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After writing my Kombucha Diaries from Vancouver over the summer, I made a couple of batches of flavoured Kombucha, then got caught up in wedding planning madness and headed back to Wisconsin for the fall.
I thought for sure my Kombucha scoby would have shriveled up and turned to dust after sitting entirely unattended in an old yogurt container in my mother's basement for the last 6.5 months. When I came home for the holidays, I decided to crack the lid on my Kombucha and see what my scoby had been up to.
I wanted to see if there was any chance it could grow again...
Storing Kombucha
When I packed up my scobies after my last batch (I had two, a mother and a baby), I followed the basic directions I'd read on some very useful sites, namely The Food Renegade, Happy Herbalist, and Kombucha Kamp. They all suggest storing your scoby in a glass or plastic container along with about 1/2 cup or so of kombucha tea.
So I put my scobies in a plastic yogurt container with a lid on the floor in the basement stairwell and left it at that. I wasn't sure if I should refrigerate it or not, so to the basement it went!
Now these sites all recommend periodically adding some more Kombucha tea to feed your scoby and keep it from drying out. Obviously, I didn't do this. I don't doubt that it's a good idea, it's just that I wasn't able to.
When I got back home I opened my container, and lo and behold, my scobies were going strong! In fact, they had even gotten bigger! There was also a fair amount of liquid still in the container, enough to work as a starter for another batch.
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| 3 Scobies fermenting, 2 old and 1 new |
Reviving the Scoby
Although the scobies were in very good condition, I wasn't sure if they would still make a good tea. Luckily, my mother had also stored a bottle of my last batch in her basement fridge for me. That tea was flavoured with blueberries and mint.
So I brewed a batch of sweetened tea and proceeded as one normally would to make Kombucha.
*However, instead of just putting in one scoby and a bit of starter, I put in both hefty scobies and the whole Mason jar full of blueberry mint Kombucha.
After ten days of fermenting on the kitchen floor near the heating vent (this wasn't intentional, but I don't think it hurt in this cold weather) the result was even better than any previous batch! It was wonderfully fizzy and fresh. I don't know if this is because of the blueberry mint starter, the extra scoby, being near the heater, or some mysterious miracle.
Since my starter is now flavoured with blueberry and mint I guess we'll find out with the next batch if that is what made the difference.
Not only that, but it rapidly grew itself a nice fat new scoby, so now I have more to share!
So I don't know if this half-hazard approach is really what created such fizzy Kombucha, or if it's standard for a scoby to survive over 6 months unattended, but it definitely worked for me this time.
Flavouring the Kombucha
Right now I'm "double fermenting" my Kombucha again for another day or two as I try out a couple of different flavours. Right now I've got two bottles of ginger lemon and two of pomegranate tea on the kitchen floor. I'll let you know when I crack them open how that turns out, and if they work I'll share the recipes later this week.
For the rest of the Kombucha diaries, check out:
Kombucha Diary: Day 13 - Bottling and
Flavouring Kombucha (blueberry mint flavoured)
Resurrecting a Kombucha Scoby
Resurrecting a Kombucha Scoby
Have you tried reviving a Scoby? How long did you leave it dormant and what was your method?
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| New scoby growing over 2 old ones |
I always store mine with plenty of fluid in a cold place with a tight lid and they always mold on the next batch :-( maybe i need to keep that batch warmer... all I know is I am now out of scobies and my mother was a BeaUty! sad face
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear that! My mom's basement wasn't exactly warm, but definitely warmer than a fridge. I assume that you're also making sure all your containers/jars/hands etc are very clean?
DeleteI've heard that some people have had good luck growing a new scoby just on top of plain store-bought kombucha tea left out of the fridge. I know that in the 2 days I had my jars double fermenting on the kitchen floor they started to grow new ones! I myself will have to try growing a whole new scoby in a couple weeks time when I go back to my Madison home, scoby-less, and will share my results :)
I have accidentally grown scobys by leaving kombucha in my son's sippy cup, abs he left it buried in a messy corner of my room for a while. Weeks? Months? Not sure. When I found it, there was a scoby growing, though. I also have had batches mildew, and I hear if you put more starter, or even acv, if you are out of starter, it will keep the mold away while you wait for the fermentation to get going strong. I an about to start working on a scoby I have left alone for way too long.
ReplyDeleteLol, funny isn't it? Some people would be grossed out to find fungus growing in an old cup, but for those who grow Kombucha it can be exciting ;) Interesting tip about the ACV, thanks for sharing, Taylor!!
DeleteI've never heard of this, and would love to try. Thank you for sharing!
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Blogging @ Getting Helathy with Essential Oils
Thanks for hopping by! If you've never tried Kombucha you might want to check out my series (the links are above) to find out more about what it is, etc, or buy a bottle at the market and see if you like it. The flavour can take some getting used to ;)
DeleteThank you for your submission on Nourishing Treasures' Make Your Own! Monday link-up.
ReplyDeleteCheck back tomorrow when the new link-up is running to see if you were one of the top 3 featured posts! :)