My first SCOBY... Now what?

SyntonicGarden

Hi! I started my first batch using a bottle of kombucha from the store. I have what looks like a thin, healthy, 2.5 week old scoby in a jar of sweet tea and cider vinegar and well, I'm not sure what to do now. I just brewed a cup of plain tea and am letting it chill to room temp, but can't find consistent steps on how to proceed. Would someone please let me know what to do next?

What do I do with the stuff that I made? The liquid, the scoby...

How do I make the next batch?

Thanks!!

momof8munchkins

Go to www.kombuchaamerica.com it has the steps to brew..
We bought a scoby so we started with a good sized one.. We brew kombucha about 3 times a week.. here is what we do. we brew our tea by the gallon.. 12 regular size black tea bags and 1 1/2 cups of sugar.. you don't need that much but really do need more than a cup - a quart size minimum. You can divide my measurements by a 1/4.. let it cool to room temp.. add the scoby, juice and all to your batch of sweetened cooled tea in a glass jar..then cover with a coffee filter secured with a rubber band and place in a cabinet or counter where it can be left undisturbed for 7-12 days depending on your climate and the weather- warmer weather it ferments faster, cooler it will take longer..it's ready when it smells like kombucha and is a little carbonated. when fresh it tastes really good when it ferments a little too long it becomes like vinegar- it's not ruined and can still be comsumed , but it doesn't taste as good.. when your batch is done you should have a mother and a new baby scoby seperate them and store in a glass jar with a lid and a cup of the freshly brewed kombucha in the fridge..they will keep for months. hth

SyntonicGarden

Thanks! That's a huge help! Yeah, the first batch tastes like vinegar, so I added fresh tea and sugar and am trying again. Does the SCOBY stay in the same jar and can just keep taking and adding tea?

momof8munchkins

NO! you need to store the scobys in clean jars and always use clean glass jars to brew a new batch

SyntonicGarden

I'm glad you told me that! I poured some off of the first batch, added more tea and voila! This morning, I fished out a very thin scoby from my jar, cleaned the jar with water, and put the scoby back in with some kombucha. It was so thin, that it folded and fell to the bottom.I have tea cooling on the counter and will add it later. I'm guessing that's ok that the first one sank, as there were actually two SCOBY in the jar! (My guess is one was the original and the second formed after I poured off tea and started the batch that created the second SCOBY that I found this morning)

I saved the darker in a jar with some liquid, and put it aside. I poured off most of the kombuhca, drank some, put some in a bottle in hopes of it getting bubbles. We'll see.

So now I'm curious:

- How do I flavor the kombucha after I take it form the jar? Just mix it with juice?
- How do I make the SCOBY thicker / healthier?
- What's the minimum number of days in which I get kombucha, but it's not vinegary

Thank you so much for helping me with my new hobby!

momof8munchkins

I'm glad you told me that! I poured some off of the first batch, added more tea and voila! This morning, I fished out a very thin scoby from my jar, cleaned the jar with water, and put the scoby back in with some kombucha. It was so thin, that it folded and fell to the bottom.I have tea cooling on the counter and will add it later. I'm guessing that's ok that the first one sank, as there were actually two SCOBY in the jar! (My guess is one was the original and the second formed after I poured off tea and started the batch that created the second SCOBY that I found this morning)

I saved the darker in a jar with some liquid, and put it aside. I poured off most of the kombuhca, drank some, put some in a bottle in hopes of it getting bubbles. We'll see.

So now I'm curious:

- How do I flavor the kombucha after I take it form the jar? Just mix it with juice?
- How do I make the SCOBY thicker / healthier?
- What's the minimum number of days in which I get kombucha, but it's not vinegary

Thank you so much for helping me with my new hobby!

that all sound exactly like how things should be,, as far making the scoby thicker.. not need to worry about that.. as you and brew more and more they will start getting thicker naturally on their own. for flavoring we do a second fermenting ..we will take the kombucha down, after about 7 days, remove the scobys, add fruit juice concentrate .. grape cranberry and peach are really good, and we put it back up to ferment for another 2-3 days.... you can also use fruit, ginger, spices etc

SyntonicGarden

I love ginger! I'll have to give this a try!

Thanks!