[houseforjoy]

yes you need a scoby and some previous tea. the person giving you the scoby should be giving you that tea as well. If it doesn't come with a small amount of tea you can use apple cider vinegar in place of it.
but generally when i make mine i do 3 quarts filtered water (NOT tap, the chlorine and other stuff in tap water will kill the scoby) 4 black tea bags, and 1 cup sugar. if you search on GCM there are a few threads out there. you need to use a wide mouth container. some people put it in a bowl (oh and do not use PLASTIC, the kombucha scoby tries to clean whatever container it is in, so if you put it in plastic it will suck some of the plastic chemicals out, use only glass containers-no metal)

http://www.amazon.com/Jarden-Waterme...793934&sr=8-15

I use something similar to that only without the spout on the bottom. i can get the jars for only 3 bucks though.

then you boil the water and add in the tea bags (i usually put the tea bags in a large thermos and add 1 qt boiling water and let it sit covered with a towel for 20 minutes) then add the other 2 qts water to the glass jar, the tea and the sugar. stir till sugar is dissolved. then pour in the previous batch tea (about 1/2 cup i think ) and then carefully lay the kombucha scoby on top (the water should just be warm, if it is hot let it cool covered with a towel) then cover the jar with a white tea towel or old white t-shirt material. let it sit for 7 days, in a warmish place where it won't get bumped. then after 7 days take your scoby out and a small amount of tea and either repeat the process or store it in a pint jar-- if storing the scoby should be covered in tea and placed in the fridge till ready to use, but try not to let it be in there for more then 2 weeks.

well there's a lot of info