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How to Make Kombucha: Grow Your Own Starter SCOBY at Home!

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Kombucha is an ancient fermented health tonic which is full of probiotics and other healthy amino acids. Probiotics are essential to gut health (and therefore, overall health).  This will lead to healthy immune system, enhance mood, fight allergies, detoxify the body and rid the body of disease.

Balanced gut flora will do a world for the immune system, neurotransmitters and allow your body to eliminate viruses, parasites and candida!  This alone can do a lot to heal MCS.  When your gut flora is unbalanced, due to toxins, antibiotic use, etc., it allows these unhealthy entities to proliferate.

This is a cheap, reliable and delicious way to get your probiotics.

Kombucha Health Benefits

*Probiotics – healthy bacteria
*Alkalize the body – balances internal pH
*Detoxify the liver – happy liver = happy mood
*Increase metabolism – rev your internal engine
*Improve digestion – keep your system moving
*Rebuild connective tissue – helps with arthritis, gout, asthma, rheumatism
*Cancer prevention
*Alleviate constipation
*Boost energy – helps with chronic fatigue

*Lots of B Vitamins
*Reduce blood pressure
*Relieve headaches & migraines
*Reduce kidney stones
*High in antioxidants – destroy cancer causing free-radicals
*High in polyphenols
*Improve eyesight
*Heal eczema – can be applied topically to soften the skin
*Prevent arteriosclerosis
*Speed healing of ulcers – kills h.pylori on contact
*Help clear up candida & yeast infections
*Aid healthy cell regeneration
*Reduce gray hair
*Lower glucose levels –

Below is the Info from Synergy’s bottle label!

ADDITIONAL NUTRIENTS (per bottle):
Folic Acid 25%
Vitamin B1 20%
Vitamin B2 20%
Vitamin B3 20%
Vitamin B6 20%
Vitamin B12 20% — {it is almost unheard of to get B12 outside of the animal food kingdom}

PROBIOTIC CONTENT:
Lactobacillus Bacterium: 1 billion organisms
S. Boulardii: 1 billion organisms

ANTIOXIDANTS & ORGANIC ACIDS
EGCG 1100 mg– Glucuronic Acid 10 mg
L(+) Lactic Acid 225 mg– Acetic Acid 30 mg

Many people with MCS or any kind of gut related issue may have h.pylori virus.  So the elimination 0f this is huge!

HOW TO MAKE KOMBUCHA:

You can buy kombucha (original and unflavored) from the store.  [Editor’s Note:  It is recommended to purchase GT’s Raw Classic Original Kombucha in the amber glass bottle.  This is a 21+ beverage but it will help to ensure the SCOBY will start properly.]  Open the bottle so a little air can get in (or cover in cheesecloth) and leave it in the pantry until a new scoby or Kombucha mushroom grows.  Once it is about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch (or a 1 or 2 centimeters) thick, you can put that Kombucha and that SCOBY into a large jar for the starter!

This is my Kombucha pot that I made myself.  Dark ceramic* or glass is best.  Otherwise use clear glass and tape a cloth or towel around it for darkness. Or, keep it in the cupboard for darkness.  [Editor’s Note:  At the very least keep it out of direct sunlight.]

I don’t actually measure but sometimes my kombucha grows a little yeast from not having the right balance.

There is no tea or sugar in the finished product, the fungus or bacteria eats the sugar and tea and transforms it into fermented probiotic drink.  If you have blood sugar issues, investigate before using.

  1. Boil filtered water in non-toxic cookware:  stainless steel, glass,  or ceramic
  2. Add tea and sugar.
  3. Cool mixture to 75° F.  Don’t put the mixture in the kombucha pot hot!
  4. Add to 10% kombucha and SCOBY in a gallon glass or ceramic jar.
  5. Cover with cloth or cheesecloth.  (I just crack mine a bit so a little air gets in, but not contaminants from the air.)  [Editor’s Note: If you don’t have a cheesecloth, an unbleached coffee filter works well held in place by a rubber band.]
  6. Put in a warm area and test every day or two after for taste with a clean spoon.  It should be fermented, but if left too long will taste like vinegar!  Usually this takes 7 days.  [Editor’s Note:  If you make vinegar you may use it just like any other vinegar.  It’s also delicious when added back to sweet tea.]
  7. When it’s ready decant into separate large or small glass bottles.  You can leave the bottles to sit at room temperature for a day or two for a secondary anaerobic fermentation, this gives it the “champagne bubbles”!  Save 10% for the next batch.
  8. Then refrigerate.
  9. Before or after refrigeration add your favorite juice. Pomegranate, Blueberry and Grape are my favorite superfood juices!  You can dilute it as much as you want.

You can adapt all of these variables for your own liking.  If you buy kombucha in the store, it can fizz over like crazy… so this is not a problem.

Keep everything clean and nontoxic as possible, but they have been making kombucha for thousands of years, so I don’t worry too much!  If you get some colored or strange looking things in your brew, start fresh.   I usually get some extra yeast in mine from not measuring, but  I don’t worry about it and I vow to measure next time!  If you get anything other than that like mold, throw it out.

Certainly drink a few kombuchas from the store to get an idea how it should taste.

The SCOBY will keep growing.  It doesn’t need to be this thick in order to brew kombucha. Once it gets too thick you can throw away some layers.

Don’t touch your SCOBY without totally clean hands!

 

Kombucha Mushroom or SCOBY

  • 2 cups of  “starter tea”  from the previous kombucha tea brew or from the store ” GT’s Class Raw Organic Original Kombucha”  with no flavoring (10-25%)
  • 5-6 tea bags or 3-5 grams (one tablespoon) of loose organic leaf tea. Green, Black or Birch (no flavored or fruity teas)
  • one cup (200-300 grams) organic sugar.
  • 3 quarts of fresh pure water

*If ceramic pots are used for brewing, lead poisoning might be a concern — the acids in the tea may leach lead from the ceramic glaze. I made my pot and am sure there is no lead or toxic materials there.

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