I have no idea how I found this link, but really pleased I have. I’ve been a water kefir girl for yonks but dumped it a few months ago because my 5yr old kept drinking it before it was ready. The scoby I’ve magicked out of a store brand looked way too scary for that. I’ve been looking for a comprehensive guide and this looks like it. Thanks for posting, and thanks for the questions covered. Would never, ever ever have known the scoby needed caffeine to grow. So does the final product contain caffeine then? I’d suspect not.. ?