Kombucha fabric

Prototype de avatarCaroline Pultz | Catégories : Matériaux

Introduction

Concept inspired by BioCouture, and shared by Open BioFabrics. With this tutorial you can grow your own fabrics with ingredients from your kitchen and S.C.O.B.Y. What is a S.C.O.B.Y? It’s a Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast. We will be using the one that comes from kombucha tea. So you can easily find it in an organic food store or from a kombucha tea drinker.

Ce tuto s'adresse aux personnes intéressées par travailler avec du cuir non issu des animaux. Ce tutoriel est au niveau de prototype. La recherche scientifique sur ces nouveaux matériaux est récente et demande encore du développement pour arriver à des caractéristiques d'étanchéité, mécaniques intéressantes. En l'état actuel des choses, les caractéristiques de ce tissu ne sont pas celles du cuir.

Comme le précise Open BioFabrics:

«Aussi prometteur que cela puisse paraître, il y a encore quelques petits problèmes techniques à résoudre avant que cette trouvaille révolutionnaire ne puisse être définitivement adoptée. Ce matériau vegan-friendly est biodégradable (un autre plus) et quand il est mouillé il se ramollit et perd donc son intégrité structurelle. Les températures froides le rendent aussi fragile. Un peu gênant quand même pour passer une après midi d’hiver à Paris. L’équipe de chercheur travaille actuellement sur l’amélioration de ces points. Il n’en reste pas moins qu’ils sont confiants et qu’ils pensent trouver des solutions rapidement.»



Video d'introduction

Étape 1 - Question ? - we have the answers!

- Which tea should I use? The SCOBY grows best in black tea as it has the most phytonutrients, but you can experiment and use almost any tea, except teas that can contain essential oils such as Earl Grey (contains bergamot).

- What is “The Starter”? It’s the fermented tea liquid that your SCOBY grows in. When you are starting a new batch of SCOBY, you can add a few cups of the liquid from the previous batch to make it grow faster.

- The SCOBY produces gas? It’s a sign of good fermentation. If you leave the bubbles, your new culture may not grow consistently, so be sure to spread the culture out evenly on the surface of the liquid.

- What is the best temperature to cultivate? The ideal temperature is 25C. Under this temperature, the growth will be a bit slower. Avoid a temperature under 17C, it will take too long.

- What is the best temperature to cultivate? The ideal temperature is 25C. Under this temperature, the growth will be a bit slower. Avoid a temperature under 17C, it will take too long.

- Should we grow under sterile conditions? Not necessarily, but you should wash your hands and all tools before you start.

- What size should the culture tank be? A container sized 17x20x6 minimum depth for a 220cl preparation- according to Suzanne Lee! Under bed plastic trays (56x77x17cm) are ideal for 8-10 liter preparations.

- Does the culture smell? This is a fermentation process. Depending on personal sensitivity, people will detect an odor of vinegar. The kombucha SCOBY and vinegar culture are closely related and both made from cellulose-spinning acetobacter.



Étape 2 - Preparation of the culture liquid

This first step lasts about 1 hour :

  • Boil water
  • Let the tea infuse for 15 minutes
  • Dilute sugar
  • Let the mix cool down. Temperature under 30°Celsius


Étape 3 - Setting up the SCOBY

This step lasts about 5 minutes. It is very important the liquid is below 30°Celcius, before adding the other ingredients: - to prevent odor vinegar emission - not to kill the starter and SCOBY

  • Pour the vinegar + add mix previously made + the Starter Mix
  • Add your SCOBY
  • Cover the tray and protect it from light


Étape 4 - Fermentation

This stage lasts about 15 days. If you want a thin sheet, a SCOBY mat of 5mm is thick enough. If you want a fabric like leather, wait until your SCOBY mat is about 2 cm in thickness.

  • After 5 days in the shade, your Scoby starts growing.
  • Regularly spread gently the Baby Scoby to get rid of bubbles.



Étape 5 - Harvesting your culture and drying

When you have the thinckness of culture desired, pull out the SCOBY mat from the liquid and dry it on a board of wood, plastic or glass. Depending on the surface, the end results will all be different

  • Hand wash your Scoby with soapy cold water.
  • Dry your Baby Scoby on a leaned wooden board.



Étape 6 - Congratulations !

The fabric is ready ! You can also dye, cut, sew, print on your SCOBY fabric. This is only the beginning!




Notes et références

Open BioFabrics conçoit un kit de production pour que chacun puisse facilement cultiver SCOBY à la maison. Plus d'informations sur le hackpad de l'OSCEDay's

Rennes-2016 : https://hackpad.com/collection/qDzscYMboLf


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