Would you like to start making your own kombucha but want to bypass an online purchase? You can easily grow your own kombucha SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast) using store-bought kombucha!
For my SCOBY, I purchased kombucha commonly found in health food stores as well as popular grocery stores. I used the Original flavor to avoid complicating the process with fruit or herbal flavorings.
I poured the kombucha into a jar. (A glass bowl would also suffice.) I covered with a cloth and rubber band and set on my pantry shelf.
My SCOBY took 4 weeks to form. It might take less time depending on the season and the environment. After 6 weeks my homegrown SCOBY looked like this:
To transform your SCOBY into homemade kombucha, simply follow the tutorial found in my previous post How to Make Kombucha.
Continuous brew kombucha is also an option See Continuous Brew Kombucha to learn more.
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WOW! You just revolutionized my life. I had no idea you could do this!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
So glad to hear, Emily. Maybe yours will even go faster!
Morning Andrea. What iis stater liquid. Pls
Either a little from a previous batch, or you can use plain storebought kombucha as a starter.
This looks wayyyyy to easy. I just ran to buy the same brand of kombucha. I’m starting it today! I’ll let you know how mine turns out. I’ll just have to hide the SCOBY from my family when I give them the final tea because they’ll run for the hills…… Thx for the post!
I’d love to hear how it goes, Karen! And I’d love to hear where you hide it. 🙂
My grandkids croak when they see my scoby also.
Hi Andrea!
I had to use a flavored kombucha as I couldn’t find raw organic. However, I assume when I make another batch, if I find raw/organic, it will work fine for the next batch, or have I “contaminated” the SCOBY?
Also, after 5-7 days, when the kombucha is ready, what do you do with the SCOBY? Do you immediately start an new batch, or keep it in another container until you are ready to make another batch? If so, what do you use to keep it moist?
Thanks!
I think it will be fine, Leslie. I keep my extra SCOBYs on my pantry shelf sitting in some kombucha. You can refrigerate it if you would like. I’ve done both. Keep me posted on how it goes! Glad the SCOBY made it through security. 🙂
LOL, yes! They didn’t even blink looking in my purse through the x’ray machine!
So, thank you for the SCOBY!
I need to start drying some out for bandages, I think the humidity here is excellent for growing them!
BTW, my kombucha is yummy, and I don’t seem to be reacting! Long may that last!
I’m so glad you didn’t react – and equally thankful you found a new drink to enjoy. If you don’t have a dehydrator you can dry them in the sun on parchment paper. They shouldn’t stick to the parchment. Or you can put your oven on lowest setting and open the door a bit and blow a fan into the oven. That’s a makeshift dehydrator and easily keeps the temperature below 115 degrees which is when valuable enzymes/microbes are lost.
Hi Andrea, What determines when the SCOBY is ready for use? I’ve been growing one for 4 weeks; there’s a small amount of kombucha in the jar and the SCOBY is fairly thick; it’s not as white as yours in the 6 wks photo but it smells nice, just like kombucha. Thank you so much for your blog!! I refer to it quite often and tell others as well. I had one of your old blogs in my favorites and when I tried to access it recently it wasn’t there. It’s the one you shared how you begin your day…..Living Clay drink, oil pulling, body brushing, liver ice, etc, is it no longer available?
Thanks for the heads up on the detoxing post! Yikes – I will get that back today! I think yours sounds ready to go. If it’s formed at all, it will keep forming during the brewing process. If you get a chance I’d love to hear back on how your first batch goes!!
Hi Andrea, First batch was ok, was more vinegar tasting but it smelled good and had fizz. I used fresh raspberries, lemon juice and ginger to flavor. I had to substitute some cider vinegar in my starter because I didn’t have enough of the kombucha left from making the SCOBY. The nearest store which carries GT’s original is 45 miles away. Kroger stores in our area stock other flavors but not the original. I purchased the original kombucha before starting the second batch and used it as my starter. It had a good taste; flavored with organic cranberry juice but didn’t get fizz. I’m now on the third batch. Used Wholesome Organic Cane Sugar; it’s an off white not a white, I’ll try to use a whiter sugar next time. My challenge with the current batch was my SCOBY raised up out of the liquid. I don’t know how long it was out of the liquid but after it occurred again I peeled the bottom layer off because it had a large bubbled air pocket on the bottom. The bottom half of the SCOBY is pulling apart from the top half but I’m leaving it as is until this batch completes. The batch smells good so hopefully it will be good. Where do you get the PH strips? Again thank you very much for your blog!!
All sounds well with this, Shirley. I get the pH strips from Amazon. Look for 0-14 pH strips. Really sounds like it’s working. You would know if it’s not.
