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{Nourishing Traditions} How to Make a Kombucha Mushroom.

June 9, 2012 By Melissa Beene Ford 4 Comments

When I first heard of kombucha and began reading more about it, I kept seeing the word ‘mushroom,’ and to be honest… it GROSSED. ME. OUT.

I pictured this hot bubbling fermented fungus brew, and wondered what sort of freak hippies drank this stuff?

But then the more I read, the light bulb came on and I realized it wasn’t an actual FUNGUS mushroom; that was the silly name somebody somewhere gave to what’s actually called a SCOBY: A Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast… which… um… uh, yeah, sounds significantly less appetizing than mushroom.

So if you’re not quite sold on kombucha like I wasn’t back then, 1. read about the health benefits of kombucha, then 2. buy some kombucha from the health food store and taste it. Then once you’re addicted, join me in brewing your own!

To make a mushroom/SCOBY, first of all, buy a bottle of ready-made original kombucha from the health food store. You’ll also need some brewed tea and plain old white sugar. Yes, the bad kind of plain white sugar. Trust me.

I happened to snag some of hubby’s sweet tea from the fridge (don’t tell him) but I knew it would have more than enough sugar to do the job. *Most recipes say to use ‘black tea’ but I’ve also used green tea or Earl Gray. I don’t think it matters so use the flavor you like the best. 

See, the Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast feeds on the sugar to grow… which is why you need plain white sugar.

The store-bought kombucha has just enough remnants of this culture floating around in it to feed on the sugar and grow a new mushroom.

I combined a quart of tea containing probably 1/2 cup of sugar with the contents of a bottle of kombucha.

***Use a glass jar, not plastic, not lead crystal, because the kombucha will actually leech the bad stuff from your container into your drink.

I covered the jar loosely with a dish towel and rubber-banded the top (to keep bugs out) and let it sit on my counter for two weeks, and voila… 

That half-inch of white floating on top? That’s my new kombucha mushroom, ready for making gallons of  kombucha tea. I’ll tell you how to do that next. 
How to Make a Kombucha Mushroom/SCOBY
Ingredients
1 quart brewed tea
1/2 cup sugar
1 bottle store-bought kombucha
Directions
In a glass jar, combine tea and sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in the bottle of kombucha. Cover the jar loosely with a towel and let sit for approximately two weeks, or until a mushroom has formed on top.
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Comments

  1. Trudy Lynn says

    June 9, 2012 at 5:18 pm

    Just a friendly "warning" about Celestial Seasonings kombucha – it's POTENT STUFF!  Definitely like vinegar.  If you try this first, you will probably never want to go near the stuff again!  So, start w/ GTs, like in Melissa's photo.  And homemade is WAY better 🙂

    Reply
  2. Paracol says

    June 9, 2012 at 5:20 pm

    I've been making my own for years and drink it every day. I love it.  It's important to note that you can't do this with herb teas, but you can add some things to the tea to vary taste such as star anise, fruit, things like that. You also HAVE to use the bad white sugar (or even brown sugar) as honey will kill the SCOBY.  The SCOBY eats all the bad stuff out of the sugar anyway.  

    Reply
  3. Trudy Lynn says

    June 9, 2012 at 7:06 pm

    We also have been making KT for years.  We do use herb tea (technically an infusion, not tea) in combination with black (or green) tea.  We use 4 tea bags per 3 qt water, and at least half needs to be real tea.  We like the fruit herb tea, like blueberry, raspberry zinger, lemon ginger, etc.<br /><br />Weoccasionally add fruit during the original brewing, but usually we wait until we bottle it to

    Reply
  4. Melissa from the Blue House says

    June 13, 2012 at 10:36 am

    I&#39;ve never even seen Celestial Seasonings kombucha in the stores around here! 😛 I do like GT&#39;s a lot, but totally agree that homemade is better! 

    Reply

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I love Saturday. 💕 Saturday’s my favorite. 😁 Projects going down today, starting with three gallons of white paint from @sherwinwilliams. What in the world should I paint first? 🤔 What’s happening at YOUR house today?
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It’s a beautiful day if you’re solar powered ☀️ like me. It’s also a beautiful day for napping in the sun ☀️ if you’re like @sophiejunethedoodle. 🤷🏼‍♀️ I feel SO fortunate to get to work from home where I can sit by a window and even open it when the weather is right 👌🏻 even tho I can hear #goldendoodle snores from my home office... 🤔 Working from home has been on my #visionboard for years and it finally happened. 👏🏻What’s on YOUR vision board for 2021? 👉🏻Answer my poll in my stories! 👈🏻 #theresnoplacelikehome #workfromhomelife #iloveworkingfromhome
The whole Christmas 🎄 story, in these lyrics ri The whole Christmas 🎄 story, in these lyrics right here. I believe every word is true. After church this morning I decided these words needed to be added to my chalk wall. 👉🏻 In the darkness we were waiting
Without hope without light
Till from heaven You came running
There was mercy in Your eyes
To fulfil the law and prophets

To a virgin came the Word
From a throne of endless glory
To a cradle in the dirt

Praise the Father
Praise the Son
Praise the Spirit three in one
God of glory
Majesty
Praise forever to the King of Kings

To reveal the kingdom coming
And to reconcile the lost
To redeem the whole creation
You did not despise the cross

For even in Your suffering
You saw to the other side
Knowing this was our salvation
Jesus for our sake You died

And the morning that You rose
All of heaven held its breath
Till that stone was moved for good
For the Lamb had conquered death

And the dead rose from their tombs
And the angels stood in awe
For the souls of all who’d come
To the Father are restored

And the Church of Christ was born
Then the Spirit lit the flame
Now this gospel truth of old
Shall not kneel shall not faint

By His blood and in His Name
In His freedom I am free
For the love of Jesus Christ
Who has resurrected me
HaPPy NeW YeaR! 🎉 Is today the day we throw out HaPPy NeW YeaR! 🎉 Is today the day we throw out the cat houses made of all the Christmas boxes and blue tape, or do we have to wait for epiphany? 🤔 Wishing you ALL the blessings of a brand new year! 👏🏻 May the Lord crown the year with bounty so that even the wagon tracks overflow with abundance. Psalm 65:11 🌱
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My top nine pics of 2020. 🤷🏼‍♀️ These My top nine pics of 2020. 🤷🏼‍♀️ These all make me happy to look at ~ I do love this little home we have ~ but none of these represent my top moments of 2020, which would be memories I made with the people I love the most. 💕 It’s been a year of the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, but still, the person I am at the end of 2020 is better than who I was back in January in so many ways. Lots of lessons learned. Lots of figuring out what I want and what I don’t and who I wanna be and who I need around me. Can’t wait to see what 2021 holds but I know for sure there will be love and grace and mercy and peace. #topnine #topnine2020 #theyearinreview
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