Kombucha: The SCOBY

Thanks to eating primally for nearly two years (inspired by former Mainer Mark Sisson and his site Mark's Daily Apple) an interest in kombucha seemed a natural progression. However, as buying it pre-brewed was rather costly, thoughts soon turned to brewing it from scratch. Unlike cheese, the equipment is far less specialized, and after the first bottle of brewed kombucha to use as a starter, the ingredients to create future batches are quite inexpensive. And, as SCOBYs (Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast) can be rather prolific, it's not necessary to buy more after the first SCOBY is created. Plus there's lovely things one can do with SCOBYs if one finds oneself in possession of more SCOBYs than one has brewing bottles (something for a future post)...

As one needs a SCOBY to have one's own home-brewed kombucha, here's the recipe to begin:


EQUIPMENT

Large pot
Spoon
Glass jar
Measuring spoons
Measuring cup
Coffee filter or T-shirt scrap
Rubber band
Strainer (if using loose tea)


INGREDIENTS 

Bottle of organic, unpasteurized kombucha (plain is best, like this one)
Two tablespoons raw, organic sugar
One tablespoon loose organic tea (I use either Davidson's Organic Imperial Green or Earl Grey) or two tea
        bags of organic green or Earl Grey tea
Two cups unfluoridated water

DIRECTIONS

Add the water to a pot and bring to boil.

Put the tea and sugar into the jar or bowl, and pour in the boiled water, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.

When the contents have cooled, remove the tea bags, or pour the liquid through a strainer if using loose tea. Add the bottle of kombucha to the jar or bowl and stir again.

Cover the glass bottle or bowl with a coffee filter or T-shirt scrap, fastening it in place with the rubber band.

Place the jar or bowl in a dark corner of a room, and let stand for two weeks.

The result will be the necessary building block of all future batches of kombucha: the SCOBY. 

The SCOBY

A note on SCOBYs:

SCOBYs can be dehydrated in the oven at a low temperature or in the dehydrator, which makes them highly portable--handy should one expect to be from home for weeks and unable to bring one's brewing vessels. They can even be made into fruit leather that's not only delicious but good for you as well, since the probiotic properties of the SCOBY are maintained.