Kombucha Kamp Kombucha SCOBY Received!

I just received the kombucha scoby I ordered through Kombucha Kamp. (www.kombuchakamp.com)

For those that haven’t read my following posts on the subject, I originally ordered a kombucha scoby through Cultures For Health. (www.culturesforhealth.com)

The main issue I had was the fact that everything comes dried and needs to be rehydrated.  By textbook, that’s a terrific idea.  However, in reality it takes about 30 days to rehydrate and is remarkably fragile and unstable as a bacteria colony.  I still figure I will give both a try side by side, however I’ve decided I can’t wait 30 days to reach the point of being able to make kombucha which is the reason I went with the Kombucha Kamp version.

The first thing I noticed was the fact that as soon as you get the Kombucha Kamp scoby you immediately start making your first batch!  Not only that, but it’s not a small amount… it’s a gallon.  I started with a continuous brewing system with the Kombucha Kamp version.  A fancy name for a container with a faucet and an open top.

I brought 2 cups of purified water to a boil, then let it cool for 2 minutes.  As I was doing that, I warmed the container with hot water to make sure it wouldn’t crack.  After that, I poured the 2 cups of water into the container, then placed the tea that came with the kombucha into the water.

After allowing the tea to steep in the hot water for 10 minutes, I removed the bag.  I then put 1 cup of cane sugar into the hot water and stirred it in.  I then placed 8 more cups of room temperature purified water into the hot water, which brought the temperature down to ~100 degrees fahrenheit.  I waited until the temperature dropped to 95 degrees and then opened the bag of scoby/starter tea to slide it into the container.  I then tossed a muslin cloth over the top and put a rubber band around it to hold in place.

Now to wait 7-21 days for the brewing/fermentation.

Oh yeah… and I can wait 24 more days for this to become able to brew:

 

EDIT September 9, 2014:
I’ve just given up on the Cultures For Health SCOBY.  I’ve had it in my (large) closet at about 80 degrees, and it’s remained the same.  I figure why should you buy something and have to struggle to make it survive?  I’ve actually gone through 4 generations of SCOBY with my Kombucha Kamp SCOBY.  Talk about sad… I’ll keep it around as a little lesson.