Sany Woo's Blog

Many people are interested in obtaining a Kombucha mother to start their first Kombucha brew. However, it is not easy (in some sense) because there are not that many people brewing Kombucha in Malaysia. My mother-in-law got hers from a friend of hers, thus started our family’s journey to a whole new world of brewing Kombucha and Water Kefir.

Do not despair if you are not able to obtain your own Kombucha mother because there is a way to grow a new Kombucha mother easily, though it will take more than 2 weeks to form.

I have searched and found these videos which will show you the step by step method of growing a Kombucha mother.

Something interesting! My friend told me that even if you do not have any starter Kombucha tea to start with, you are still able to grow a mother with just the water, sugar and tea. That got the experimental side of me excited. I have started a fresh batch of the sweet tea minus the Kombucha mother… will let you know the results of my experiment later.

Please make sure that all the utensils you use are cleaned and properly sterilised before you start!

Here are the videos. Hope you enjoy them!

The healing properties of Tibicos were already known to the ancient societies of China and India. Tibicos can be found around the world, with no two cultures being exactly the same. However, the actual origin of Tibicos is still unknown.

This unique culture is known by different names in different parts of the world such as Chinese Mushrooms, the grains of the Prophet Mohammed, Indian Rice, Tibi, Water Kefir Grains, Sugar Kefir Grains, Japanese Water Crystals and California Bees.

Tibicos has antimutagenic and antioxidant properties, and can possibly be used to prevent mutagenic and oxidative damage in the human body.

Healing Properties of Tibicos

• live probiotic
• gives energy
• improve metabolism
• have youthful effect on body cells
• strengthen heart
• inhibit cancer cells growing
• replace antibiotics in asthma and respiratory inflammations
• clear nose and gives relief from symptoms of cold and flu
• prevent forming, break down and remove from body kidney and liver stones
• effective arthritis relief
• lowers blood sugar level
• natural detoxifier

How To Produce This Healthy Drink?

The Tibicos drink can be created by growing the Tibicos mushroom. Here’s how to do it:

1. Place the Tibicos mushroom and water (the water must be clean and chlorine-free) into a clean glass container (use alcohol or distilled white vinegar to clean the container if necessary).

2. Add brown sugar with 1 spoonful of sugar per 3 spoonful of Tibicos.

3. Cover the container with a piece of clean cloth and fasten it with a rubber band. This is because the Tibicos need oxygen to live and reproduce.

4. Place the container in an undisturbed area to ferment for 24-48 hours. If you leave the Tibicos to ferment over a longer period of time, this will increases the sour taste significantly due to an increases in the folic acid content.

5. Strain the golden liquid into a clean glass. (Use a plastic strainer and spoon because a stainless steel strainer will react against the Tibicos)

6. Drink the Tibicos liquid, preferrably in morning and on an empty stomach. If there’s any spare drink, you can store it in the refrigirator.

7. Repeat the procedures to create the next batch of Tibicos drink.

Please remember that frequent cleaning or rinsing the container may wipe out baby Tibicos.

You would have quite a large quantity of Tibicos after repeating the same procedures many times. Share the extra Tibicos with your friends and family so that all of you are able to benefit from the healing properties of Tibicos.

Here is a site where you can find tibicos owners willing to share their spare tibicos grains with you.

P.S. I found a site dedicated to educating the public about Tibicos which contains a wealth of information. Find out more about Tibicos, Tibicos recipes, how to store Tibicos and more! Click here to go to the site.

My son gets very excited when he hears the sounds of drums and cymbals during Chinese New Year. This is because it signals the start of the Lion Dance performance.

Every year, our condo’s management manager will arrange a Lion Dance performance to usher in good luck and prosperity for everyone staying here.

Here is a video of the Lion Dance performed at our condo. Hope you have a fun time watching it and enjoy it as much as my son!