A Little Fermentation Break for Your Kombucha Mushroom
Do you want to take a short break from brewing your own kombucha or store your tea mushrooms as a backup? We've compiled the most important facts about Scoby storage and care for you!
What is a Scoby Hotel?
A Scoby Hotel is simply a large jar filled with starter liquid. Finished kombucha serves as your starter liquid. With an appropriately low pH value between 2.3 and 3.5, your Scoby can be safely stored in this liquid for weeks or even years. The low pH value protects the Scoby against harmful germs. It is very important that your kombucha mushroom is completely covered with starter liquid. The Scoby Hotel can either be covered with a breathable cloth or sealed airtight with a lid. The sealed version should be stored in a cool place. You should be aware that these Scobys are more susceptible to mold. Furthermore, they sometimes take a little longer to reactivate for kombucha production.
What do I need to store a kombucha mushroom?
- Finished kombucha as starter liquid
- For uncooled storage: a rubber band and a breathable cloth for covering
- For storage in the refrigerator or a cool place: a jar with a lid
What should you consider when storing the tea mushroom?
Remove yeasts and maintain hygiene
Before your tea mushroom goes on its well-deserved vacation, you should pay attention to a few things. The Scoby Hotel should be well cleaned. No detergent residues should remain in the jar. It is best to use vinegar to clean all items and tools. You can also free the kombucha mushroom from some yeasts before placing it in the jar. Yeasts are the brownish-black deposits on your Scoby.
Different Storage Options
With open storage using a cloth, the tea mushroom will not take long to be fully capable of kombucha production again. If you store your Scoby in a closed jar in the refrigerator, it will take longer to be activated for a new batch.
New Scobys emerge
In the non-refrigerated version of the hotel, a new kombucha mushroom will appear on the surface sooner or later. This will grow over time and should be well cared for. Oxygen should still be able to enter your Scoby Hotel. Air circulates into the jar through the breathable cloth.
Properly care for and trim Scobys
For oxygen to continue circulating in your Scoby Hotel, you should trim or thin out the resulting tea mushroom a bit. Regular care ensures that the liquid beneath the tea mushroom also continues to be supplied with oxygen. This also prevents the formation of harmful gases in the Scoby Hotel. You can easily try to separate the layers of the kombucha mushroom with clean hands. Carefully pull them apart to thin out the Scoby a bit. If that's not possible, take a common pair of scissors and trim the Scoby a bit in its thickness and/or size. These should be cleaned with vinegar beforehand.
Scoby Rotation in the Hotel
Most kombucha connoisseurs know that the Scoby Hotel has proven itself not only as a storage location. It offers an excellent way to rotate kombucha mushrooms. The kombucha mushrooms are given a break, and at the same time, the cultures are kept active. The Scobys from fermentation move into the hotel, and a Scoby with some liquid from the hotel can be used for the next batch. Other kombucha brewers, however, prefer to use the same tea mushroom repeatedly and adjust the desired kombucha taste to it.
Split:
2 comments
Wie lange kann ich den Scoby im Hotel lagern?
Vielen Dank für diesen ausführlichen und guten Beitrag. Er ist mir hilfreich.