whole 16 oz bottle of raw kombucha. Cover and put in

> a dark place for three weeks. Is that correct?

>

> I orginally was given a scoby and I made Kombucha for years but within the

> last few months I kept noticing it looked funny and had little mold spots on

> top so I didn't take a chance on it and dumped it out. That's why I need to

> start over with a brand new baby. Hopefully I will get one out of this.

>

> Thanks all for your help,

> Faye

[Guest guest]

Hi, Faye. The directions you have from are how to make

kombucha once you already have a SCOBY!

To make a SCOBY from a bottle of " raw, " unpasteurized kombucha

(such as GTs, preferably a non-flavored bottle), all you have

to do is this:

1) Pour the kombucha that you do not drink into a clear

glass container (jar, bottle, bowl, measuring cup, etc.).

The liquid should be two to three inches deep, at minimum.

2) Cover the container with a paper towel or coffee filter.

3) Secure the covering to the container with a rubber band.

4) Set the container aside in a low-traffic area where it

won't get jostled for approx three weeks. (Preferably away

from direct sunlight.)

This should produce a SCOBY. Doesn't matter if the SCOBY

is big, little, thin, thick or mottled; it will work just

fine to make kombucha. Which leads me to this:

> ...last few months I kept noticing it looked funny and

> had little mold spots on top...

Chances are it was not really mold. (Tho' if it was, you

were right to throw it away.) If you purchased your SCOBY,

the person probably made a " perfect " looking SCOBY the same

way as I described. It is totally normal for SCOBYs to

take on all kinds of weird appearances! (The only time you

need to worry about spots is if they are *FUZZY*.)

Best of luck, and let us know how your experiment succeeds!

:-)

Vicki in Orlando

>

> Thanks everyone for the quick answers on making a scoby with bought

> kombucha. I think I can do this now. Never tried this before so let me see

> if I have this right.

> you say you take 2 cups distilled water, 2 organic tea bags(I only have

> family size so do I need to just use 1)and 2 Tablespoons sugar and when it

> is cooled down add the whole 16 oz bottle of raw kombucha. Cover and put in

> a dark place for three weeks. Is that correct?

>

> I orginally was given a scoby and I made Kombucha for years but within the

> last few months I kept noticing it looked funny and had little mold spots on

> top so I didn't take a chance on it and dumped it out. That's why I need to

> start over with a brand new baby. Hopefully I will get one out of this.

>

> Thanks all for your help,

> Faye

[Guest guest]

good evening and happy new year to everyone.....vicki sorry but when you say "

the directions you have from mary are how to make kombucha once you already have

a scoby " is not accurate.....just as it is stated in posting # 49992 of

12-29-09 at 9:07 pm i used water, tea, sugar and a bottle of store bought

organic raw kombucha.....i think that you must have misunderstood.....peace,

mary

> >

> > Thanks everyone for the quick answers on making a scoby with bought

> > kombucha. I think I can do this now. Never tried this before so let me see

> > if I have this right.

> > you say you take 2 cups distilled water, 2 organic tea bags(I only have

> > family size so do I need to just use 1)and 2 Tablespoons sugar and when it

> > is cooled down add the whole 16 oz bottle of raw kombucha. Cover and put in

> > a dark place for three weeks. Is that correct?

> >

> > I orginally was given a scoby and I made Kombucha for years but within the

> > last few months I kept noticing it looked funny and had little mold spots on

> > top so I didn't take a chance on it and dumped it out. That's why I need to

> > start over with a brand new baby. Hopefully I will get one out of this.

> >

> > Thanks all for your help,

> > Faye

>

[Guest guest]

Cool, if that's the way you did it, and you were successful,

awesome. But essentially you just used the raw kombucha as

the starter for a batch of kombucha. When you put in tea

and sugar, you fed the starter, and it grew a SCOBY -- whilst

making a batch of kombucha! Since you left the kombucha tea

(kt) to ferment a long time, it essentially became more

starter liquid.

Again, all one needs to do to grow a SCOBY is put raw kombucha

in a glass vessel and wait. It can be unpasteurized kt from

a store, or it can be kombucha you make yourself, as did.

Vicki in Orlando

> > >

> > > Thanks everyone for the quick answers on making a scoby with bought

> > > kombucha. I think I can do this now. Never tried this before so let me see

> > > if I have this right.

> > > you say you take 2 cups distilled water, 2 organic tea bags(I only

have

> > > family size so do I need to just use 1)and 2 Tablespoons sugar and when it

> > > is cooled down add the whole 16 oz bottle of raw kombucha. Cover and put

in

> > > a dark place for three weeks. Is that correct?

> > >

> > > I orginally was given a scoby and I made Kombucha for years but within the

> > > last few months I kept noticing it looked funny and had little mold spots

on

> > > top so I didn't take a chance on it and dumped it out. That's why I need

to

> > > start over with a brand new baby. Hopefully I will get one out of this.

> > >

> > > Thanks all for your help,

> > > Faye

> >

>