Comments on: So You Wanna Make Kombucha? Here’s a Recipe!

By: ckmotorka

ckmotorka — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 22:37:33 +0000

I usually brew my kombucha with Irish breakfast (inexpensive), but my favorite is pu erh (pricey kombucha!). I have made some really nice batches with rooibos, too. A good combo is half rooibos & half jasmine green tea.

I have, as an experiment, grown a successful SCOBY from a GT Dave’s Kombucha. It took a while to nurse to a suitable size to brew a good batch, but it worked well and one of my jars is still working from that SCOBY. (I fed it a little sugar each week to encourage growth. It took about a month to get a good base.)

If you want to try to grow a SCOBY from “store bought” kombucha make sure you buy one that is raw and unfiltered (it will be refrigerated). Look for a bottle with a nice stringy mess floating in it so that you have a good starting point. Add it to some really sugary tea, cover it with a cloth and wait. It will happen.

By: Tricia

Tricia — Fri, 28 May 2010 00:44:34 +0000

I grew a SCOBY from GT Dave’s Kombuch and made a few batches of Kombucha with a high quality Earl Gray tea. It tasted like “regular” Kombucha with a Bergamont flavor. Now I am using the same SCOBY with Oolong tea. Hopefully my SCOBY is ok???

By: 3 Signs That Kombucha Fermentation Is Going Well :: SustainabiliTEA

3 Signs That Kombucha Fermentation Is Going Well :: SustainabiliTEA — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:41:20 +0000

[...] brief final word on brewing your own kombucha, for those of your who have embarked upon making your own but need some reassurance that it’s [...]

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:42:10 +0000

@Valerie – You should store your SCOBY covered in kombucha (at least ½ cup), either in the warm, dark place where you ferment your kombucha, or in the refrigerator — just be sure and check it frequently, to make sure it doesn’t dry out. Although a SCOBY can be frozen (again, making sure it is completely covered in kombucha), doing so runs the risk of killing the SCOBY. Best of luck!

By: Valerie

Valerie — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 00:25:02 +0000

After making kombucha, if you dont want to start right away to make another batch. Is it ok to store
the mushroom in the frig? If not, how do you store it until Im ready to make another batch?

Thanks Valerie

By: mt

mt — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 17:16:54 +0000

@Denise — yes, you can use store bought kombucha to produce a scoby. I used GT dave’s original, with about a 50% GT’s/50% new tea mix w/sugar. A new scoby should form just fine (although it might be a little thin the first time you do it).

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:35:26 +0000

Hi Denise! I don’t think using bottled kombucha from the store would allow you to create a new kombucha mushroom. I think there probably wouldn’t be enough of the “active ingredients” (i.e. bacteria and fungus) to coalesce a new mushroom. Please report back if you learn otherwise, however!

By: Denise

Denise — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 05:25:16 +0000

Is there any way I can make the Kombucha culture by just using some of the bottled fizzy kombucha tea from my local health food store? I like to drink this but am finding it expensive to buy and would rather not have to buy a “mushroom” if I don’t have to–that looks rather expensive to get started in as well. Please advise.
Thank you!