Metal, gold, nicotine kills kombucha. Remove rings when handling kombucha and use only wooden or plastic spoons to stir. Keep in a pottery or glass container.

Extreme temperatures – Kombucha grows best in warm environment – not hot – keep it in the kitchen on a bench away from direct sunlight or oven heat.

Prevent dust and insects to contaminate your brew, keep it tightly covered with a gauze, muslin or fine cotton cloth. Secure with an elastic around the neck.

Use only herbal teas – oils will spoil the Kombucha.

Use the right container for your Kombucha.

Keep the same proportions and vary the amounts to suit your own personal needs.

Use only clean utensils and wash hands thoroughly and regularly.

"Scoby" is actually an acronym: Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast. And that's exactly what it is! A scoby is the living home for the bacteria and yeast that transform sweet tea into tangy, fizzy kombucha — think of the scoby as the coral reef of the bacteria and yeast world. It a rubbery raft that floats on the surface of the kombucha. Aside from being a home for yeast and good bacteria, the scoby seals off the fermenting kombucha from the air and protects it from outside, undesirable bacterias while it's fermenting.

P.S. You'll also sometimes hear scobys referred to as "kombucha mothers" or "kombcha mushrooms." If you read or hear references to these things, know that it's all the same thing.