Kombucha Scoby Experiment Week #1

This will probably be one of the most exciting posts I have ever written! I'm so very stoked to tell anyone out there that there has been some scoby growth!!!! For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, for the past week I have been conducting an experiment on three different methods of growing a Kombucha Scoby at home. A Kombucha Scoby is a symbiotic culture of bacteria which is essential to the production of Kombucha tea! I prepared the three methods for growing a scoby at home and these are the week #1 results!

Growth of Kombucha SCOBY after 1 week 

Results:
Method #1: 

What you need:
-glass bowl (6 to 8" in diameter)
-16oz bottle of brewed kombuch
-a thin fabric or cheesecloth
-rubber band or string

Instructions:
1. Pour 16oz of your store bought Kombucha into a glass bowl.
2. Cover your bowl with your cheesecloth or two papertowels and secure with a rubberband.
3. Store your bowl or jar in a dark place where it won't be bothered.
4. Wait 1 to 3 weeks for your scoby to form. 

Thin Layer of SCOBY after 1 week of growth 

Method #1 Jar on Day 1 

As you can see, there is a small layer of a Kombucha SCOBY growing after 1 week! I'm so excited and very happy that this method is working. The Scoby is paper thin at the moment, and nothing is very visible from the side. 

Method #2:

What you need:
-Glass Bowl
-16oz Raw Unpasteurized Kombucha (Store Bought)
-1 tea bag of black or green tea
-1 tbsp of sugar 
-1 cups of boiling water
-cheesecloth or two papertowels
-A rubber band

Instructions:
1. Steep 1 tea bag in 1 cup of boiling water and add 1 tablespoon of sugar. Mix until sugar is dissolved and let the mixture come to room temperature. 
2. After your sugared tea is at room temperature, combine with your bottle of Kombucha in the glass jar.
3. Cover with cheesecloth or papertowel and secure with a rubberband.
4. Leave in a dark place where your Kombucha won't be bothered. 
5. A Scoby will grow in about 2 weeks

Method #2 Jar on Day 1 

Lots of Growth in this SCOBY after 1 week! 

Thick SCOBY!! 

As you can see, Method #2 has had a lot of growth! The Scoby is about three times the thickness of Method #1 Scoby and it's not translucent. Instead, it has a white film and it looks a lot more uniform. I'm very excited that I will have 2 scobys at the end of these experiments for sure! 

Method #3:

What you need:

-2 bottles of GTS Raw Kombucha
-2 bags of black tea
-1/3 cup white sugar
-2 cups of Spring water 
-Large Glass Jar
-Cheese cloth
-rubberband

Instructions:
1. Bring water to a boil.
2. Add sugar, stir and let dissolve for 5 minutes.
3. Add black tea, cover and let steep for 10 - 15 minutes.
4. Put steeped tea in jar and let cool to room temp.
(or allow tea to cool in pot and then pour into jar)
5. Open bottles and let cultures float to top.
6. Pour 1/2 of each bottle into jar.
7. Cover jar with cloth and fasten with rubber band.
8. Let sit in dark quiet place until SCOBY forms.
My First Thoughts:
I'm SUPER excited to try this method! What at first sets this apart from other methods is the fact that there is a video to back it up. I really hope this works but I don't know if I have the patience to wait a month... yes, an impatient teenager as always. 

Day 1 of Method #3

I'm very very sad... Unfortunately, this method has not grown me a scoby at all. No film, no cute little floaty thing at the top... Just yeast and leftover Kombucha tea at the bottom of the jar. I have not lost hope though! Maybe this method takes longer but, after 1 week, nothing has grown like the other methods. 

I really hope that this can help anyone trying to find a method to grow their own Kombucha SCOBY. I felt like I needed to try all of these methods out so I could discover what worked best for me so others could follow. I'm very excited to share my results for next week with everyone and I hope you start growing your own SCOBY at home too! Thank you so much and I will soon post an awesome recipe for a great vegetarian lunch!