I grew my own Scoby, which seems to work fine so far. I brought a bottle of plain KT and added it to half a recipe of sweet tea. I covered it and set it aside just like I would a batch of KT. It takes a little longer (2-4 weeks), depending on the conditions (warmth etc.) and how thick of a Scoby you are trying to grow. Mine was about 1/8-1/4 of an inch thick after 21 days, and has made some fine brew. I now have three 1 gallon containers brewing with homemade Scobies, and I am trying to grow three new Scobies from Green, Red and White teas. I made my new batches with the starter liquid from my new born Scoby.