Homemade SCOBY and KOMBUCHA (Warning: First Attempt)

Inexpensive way to have the pricey, healthy drinks at home.
Hi Welcome to Delightful Souvenirs!
Today's delightful souvenirs in the kitchen is the Kombucha SCOBY. It is surprisingly easy to make.
You've probably heard about the health benefits of Kombucha and have been wanting to integrate it into your diet. But this famous, healthy drink is very expensive. I bought it a couple of times at the grocery and sometimes at the farmer's market. I don't feel bad spending some money at the farmer's market thinking it would support some small businesses. But still, it gets pretty pricey after some time so I don't buy it that often.
Because of the COVID-19 quarantine and lock-downs, i find myself the rare opportunity of having more time than usual. I ventured on cooking and baking like most these days. A friend introduced me to ginger beer and I got hooked. That experience emboldened me to try making Kombucha. I discovered that SCOBY is needed to make the healthy KOMBUCHA. But I could not find SCOBY anywhere. I saw a dried SCOBY online but the reviews weren't very good.
In comes the amazing cooking and fermenting gurus on KZbin. I think KZbin is amazing for learning new things. I did some research and I dived in head first. Kidding... I had some materials on hand already as have been contemplating this for a while. Just needed the time and the courage to make it and if ever, to fail and try again. So, here we are. The good news is - it's not that hard at all, the hardest part is having patience to wait. I checked my SCOBY almost daily to see the changes that happened in my KOMBUCHA jar. It was an amazing experience.
So if you are contemplating making your own SCOBY and KOMBUCHA, please, go ahead and give SCOBY a try, it's not difficult. Just make sure that all your equipment/materials and your hands are very very clean. We want the bacteria to thrive - but only the good bacteria.
Life of a KOMBUCHA
Stage 1 - Making the SCOBY (2 weeks to 1 month)
Stage 2 - First Brew (6-10 days)
Stage 3 - Carbonation (Second Brew 3-10 days)
Stage 4 - Time to Enjoy! - Chill in the fridge and serve.
Here are the INGREDIENTS for making our SCOBY
(Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast)
7 cups clean water
4 tea bags - BLACK TEA
1/2 sugar - WHITE granulated sugar
2 cups raw, organic kombucha (unpastuerized)
PROCEDURE
How to Make the SCOBY at home:
Boil water and allow to continue to boil a few minutes before removing from heat.
Add in the black tea bags and sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar.
Remove the black tea bags.
Allow tea to steep until the liquid comes to room temperature.
Please make sure that the tea has cooled completely and add in the raw, organic kombucha.
Transfer into a 4 L jar and cover with a tightly woven cloth. Secure with a string or an elastic band.
Let the KOMBUCHA rest in a warm dark place for 2-4 weeks.
The Scoby will begin forming at 1 week.
In about two weeks, the Kombucha could be tested to drink and the scoby be used to brew another batch of kombucha. But for the sake of growing a full, mature SCOBY, I decided to let it grow for a full month.
KOMBUCHA ( • How to Make Kombucha a... )
First Brew Procedure
Boil 14 cups of clean water
Steep in 8 tea bags (this time, you can choose which tea you'd like, example: green tea)
Add 1 cup of sugar (you may also try a different kind of sweetener)
2 cups of starter (previously brewed kombucha or raw and organic store bought kombucha)
1 SCOBY
Please check out my next video and we will go in detail in making our KOMBUCHA first brew.
LINK: • How to Make Kombucha a...
KOMBUCHA
Second Brew:
With super clean hands, remove the SCOBY from the Kombucha jar (this is optional if you have a Drink Jar with a spout to drain the liquid with).
Reserve 2 cups of the brew to serve as starter for the next Kombucha Batch.
Transfer the Kombucha into your Kombucha bottles (brewing bottles). Leave about 2 inches of empty space at the top.
Add flavourings. Example: grated ginger and lemon juice. Add a little bit more sweetener if desired. Other types of sweetener besides sugar can be used such as agave syrup or honey.
Keep at room temperature, in a dark place for 3-10 days to carbonate.
Chill before serving.
Pro Tip: Use a plastic water bottle as gauge for the Kombucha carbonation. While the others are brewing in glass bottles, the plastic bottle with become full and hard once the kombucha has fully carbonated. This is a signal to burp the Kombucha bottles or time to serve. This will prevent bottle explosions caused by too much carbonation.
Thank you for watching my video.
#delightfulsouvenirs #kombucha #SCOBY

[@raimonbaker7875]

Quarantine really did you well, you've got great projects accomplished. What an adventure in the kitchen this is!

[@skytrails5717]

Thank you for sharing, I'm starting my scoby today... I'm so excited! God bless

[@iheartgardening2716]

Awesome job! You really took advantage of quarantine in a good way. Kudos!

[@karen_james]

You need to keep at least 2 cups of the starter liquid. Please, please don’t throw it out.

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

Yes. It was a hard lesson learned. 🤣 Thank you.

