In my last post on kombucha, I talked about the amazing resiliency of the SCOBY, how it had grown bigger & bigger, and multiplied and multiplied while lying there untended, unfed, ignored. I thought, “Hey, this thing is amazing! It just keeps going & going . . .”
But when I put one of the rescued SCOBY babies into my next mason jar of tea & sugar, it sank depressingly to the bottom and settled there, upside down. I was worried. And even more worried when within a few days it had failed to produce a baby.
But I didn’t give up. I let it sit there for a few more days, and finally I realized that what appeared to be a transparent barely-there oil slick was actually the beginnings of a baby SCOBY. I left it for a few more days still and it thickened a little, though it was still very transparent and almost unrecognizable as kin with the inch-thick gelatinous disks I had gotten to know.
Since then, I’ve been nursing my kombucha mother back to health, slowly but surely. Each batch produces a slightly more substantial baby, though the flavour has been very mild.
So, lesson learned: they are resilient, but not infinitely so. I’ll wait until she’s thick and reliable before posting again, at which time I will happily share her with the world. Right now, she’s spending some time in intensive care.
P.S. Look what I found in my apple cider vinegar!
Is that a SCOBY in my apple cider vinegar?
Tags: kombucha
hi ! just hopped over to thank you for your comment on the playstand ! we love it ! it did not have a pattern we just drew it out freehand — and literally traced my right arm and shoulder for the upper arch! it was sooo fun to make ! if you make one — i would love to see ! good luck ! any questions just email me ! light and peace to you