Scoby Hotel

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How to take care of your Kombucha Culture (Scoby) when you are not making Kombucha!

Plus some additional answers to FAQs.

We get asked quite often by our customers about Scoby care in between brewing, or when taking a longer break. Since this is something that our Photo-by-Photo Instruction Manual (which is included in our Kombucha Set) does not cover, we have decided to clear a few things out in this blog entry.

Let's start with the title: Scoby Hotel is simply a glass container with enough liquid in it so that the Kombucha Scoby can rest in it in-between brewing.

Above you can see two different Scoby Hotels. One on the left is with Hibiscus Kombucha. Both of them have more than enough liquid for longer storage. Those glass containers should be as wide as your Scoby, so preferably you should use the same size glass as for brewing.

Bigger or smaller jars are not recommended, as the Scoby will continue growing inside that container.

For liquid you should use a mixture of tea and sugar. You can brew about 10 g of black tea in about 0.5 liter of water. Add about 20-30 g of sugar, and let it cool down to room temperature.

This will be the liquid for your Scoby Hotel (stronger black tea will provide your Scoby with more nutrients than a light green tea).

With time you will accumulate more cultures, and you might need more liquid.

Without enough liquid, and proper nutrients, top Scoby will develop mold on top, and you will be forced to throw them all out.

For a shorter in-between brewing break, you can use your already made Kombucha for storage liquid.

As you can see, those Scoby Hotels are covered with cloth. This allows those culture to breathe.

Make sure this cloth is breathable, and it covers the jar(s) tightly, so not fruit flies, or other insects can get inside (paper towel in not recommended)

If you only have one Scoby, and the brewing break is not going to be longer than a month, then the amount of liquid should be comparable to that on the picture below.

What we do not recommend is storing your Scoby in the fridge.

The longer you will keep your Scoby refrigerated, the more beneficial yeasts will be deactivated.

And that means that they will not be there to break down the sugar next time you use the culture.

We keep all of our Scobies in Scoby Hotels of different sizes.

We also keep all retail Scobies in separate hotels, as you can see on this artsy photo.

When you purchase one of our Scobies, it will almost have a perfect shape, just like the one below.

But this will not last long. After the first brewing it will change in color, depending on what tea you just used for brewing.

Below you can see the yeast and tea discoloration, as well as lighter new growth on top.

This is all perfectly normal. Nothing to worry about.

With warmer temperatures, and with specific kinds of tea, an yeast overgrowth can happen.

This is also quite normal. So again, nothing to worry about. Those dark yeast strands can be removed with the help of a spoon, or a strainer, or even by using a clean hand.

What is not recommended is washing the culture with water after brewing, unless it is absolutely necessary.

In the course of multiple brewing, a new layer will form on top. Sometimes all at once, and sometimes gradually.

Here's an almost perfect new layer.

And here's a partial growth only.

Both are perfectly fine. In the second case, the growth will continue next time you use this Scoby. It will also continue to grow in the Scoby Hotel.

Please do not remove this new growth and do not throw it away.

Sometimes the new growth will look strange, like this.

Or almost scary like this.

But all this does not really matter, as long as there's no mold on top, and as long as the Scoby continues to ferment your Kombucha.

Just take care of your Scoby, and she will take care of you by providing you with delicious Kombucha every time you decide to brew it.

Exactly the same rules apply to Jun Scoby. The only difference is: honey replaces sugar, and green tea is used instead of black tea.

Below, you can see one of our Jun Scoby Hotels for retail Scobies.

Another question which pops up quite often is about using the liquid from the Scoby Hotel as a starter liquid for next Kombucha.

Yes, it can be used but only when it's mixed with fresh Kombucha, preferably in the proportions of one to three (one part of Scoby Hotel liquid to three parts of fresh Kombucha). Especially, when the Scoby Hotel liquid is older and it is more like a vinegar.

There are two reasons for that. First one - introducing too many organic acids will cause your Kombucha to quickly turn into vinegar. The second reason is - you still need yeasts for sugar break up during the fermentation process. In your Scoby Hotel, organic acids will dominate, and yeasts might not be in the amounts needed for proper fermentation.

Finally, bonus eye candy!

Fun (vintage) photos from our past Scoby Hotels.