Kombucha is the health drink of the moment – and it’s super easy to make for yourself – but if you’re stuck on where to get a SCOBY from, then worry no more! Here is a recipe for growing your own SCOBY from SCRATCH!

You may have heard of a SCOBY before, maybe heard rumours about how freaky they look? SCOBY stands for: symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast – sounds great right? People literally trade for SCOBYs, pay money for SCOBYs – there are Facebook groups of people desperately seeking a SCOBY. But if you are going to make your own kombucha, it is just as easy to make your own SCOBY. All you need is some tea, sugar, water a bottle of good, raw, unflavoured kombucha.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup white, granulated sugar
• 7 cups boiling water
• 4 black tea bags
• 1 cup raw, unflavoured kombucha (store-bought is totally fine)
• 2 litre container (this can be the container that you use for your kombucha going forward)

Method:

1. Bring 7 cups of water to the boil and add the sugar. Stir to dissolve.

2. Turn off the heat and add the tea bags. Leave to steep until the water has cooled to room temperature (I usually leave overnight or for a full day).

3. Sterilise the container well, and allow to cool.

4. Add the cooled tea mix and then pour in the kombucha – making sure to get any little floating bits (baby SCOBYs) into the mix.

5. Combine well and cover with a tea towel or paper towel and secure tightly with a rubber band or string.

6. Leave for 2-4 weeks, out of direct sunlight, and wait for the SCOBY to develop. This timing varies based on the temperature of your house.

7. Once your SCOBY has formed – it’s time to make kombucha. For the first time that you make kombucha, make sure you reserve 2 cups of your starter liquid, as well as your SCOBY. And you can then use this recipe to start your first batch of buch!