If you’ve been making Kombucha for a while, you know that the SCOBY (mother culture) grows thicker with each batch. Learn how to divide a SCOBY so you can share with friends, dehydrate it, give it to your pets, or add it to your SCOBY hotel!
You’re making Kombucha, and it’s going great.
But after several batches, suddenly you notice your SCOBY (the mother culture) has gotten so big and thick it’s taking over the jar.
What to do? Divide it!
Not only can you share the extra with a friend, but your Kombucha batches will also turn out all the better for it.
On today’s #AskWardee I’m showing you how to divide your Kombucha SCOBY the right way!
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The Question: How To Divide A Kombucha SCOBY?
Elaine M. asks:
Would you consider talking about how to deal with the Kombucha SCOBY — it’d help to see how you divide it, etc. I have the continuous brew system and “Mildred” has just about taken over. Shouldn’t have named her — now it’s hard to think about doing away with a part of her… oh my.
My Answer
Elaine, you’re in a pickle. Those SCOBYs take over! So let’s talk about how to divide them and/or store them.
Mildred will forgive you. 🙂
What’s A SCOBY? What’s Kombucha?
What is a SCOBY? It stands for Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast. It’s the mother culture that brews your Kombucha — a probiotic, fermented beverage we LOVE!
It’s shiny (when wet) and looks a bit weird. Like a sea creature, actually. A round disc-shaped something or other you’d imagine you’d find out deep-sea diving. 🙂
It can be smooth or lumpy. Some contain holes and have ragged or stringy edges. As long as there’s nothing fuzzy on them, black/white/brown/grey specks are normal, too. (Find out if your SCOBY is healthy here.)
And how does brewing Kombucha work? You combine the SCOBY with sweet tea; the SCOBY floats to the top and feeds on the sweetener in the tea for a few weeks until you’ve got a bubbly fermented beverage with beneficial acids and bacteria.
At that point, you pour off the liquid, then start again with more sweet tea. What gets poured off is your finished Kombucha, which you can drink right away or do a second ferment in soda bottles (we do this a lot!).
By the way, we use the Continuous Brew Kombucha System pictured above. You can read more about that in my review here.
When To Divide Your SCOBY
So what happens with the SCOBY is… it grows as it makes successive batches of Kombucha.
It grows to fit the shape of the container, which usually means a round disc because Kombucha is most often brewed in round glass jars or ceramic brewers.
And as it floats in your sweet tea, it thickens up, too. New growth appears on top as lighter-colored layers, while the older SCOBY shifts downward and turns darker orange-brown.
If you don’t share some (or create a SCOBY hotel), you’ll soon be overrun.
In this case, if the SCOBY gets too big (more than 1-inch thick), it’s not good for the Kombucha because it’s too much SCOBY for the liquid and the older SCOBY isn’t as good at making Kombucha as the young part.
So… to keep your Kombucha brewing balanced and efficient, I recommend dividing the thick, growing SCOBYs.
What Should I Do With The Extra SCOBYs?
Keep the newest growth in the brewing container and with the extras, you can…
- Share with a friend.
- Give it to your pets.
- Add it to the compost.
- Put it in your SCOBY hotel.
- I’ve even heard of people making jerky from their SCOBY!
Why Divide Your Scoby?
As I mentioned above, if you don’t divide your SCOBY it will just continue to grow thicker and thicker.
After a while, the ratio of sweet tea to SCOBY will be out of whack. Not only that, but the older SCOBYs aren’t as efficient at fermenting the sweet tea, so you may begin to notice an off-flavor, or your Kombucha may take longer to get to the desired taste.
How To Divide Your Scoby
It may look soft, but it’s actually got a tough, almost leathery texture. Put a knife to it and you’ll find out it doesn’t really want to be cut.
You have 2 choices for dividing it.
- The easiest choice, which also makes the most sense for brewing, is to peel off some of the SCOBY horizontally so that you’re down to a 1-inch thick piece. Put the younger part (the top) back in your container, and pass the older part (the bottom) on.
- Or, you can cut off a piece — just use a very sharp knife or it will resist.
Don’t worry if your separated SCOBY gets rips or holes in it when dividing, as new SCOBYs grow on top, those holes will fill in and continue to thicken with each new batch.
And that’s how to divide your Kombucha SCOBY. Pretty simple, right?
How to Divide a SCOBY
If you’ve been making Kombucha for a while, you know that the SCOBY (mother culture) grows thicker with each batch. Learn how to divide a SCOBY so you can share with friends, dehydrate it, give it to your pets, or add it to your SCOBY hotel!
Instructions
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With clean hands, carefully remove your SCOBY from your Kombucha vessel.
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Peel off the bottom layers until you’re left with a 1-inch thick SCOBY.
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Share, compost, dehydrate or place in a SCOBY hotel the remaining SCOBYs.
Recipe Notes
- Be sure you’re working with clean hands and clean utensils whenever you’re handling the SCOBY.
- If you’re having a hard time separating the layers of your SCOBY, you can also cut it with a sharp knife.
- To save your extra SCOBYs, learn how to store them in a SCOBY Hotel.
Helpful Links:
- The ULTIMATE Kombucha Guide {how to make it, store it, flavor it, SCOBY care, troubleshooting, and MORE!}
- How To Bottle Kombucha (aka Second Ferment) #AskWardee 086
- How To Divide A Scoby #AskWardee 083
- Can You Make Kombucha With Honey? #AskWardee 085
- How To Create A Scoby Hotel
- How To Make Kombucha
- Continuous Brew Kombucha (review)
- Where To Buy A Scoby
- FREE Fermenting Formulas Cheat Sheet
How do you divide or share Kombucha SCOBYs?