[@Ravenelvenlady]

Exactly! The acidity of the kombucha vinegar can protect the scoby, plus the vinegar can also be used in other ways. Never waste!

[@sarahbasto6520]

Jeez that should not be on KZbin as a tutorial. Rather as a DON'T DO THIS video.

[@Ravenelvenlady]

@@sarahbasto6520 That last step of throwing away the starter tea was the biggest mistake.

[@cookskiemonstertoo7626]

Thanks for sharing!! Wow!

[@krizanni]

Wow! Thank you for sharing this love it...

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

It’s a long process pero baka puwedeng ipauso diyan sa Pinas :-) hehe.

[@theabravo388]

Wow this cool to watch making ginger beer.

[@deanbalta850]

That is very interesting! It is very nice watching you doing the process! I wonder how it tastes like.

[@FilipinaCanadian]

I am very interested in making this, you made a good tutorial video easy to follow and elaborately explained.

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

Thank you so much! I appreciate your kind and generous words. 🥰

[@marietonidomutan7788]

Magaya nga iyan kapatid ,mukang masarap.

[@PinoyArabKitchens]

Ang galing mo tlga sis thanks for sharing.

[@foodflex]

Wow Good😀👍

[@fludrbywest3886]

So interesting, 😮❣️ thank you for sharing❤😮❤

[@kokoyjuneareesha2aaliyahtv]

Very informative po.. galing talaga...

[@fanayaqin2674]

The best vidéo about Kcha 👍👏👏

[@mackycoy5196]

idol.. ganda ahhh ayus .. patikim hehhe

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

How to Make Kombucha at Home (Fermentation and Carbonation) kzbin.info/www/bejne/g4ivgIdmnquEiJo Here is my FERMENTATION playlist - Make your Own Ginger Beer, Kimchi, and Kombucha! kzbin.info/aero/PLOQ_L6ttyGoEffjgVdn2xFonyfHsj1Fc3

[@mommycarol2993]

Thank you for sharing sis..

[@gemamarzan7273]

Wow🧡🧡🧡💃💃💃

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

Quarantine project Tita. It took a long time to make but I guess now I have it for life. Lol.

[@LetArtsLive]

Right now I am making ginger beer. Everybody says don't use a metal spoon. Are you supposed to use a glass pan because the pan is metal something? It is very similar to Ginger Beer but I don't need a scoby for ginger beer. How did they make the first combo guard? I am sure they did not have a scoby?

[@angelinasingson825]

Hi! its my first time to hear that kombucha. Maybe I will try it some time. Based on what I saw it’s easy to prepare. I thought I need to put the aloe vera too🤣

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

You probably can add aloe. After all, there’s so many flavours out there. My favorite is mango and lemon ginger. The aloe is a good idea, worth a try someday. 🥰🌷🌿

[@hirutejo9888]

This very good

[@shaihashmi1710]

👏👏👏👏👏

[@jadepartible7974]

Wow ate. That took a long time pero good for you for doing it. I haven’t tried kombucha before, I don’t anything about it. I guess now I’m going to learn more. I don’t think we have that here in the Philippines. Pero we make rice wine, sugar cane vinegar and the likes... I’m sure there’s way to make kombucha too. It just hasn’t been done yet, or else I just haven’t heard about it. Healthy ba talaga?

[@maiahharrison3034]

Thank you so much to all those who left comments and likes! May you have a nice day!

[@jewelvideocollection2673]

I love it sis. sana meron yan dito sa amin.

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

I was wondering if this could be done din sa Pinas. After all, we do have native vinegar there.

[@pinkpowerrangerpv]

Hmm... So my store bought kombucha doesn't have to be original? In other words, it can have fruit juice and other ingredients? GT's original flavor kombucha has kiwi juice in it. I don't remember that always being there? Can I still use it to make my own scoby or do I have to search harder to find a brand that doesn't have any additional juices or ingredients? Thank you.

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

Most tutorials I watched before making my scoby said to use unflavored Kombucha (starter), however, when I did this project, I was not able to find the unflavoured/original kind. I used lemon ginger flavour and I had success making the SCOBY and kombucha. The kombucha was still clear despite the flavouring, I wouldn’t use heavy flavoured ones like the mango. I think the idea is to protect the newly developing SCOBY from growing mold.

[@buhayofwofficial704]

Sarap siguro niyan idol..ngayon ko lang siya narinig pero tiyak masarap yan idol..salamat sa videong eto marami ako natutuklasan na di ko pa alam..kailangan lang tiyaga sa paghihintay..meron ba sa pinas niyan kombucha

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

Meron din Host. Pero mahal pa dahil gourmet. Pero isang boteng kombucha lang puhunan niyan, forever na project na.

[@quick.easy.eat23]

Kombucha, I believe I drank it once. I don't recall the tast though, it was too long ago. Anyway, thanks for sharing this recipe, would love to try it~ ;) Pls connect with me dear and stay safe.

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

Thanks for visiting my kitchen and leaving some love. I’ll go visit yours too.

