On the kombucha, I got my scoby pancake from someone locally. They grow so there are always people willing to peel off a pancake to give or sell. I always used sencha green tea which I drink anyway. But you can use any kind of tea. Sometimes I would add a fruit tea bag. A big olive jar works great for a scoby pancake on top of the tea. Make the tea first on the counter the day before. so you can remove the tea bags before you add the scoby.
PS Diana, I can also tell having made both kefir and kombucha that brewing kefir is much easier and I always have used A2 milk.