Can you have too much Scoby? The answer is ....

[Morden2004]

Yes!

After a several slow fermentations and poor results, I rationalized that my old scoby "mass" was growing too large for my 25 liter (6 US gallon) brew fermenter. This scoby was the diameter of my fermenter (about 24") and quite thick. I store my scoby in a smaller 11 liter container with a liter or two of kombucha.

I don't exactly know when the thought struck me but I started a new brew a week ago and at that time I dissected my old Scoby and salvaged just a small portion, about 6 to 7 inches across, and that fermentation ran to completion in just 4 days @ 80F. And, it is perfect! It also carbonated well in 2nd.

So, my thought is that the large scoby mass was starving the fermentation from much needed oxygen and this new small scoby leaves a lot of "open water" for the transfer of oxygen.

Anyone else had this problem?

Cheers!

 

[Zimm9]

I have read that you should occasionally trim or peel off layers of your scoby but I don't recall a reason being given for it. I guess that's why!

 

[Jayzon]

My kombucha has been fermenting very slowly for the past 4-5 batches. I'll give this a try. Thanks for the info!

 

[bendog15]

Yes this is true. Every couple of batches I peel off the top layer of scoby which usually becomes dark and discolored.
If you are using black tea, it will discolor very fast. If you are using green tea it will stay whitish and discolor more slowly.
Anyway I keep my scoby around a 1/2” to 1” thick. Seems to allow better fermentation.
You can keep the extra scoby. Google “scoby hotel” in case your batch ever becomes contaminated or moldy and you have to start over.

 

[ralphkaz]

Yes this is true. Every couple of batches I peel off the top layer of scoby which usually becomes dark and discolored.
If you are using black tea, it will discolor very fast. If you are using green tea it will stay whitish and discolor more slowly.
Anyway I keep my scoby around a 1/2” to 1” thick. Seems to allow better fermentation.
You can keep the extra scoby. Google “scoby hotel” in case your batch ever becomes contaminated or moldy and you have to start over.

you can also eat the extra scoby or feed it to your dog or house plants as well!

 

[shelly_belly]

I always throw my scoby away and never reuse them; they are not necessary. 10% volume of kombucha added to some fresh sweetened tea is all that is needed.

 

[TalkFoodie]

Instead of throwing the scoby out, you can make scoby jerky. It's really good! I've been making it for a few years now and love it.