[@plantsinpots9558]

Been planning forever to try kombucha. You’re right, it doesn’t look very hard. And I’m guessing you don’t have to wait a full month either.

[@sarahbasto6520]

Neither to throw the starter liquid down the drain.

[@lovelyflower0710]

What is the starter you are using?

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

Starter For the first ever brew, I used store bought kombucha. For the succeeding brews, save 2 cups from the kombucha brew made and use as starter for next brew. 😄

[@noemilebron2178]

Now i heard your voice..thats looks tasty

[@loloyloloy7809]

its pretty cool how it was done.. just wondrin whats the taste.. never heard of scoby as well. poor roy.. hahaha

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

Hehe. Parang mushroom na matibay iyan kapatid. You don’t eat the SCOBY although it’s edible. Ginagamit lang siya to ferment the tea”. Thank you for your comments. They are very entertaining.

[@clncaaquintero3595]

where did you get the starter?

[@sarahbasto6520]

She threw the starter down the drain then miraculously there was another starter out of the blue in the video.

[@zulimagonzalezcalvo4835]

Subtitula los vídeos por favor gracias

[@Bigbagadoosh]

how do i make scoby without using kombucha or another scoby?

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

I heard some use sour dough but I haven’t tried it my self.

[@ChristopherJones16]

so you dumped out the Kombucha that was made when you made your SCOBY to make more kombucha?

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

It tasted like vinegar because I left them for a month and a few days. I could have saved 2 cups as mother brew. But I wanted to make sure I succeed as this was my first project. So I used a fresh kombucha mother.

[@jassondomutan4563]

thats good informative video..tnc for sharing #gest21

[@lisaallen714]

Hi New Subbie...I want to make my own scoby to start making kombucha...can I use any flavor store brought organic unfiltered kombucha...thank you for your help

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

The professionals would say use unflavoured. I only had ginger lemon when I started out and that also worked for me. So I say you can use flavoured ones as long as they’re not too thick like mango flavour.

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

To ensure success, use a mother kombucha that doesn’t have particles of fruit that may cause mold.

[@NintCondition]

You always need to keep 2 cups of the Brew for your next batch 😳

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

Yes. True that. 😁

[@TajAsia]

kumbucha and scoby do tea do , interesting

[@lilyannmwas9609]

Why is it that nobody is showing us how to make kombucha those of us who are in places where we cant buy kombucha

[@angelinasingson825]

Oh so u need to wait for four weeks?

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

I waited 4 weeks because I wanted to grow the SCOBY to become thick like you see in the video. But if you just wanted the brew, sometimes 2 weeks is enough, you’ll end up with just a film of SCOBY that way.

[@loloyloloy7809]

another "never heard food".. i dont have food life kasi.. hahaha.. kung anong meron.. kaon.. hahha

[@satwindersingh8430]

Vandematram jai hind

[@mariatheresa9668]

Kombucha tastes like vinegar to me. But your video is well done. good job.

[@153Cooking153rdStreet]

Hi new friend ~^^ I enjoyed your channel Wow Looks yummy Welcome to my channel ~^^

[@ripadipaflipa4672]

This isn’t from scratch. This uses store bought kombucha.

[@whyistheworldsowicked]

Sweet did I hear say chlorine h2o...🙄🙄🙄

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

Yes. Our tap water is treated with chlorine right? Much safer for drinking. 😄

[@stephaniemair2869]

Im so annoyed, all the peopple who say they are making scoby from scratch are not actually doing it from scratch. They are in fact starting from a store bought. But thanks for this info.

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

Sorry to get your hopes up. After years of making kombucha, I find that no one has really made SCOBY from basic raw materials. The healthy-bacteria needed has to be introduced by using pre-made kombucha with live bacteria already present in it. But once you made the SCOBY, you are good for life!

[@jiromarc7873]

You should not have thrown all the starter tea you have created with your first kombucha. Smh

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

Yes, in retrospect I shouldn’t have. It tasted like vinegar as it was left alone for more than a month. I didn’t know then that it can indeed be used as vinegar. 🤣

[@simonharrison8353]

Smells like stinky socks - no thanks!

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

I really can’t disagree with you.

[@abdelhalim.a.m4889]

Again.. another disappointing video.. this is not even from scratch!! You made the scoby from store bought kombucha.. we want to know how the scoby is made without storebought starter tea

[@user-ic4ce8xb5v]

that's the best you can get. if you do not want to buy a scoby, you need to create it from an existing culture of raw kombucha, there is no other way.

[@kingb583]

so how did they get the existing culture? we wanna see the creation of the culture from the basis. @@user-ic4ce8xb5v

[@user-ic4ce8xb5v]

@@kingb583 that was tea that went bad thousands of years ago in China, you don't want to mess around and hope you get the right bacteria like sourdough starter

[@roxannecharles469]

Ewwwwwwwww

[@DelightfulSouvenirs]

My sentiments exactly, well, at the beginning anyway.