It takes 2 weeks! Don’t worry about it. ”A watched SCOBY never grows” =D Just forget about it entirely for a few weeks!

@ Crystal – Don’t scream! Haha, but really, I’m so thrilled that you (and everyone!) are so into this. Kombucha for all! Let me know how it goes when you try it, yes?

@ Carlie – Mmmm yes, icy kombucha is so nice for summer midmorning treats. =) Happy brewing!

@ Minna – I’ve never tried kvass but I’ve heard a lot about it. I’ve mostly heard of the beet variety, and I’d love to try my hand at brewing it!

I definitely believe that it’s healthful! Mostly because of the probiotics. From what I understand it’s full of the good bacteria that help to balance the gut flora, and actually keep candida overgrowth in check. Also, although kombucha is acidic, it’s an alkalanizing food because of the way it’s digested/metabolized. It’s like lemons in that way (both kombucha and lemons are big in the raw food/alkaline scene)

If you’re interested you can read more about that here.

@ Hope Hughes – Yes! Go mad scientist in the kitchen laboratory, muahaha!

@ Amber – Yup, much cheaper and much faster. Happy brewing – luck!

@ Amanda – Glad you like it, and thanks!

@ sarah – Yay! I’m so glad people are so excited about this, and I’m so happy that people are going to be brewing their own stuff. I agree, buying a SCOBY always seems so pricy and ‘pita’. DIY forever!!!

@ Eric Normand – Awesome, good to know others are already on this. I’ve never tried brewing with mate, it’s good to know that works. Thanks!

@ Rebecca – I do think that the vast majority is consumed in the process (it’s what feeds the bacteria/yeast), and I feel like even with a little sugar, the benefits make it totally worth it.

I understand it’s a tough taste to get used to. Have you tried mixing it with juice, maybe in a really diluted ratio?

I wrote about this on my blog. I’ve been doing Yerba Mate kombucha for a while now. It was from store-bought kombucha, too!

http://www.renegadeyogi.com/better-living/kombucha-experiment/