"When making Kombucha, you'll need a SCOBY. It's the special mother culture at the heart of the fermentation process. While you can buy a SCOBY online, if you've got 7 to 10 days, you can make your own at home."
Making your own SCOBY is fun and rewarding, and with proper care, you'll be on your way to brewing delicious homemade Kombucha in no time. Follow our Easy Kombuca Recipe here.
How to Make a SCOBY
Ingredients:
- 1 small bottle of store-bought Kombucha
Equipment:
- 1 litre glass jar with cloth cover
Method:
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Thoroughly clean the glass jar with hot soapy water. Rinse it well under hot water and allow it to air dry.
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Gently flip the store-bought bottle of Kombucha from side to side to disperse the sediment.
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Pour half of the store-bought Kombucha into the clean glass jar. Store the remaining Kombucha in the fridge. This reserved portion will serve as the starter liquid when making your own Kombucha.
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Cover the glass jar with a cloth and secure it with an elastic band or string to keep out contaminants.
- Keep the jar at room temperature, away from direct sunlight to stop it from going mouldy. The fermentation process will take approximately 7 to 10 days. Once the SCOBY forms, you'll be ready to use it to brew your own Kombucha.
Delicious home brewed peach Kombucha
Good to know
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Beware. Not all bottled Kombuchas are the same. You need to buy a good quality bottle of Kombucha to start your SCOBY. You can generally tell if the quality of the Kombucha is good if you can see sediment at the bottom of the bottle. Also, check its information. If the ingredients include a high amount of sugar, a sweetener, lots of other ingredients, has been pasteurised - even just a little, and displays a use by date longer than 3 months, find another Kombucha!
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Use your SCOBY within 90 days. If you don't plan on using it within this time, you can add it to your compost heap.
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If your SCOBY develops mould, discard it immediately to avoid contaminating your future batches of Kombucha.
To make your own Kombucha with this simple recipe.
