which scoby to keep for future batches?

Hi,
First post here. I brew my first batch of Kombucha the other day with a starter kit. The Mother grew a baby about twice the size of it. I am about to brew another batch and am wondering which scoby to use? Do I use just he mother and throw out the baby (which is massive) or just the baby or both?

I just added a picture. The mother is sitting on top. Thanks!

I use both until it gets out of hand, then start tossing the babies or giving it away to friends. I read somewhere it ferments faster the bigger the scoby there is, not sure if that is true.

Either, both, or neither

You don't actually need the scoby to start a new batch. As long as you have some of the fermented tea from a prior batch, it will ferment and produce a new scoby. I've been keeping about a quart of the old tea and adding 3 quarts of sweet tea on top of it in a gallon fermenter. It produces a new scoby each batch. Scoby gets tossed whenever I harvest and add fresh tea.

BGBC said:

Either, both, or neither

You don't actually need the scoby to start a new batch. As long as you have some of the fermented tea from a prior batch, it will ferment and produce a new scoby. I've been keeping about a quart of the old tea and adding 3 quarts of sweet tea on top of it in a gallon fermenter. It produces a new scoby each batch. Scoby gets tossed whenever I harvest and add fresh tea.

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What he said. It doesn't really matter.

BGBC said:

Either, both, or neither

Click to expand...

Exactly. If you add enough kombucha from the old batch, you don't necessarily have to also put in a SCOBY. I usually do anyway and then I always use the top one (the "baby").

The newest one is considered the most viable as far as bacterial and fungal colonies. The older one is primarily cellulose with a bit of living bacteria and fungi in it, while the newest one tends to contain a larger concentration of reproducing bacteria and fungi, as well as the nutrients that feed those colonies. You can feel the firmness of the two and understand - the older one ought be less springy than the new one, and its density will differ slightly as well. I haven't investigated the density difference...