It's Not the SCOBY That Makes Kombucha (2025)

FAQs

It's Not the SCOBY That Makes Kombucha? ›

The Starter Tea Is Most Important

A SCOBY is a cellulose mat that houses the bacteria and yeast cultures that turn sweet tea into kombucha. A new or “baby” SCOBY is produced each time you make kombucha, and the SCOBY also helps turn sweet tea into more kombucha.

If you've been home brewing kombucha and you don't want to buy another SCOBY just for its starter tea, your next best option is to purchase a bottle of unflavored kombucha from the store and use that instead.

Once the SCOBYs are dehydrated, place them in a sealable plastic bag and store them in the refrigerator (not the freezer). Dehydrated SCOBYs will generally survive in the refrigerator for at least 3 months. Once you are ready to begin making kombucha again, follow our instructions on how to rehydrate the SCOBY.

You can actually make kombucha without a SCOBY, but it can take up to three times as long and sometimes people have problems. Part of the job of the SCOBY is giving added bacteria while it ferments, protecting the tea, and keeping it filled with plenty of good bacteria and good yeasts.

It's perfectly safe to drink and is one of the unique characteristics of kombucha. During fermentation, the SCOBY is a bit more obvious. As the fermentation process progresses, the SCOBY forms into a thick, rubbery, jelly-like and cloudy mass that smells like vinegar.

Mother of vinegar and mother of kombucha share many similarities, but they are different. Kombucha mother is created from the fermentation of tea, while Mother of vinegar is created from the fermentation of wine, cider, or other alcoholic beverages. The fermentation process of tea creates SCOBY.

Using six key concepts, we've developed a terrific method for growing a Kombucha scoby from a bottle of store-bought brew. Kombucha is the delicious fizzy, probiotic tea that is becoming an increasingly popular DIY project. With store-bought bottles running $3-5 each, the cost savings for home brewers add up quickly.

In the presence of oxygen, acetic acid bacteria present in the environment convert the alcohol into acetic acid, creating a film, known as the mother of vinegar, or vinegar scoby.

How many times can you reuse a SCOBY? ›

Put simply, kombucha SCOBYs can be reused for many years. Realistically, however, you simply won't need it to last that long. Your SCOBY grows and divides with each batch of kombucha, so you will constantly be growing new SCOBYs. Simply remove the older layers and transfer the new layers to your next batch.

A moldy or dead scoby is quite distinctive, and there is no mistaking it when you see it. The mold will be white or colorful, fuzzy and dry. It can appear as spots on the scoby, or cover the scoby altogether. A dead scoby will be black.

The easiest way to store kombucha is in a sealed container in the fridge. Always indicate what's in the jar so that no one in your household gets rid of it by mistake! The scoby will then go dormant and can be kept for up to 6 months.

Do use your (clean!) hands or scissors to trim SCOBYs or separate them from each other. This is fine if they're getting too large or if you'd like to split them up to move some to a SCOBY hotel/share with a friend. You can't hurt your SCOBY by ripping it or cutting it.

The little scobies created in the bottles often merge with yeast colonies, resulting in small gelatinous layers or brown filaments, and sometimes both. When this happens, it just means that your kombucha scoby is healthy and strong! You can choose whether or not to filter your kombucha before you drink it.

What is the difference, if any? As the term SCOBY states, the mother (a biofilm made of cellulose) hosts not only acetic acid bacteria which make the cellulose for the SCOBY but also hosts yeast and other bacteria such as lactic acid bacteria.

These tiny SCOBY pieces are perfectly healthy to consume but if the texture ain't your thing feel free to filter them out. If you had a kombucha (other than Liquid Remedy!) and didn't see these little SCOBYs hanging around, it could be a sign that the brew was not raw and pure.

The first kombucha was born by accident, in a cup of sweet tea left on a windowsill. Bacteria and yeast settled in the cup of sweet tea and multiplied. They created a gelatinous film, ate the sugar, and acidified the tea. In those days, fermentation was magic!