SCOBY Hotel

SCOBY HOTEL

                You have successfully completed your first batch of kombucha, and now you are wondering what you are supposed to do with your new and old SCOBYs.  Do you keep the baby SCOBY and throw out the mother?  Did you need to keep the mother forever and discard the babies?  Today we will discuss keeping the whole SCOBY family together in a SCOBY hotel!

What is a SCOBY Hotel?

If you have never heard the term SCOBY hotel, you will never forget it after this!  Simply put, a SCOBY hotel is a brewing vessel that you use to store all of your SCOBYS in.  That’s right—you can hold anywhere from one to 10+ SCOBYs in your SCOBY hotel!  Before we get into the specifics, we will discuss some SCOBY don’ts!

What NOT to do with your SCOBYs

1.      Throw SCOBYs away

You will always need at least one healthy SCOBY to continue brewing.  Even if you are planning on taking a break from brewing for a while, you should NOT throw out your SCOBYs!  You can store them using a SCOBY hotel, which we will discuss below.  If you do throw out all SCOBYs, you can always purchase a new SCOBY.  However, you can avoid having to do so by starting a hotel.

2.      Refrigerate or freeze SCOBYs

When storing your SCOBYs, do NOT refrigerate or freeze them!  This causes the yeast and bacteria present in your SCOBY to go dormant, and after too much time the SCOBY might die off altogether.  If you have done this for a short period, your SCOBY can likely make a full recovery.  However, it is best to avoid.

If your SCOBY is frozen or refrigerated for a short period of time, get it to room temperature and back into a brew as soon as possible.  You will likely need to let it brew for longer than usual (at least 14 days), as the cold temperatures it endured will cause it to slow down a bit.  Your SCOBY can make a full recovery if you keep it brewing regularly after its dance with the cold!

3.      Touch your SCOBYs with Unclean hands or Utensils

Doing so can expose your SCOBY to harmful bacteria, which can in turn infect your brew.  ALWAYS thoroughly wash your hands and be sure to remove all residual soap prior to handling your SCOBYs.

4.      Leave your SCOBYs sitting without any Starter Tea

A SCOBY without starter tea is starving!  The starter tea still has some nutrients to feast on, and it also keeps your SCOBY protected in an acidic environment.  If you SCOBY sits out without starter tea, it will dry out and eventually die.

5.      Place your SCOBYs in Water, with OR without starter tea

Some new brewers make this mistake. You need to brew a new batch of sweet tea every single time you start a new batch of kombucha!  The tea and sugar in sweet tea “feed” your SCOBYs and allow them to convert the sweet tea into kombucha.  By adding your SCOBYs to water—even if you add starter tea too—you will not be supplying the nutrients necessary for your SCOBYs to ferment and build a highly acidic environment.  You will end up with starved SCOBYs and quite possibly infected kombucha water!

6.      Place your SCOBYs in sweet tea without starter tea

Again, starter tea acidifies your sweet tea to a safe level for the SCOBYs to begin fermenting.  As fermentation occurs, the batch gets even more acidic and your brew is protected against harmful bacteria and mold.

If you do NOT add the starter tea or do not add enough starter tea, your batch will not be acidic enough to begin with.  You will most likely end up with mold or harmful bacteria in your brew, and you will unfortunately need to dump the infected batch and SCOBYs and start over.

7.      Place your SCOBYs in your brewed tea prior to letting it cool below 86 degrees F

Placing your SCOBY in hot tea will likely kill off the bacteria and yeast that enable the magic of fermentation.  If you do this, you will have a “dead” SCOBY in your brew, and it will not ferment properly.  Again, your batch will be vulnerable to mold and bad bacteria and will need to be tossed out!  Make sure to cool your tea BEFORE adding your SCOBY and starter tea to it!

SCOBY Hotel: What’s the Point?

A SCOBY hotel allows you to safely store all of your SCOBYs in a single jar.  It can be great for a number of reasons:

1. You are going out of town or want to take a break from brewing.  Use a SCOBY hotel to store your SCOBYs for up to two months!
2. You want to keep spare healthy SCOBYs on hand in case something goes wrong with a batch of kombucha
3. You think you might want to give friends or family a SCOBY to start brewing in the future
4. You would like to try dehydrating your SCOBYs in the future to make dog treats or another fun recipe
5. You love your sweet kombucha SCOBYs and aren’t ready to part with them—this is perfectly valid (and relatable) too!

SCOBY Hotel: How to Properly Store your SCOBYs

Starting a SCOBY Hotel is actually much simpler than you might think.  First, you will brew a batch of tea as you would for any other batch of kombucha.  You can follow regular brewing instructions for this part. 

Once you get to the point where you would add your SCOBY and starter tea to the cooled sweet tea, you will instead add ALL of the SCOBYs you would like to add, plus 1-2 cups of your fermented kombucha (starter tea).

At this point, you will cover the brewing vessel with a coffee filter or similar breathable protective fabric and place it in a dark, safe room temperature space as you normally would for fermentation.  This time, you can plan to leave it for 30-90 days.

After 30-90 days, you will need to pour out most of the fermented kombucha (leaving your SCOBYs and 1-2 cups of fermented kombucha in).  If you would like to keep it in storage/hotel mode, you will simply fill it back up with room temperature, fresh-brewed sweet tea and return it to storage for another 30-90 days!

This method will keep your SCOBYs fresh and healthy.  FYI, you can drink the fermented tea at the end of each 30-90 days, but there is a good chance it will be too sour for your taste!  If you enjoy the vinegary level kombucha, more power to you!  If not, it is highly acidic and makes a wonderful starter tea whenever you decide to return to brewing!

Time to Open your first SCOBY Hotel!

You are ready for business now!  We hope this article helps you to open up your first SCOBY Hotel.  Have any additional questions?  Feel free to comment below and we will get back to you ASAP.

Best of luck with your first SCOBY Hotel and happy brewing! 🙂