Guest guest Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 I can most definitely vouch that this method does work. Mine took a lot longer than a week though, so I am wondering if you just need to leave it longer. It did look like it had pond scum on it at about a week into the process. At about three weeks I had a nice white thin scoby. Texas >>I have a question, I read that you can grow your own scoby from store bought kt. So, about a week ago I bought some from the store, poured it into a mason jar, covered it with a paper towel held tight >>around the rim with a rubber band, and stuck it in my pantry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 <<I have a question, I read that you can grow your own scoby from store bought kt. So, about a week ago I bought some from the store, poured it into a mason jar, covered it with a paper towel held tight around the rim with a rubber band, and stuck it in my pantry. I looked this morning and it looks a bit murky, but nothing seems to be forming that resembles a scoby. Any thoughts? Is this even possible? >> I'm sure the more experienced brewers will have some good advice for you, but all I can think of now is what kind of KT did you buy? Was it raw and unpasteurized? There are only two kinds of kombucha that I can buy in the store here. Kombucha Wonder Drink and GT's. KWD is pasteurized, and kombucha is only one of the ingredients. They add carbonation to it. It's quite tasty, and I can chug the Asian Pear Ginger flavor, because it is so fabulously delicious. But you wouldn't be able to get a scoby from it. GT's is what I got my scoby from. I just put it in a quart of tea and let it do its thing. Then once I had a scoby, I did a full batch of 3 quarts in my gallon jar. Also, is your pantry cold? Those are the only two things I can think of. Marcy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 marcy makes good points, but there are other considerations with using store-bought KT too. even if its not pasteurized, it has been cold for an unknown length of time, stored in unknown conditions, and brewed to be the best-tasting (on the sweet side), which is not really the best for starter (as sour as possible). it can be done, and many have done it successfully, but my theory is why mess around with " this may work " when you can easily do a sure thing. a bottle of GTs costs $3-$5 bucks then you might wait weeks for it to work, when for $5 or so shipping, someone will send you a scoby and starter that is almost guaranteed to work. figure in the cost of all the store-bought KT you have to buy until yours in ready, and it is much more time and cost effective to start with the real thing. that being said, even though i have ample scobys and starter, awhile back i decided to try to get a scoby from GTs. i searched through the bottles at the store til i found the one with the biggest oyster (earning odd looks from the other customers-lol). i poured it in a wider jar and it sour on its own for about a week, then added fresh tea, and after 3 weeks the scoby was still thin and translucent while the liquid was tart and as you said " murky " and gray-looking. my own brew has a nice reddish-gold tint that is much more attractive than the GTs. the GTs tastes fine despite the color, but i like my KT to both look and taste good! whatever you use for starter, another thing you might want to consider is the lack of air in your pantry. most people dont recommend a closet or closed space because there is not enough air flow to give the brew the oxygen it needs. just my experience - hope it helps dl ________________________________ From: whistling_lass <whistling_lass@...> kombucha tea Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 11:25:04 AM Subject: Re: Making a scoby from store bought Kombucha??? <<I have a question, I read that you can grow your own scoby from store bought kt. So, about a week ago I bought some from the store, poured it into a mason jar, covered it with a paper towel held tight around the rim with a rubber band, and stuck it in my pantry. I looked this morning and it looks a bit murky, but nothing seems to be forming that resembles a scoby. Any thoughts? Is this even possible? >> I'm sure the more experienced brewers will have some good advice for you, but all I can think of now is what kind of KT did you buy? Was it raw and unpasteurized? There are only two kinds of kombucha that I can buy in the store here. Kombucha Wonder Drink and GT's. KWD is pasteurized, and kombucha is only one of the ingredients. They add carbonation to it. It's quite tasty, and I can chug the Asian Pear Ginger flavor, because it is so fabulously delicious. But you wouldn't be able to get a scoby from it. GT's is what I got my scoby from. I just put it in a quart of tea and let it do its thing. Then once I had a scoby, I did a full batch of 3 quarts in my gallon jar. Also, is your pantry cold? Those are the only two things I can think of. Marcy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 I have only bought KT a couple of times, but one time poured some in a glass that sat on the coffee table for a ccouple of days and when I went to remove it it had a thin film of scoby floating on top. Needs to be fairly warm, left to sit for a couple of days and many need to be feed some sweetened tea. good luck. On Tue, Dec 30, 2008 at 11:10 AM, Kosirog <ckosirog@...>wrote: > Hello- > > I am new to this group, and to brewing kombucha. Thanks to everyone for > the insight so I've received in just a few days! > > I have a question, I read that you can grow your own scoby from store > bought kt. So, about a week ago I bought some from the store, poured it > into a mason jar, covered it with a paper towel held tight around the rim > with a rubber band, and stuck it in my pantry. > > I looked this morning and it looks a bit murky, but nothing seems to be > forming that resembles a scoby. Any thoughts? Is this even possible? > > Along the same lines, does anyone live in the Lawrence, KS area who is > willing to donate a scoby to my kt making-cause? I will gladly pick it up > from you. > > Thanks, > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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