Shirley,
Here is the post:
http://it-takes-time.com/2015/07/detox-routine.html
Hello! Just a note: I would recommend using another brand if you’re growing a scoby from scratch. I did this successfully with GT Dave’s years ago, several times. A few years ago, GT Daves went off the market for a few months (I think because the FDA was investigating a bogus claim), and when they came back to supermarkets, there was a noticeable difference in how easy it was to grow a scoby. I don’t know whether this was intentional by the manufacturer, or a side effect of changing their formula for some reason, but I wanted to pass along what I learned.
Great! Thank you Rachel. I think it was the alcohol content of kombucha. But glad they’re back on the market.
Dear Andrea, Can the Scoby be used to treat psorious skin condition? My friend has this dreadful skin condition & there seems to be no cream on the market to repair this dryness and scaliness. Can you help with any known information please?
I’ve used SCOBYs on my skin and have felt they are beneficial. I’m not sure about Psoriasis though. I certainly don’t think it can hurt to try.
Do you ever add tea and sugar to the kombucha when you are growing a Scoby?
No, I just let it form on its own out of the kombucha.
I made kombucha last summer in to the fall then have had the scoby in my jar on the counter and have fed it thru the winter. It has multiplied ten fold and I now have a jar full. They look great no mold or anything growing on them. However I have heard that they can go bad and make you sick. What do I need to look for to make sure they are fine to use and to give to friends.
A young SCOBY is white and looks healthy. If I have an old SCOBY I usually peel back the outer layer and discard that and start with the fresh white one underneath. IF there is black fuzz or something I would dump it. But I’ve kept mine for years.
can you make a scoby with gingerade organic raw kombucha
I wouldn’t hesitate to try!
I started a scoby from store bought. It looks okay but it ran out of liquid and I’m wondering if it is still okay to use?
It should be fine, Alicia. As long as there are no black spots that indicate some type of mold.
Once you grow the Scooby, would you use the liquid as starter tea or is there another step to make starter tea before you starting making kombucha?
Yes, you can use the liquid as the starter. Good question, Katie.
Hello there I live in South Africa, I am unable to get this plant here,is there anyone out there who has a connection to be able to get one…
Regards
Karen Van Aswegen
I made some apple cider vinegar and a Scoby grew on the top, so I will see if that will work, it is tiny at the moment but I expect it will grow to the size of the top of the jar. I made kombucha many years ago but we never flavoured it. I will try some flavours this time. I even pickled onions with the kombucha many years ago but you have to eat them within a short time after you open the jar.
Hi Andrea,
Most of the Kombucha sold in my area says that it is raw but they’ve been pasteurized. Can I still grow a SCOBY from a pasteurized Kombucha product? If yes, can I buy & use 2 bottles of Kombucha to grow my SCOBY? I would like to avoid having it run out of liquid as some of the above comments stated happened to them. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.
Have a blessed day,
Sabrina 🙂
If it’s in the refrigerated section, it might still have live cultures. I did mine with one bottle, but if you want to do two it sure won’t hurt!
Can you also grow Jun Scoby from a store bought drink?
If it’s a Jun drink…or you can try regular kombucha and use honey instead of sugar and see how it goes.
Hi! I tried this almost a week ago and it was going great until yesterday when I slightly moved the jar towards the light so I could check it out and the scoby sank. Do I have to start over?! It’s too thin right now. Will it still grow if it’s not sitting at the top? Thank you!!!
Oh that’s fine! Keep going. Sometimes they sink, but they rise again.
Do you sell scoby plant for tea
I don’t. But some are available online I believe.
Wow, if I would of know that it was this easy I would not have added tea and sugar. I must retry it again, because I don’t see anything happening with the one I made about 2 weeks ago. Thank you for sharing with us.
I have a couple scobys but do not know how to keep them Should they be fed or is it OK to keep them in the Sweet dark tea or should it be put in Kombucha ??? Very confused ~~~~~
They can be kept in kombucha in the fridge or even at room temperature. No need to continue to feed it, if you’re just maintaining them.
Who came up with that name “SCOBY”?…Andrea….I’ve been reading all the comments..amazing! I’m definately going to give this one a YES🌻🌹
carol rebers S.Australia
Hi Andrea, I’ve been fermenting my first batch of kombucha (2 weeks now, it’s still cold here in NZ) . My SCOBY has been floating vertically in the jar… Is that normal? And how would I separate some at this point.
Yes, mine have floated vertically at times! To separate I use my hands, but you could use plastic gloves and section it by peeling it off.
I had read the tea and sugar recipe and planed to make it, but this seems so much simpler. Thanks! I have just started fermenting.