The SCOBY is merely a pellicle..... a mat of cellulose created by the a acetobacter xylinum as a byproduct of producing acetic acid from glucose and alcohol.
It has nothing to do with producing kombucha, it is merely an indication that you have a strong acetobacter culture.
There seems to be a widespread misconception that the scoby is an organism of some sort, (mushroom) or that it houses the organisms that create kombucha. It definitely is not a living organism....just a mat of cellulose, and while it has a population of bacteria on it, those organisms exist throughout the brew, and particularly the yeasts are found more on the bottom of the jar in the sediment.
I've split batches many times...... taking a 2 gallon fermenter, and putting half the liquid and the scoby in one fermenter, and the other half in another fermenter and topping both up with sweet tea. The brew time is very little different, and the product is identical. I also toss the scoby on occasion, and soon have another.
SCOBY is an acronym for Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and yeast.......... It is nothing of the sort. It's not a colony, nor is the relationship true symbiosis. The yeasts benefit the acetobacter by breaking down sugars, into simpler sugars, and by producing alcohol that the acetobacter consume............The acetobacter does nothing for the yeast, and in fact the acetic acid produced by the acetobacter ******* the yeast growth.
I've been making a great deal of kombucha for quite awhile. I currently have a 6 gallon brew bucket..........yes it is plastic.... full of kombucha as my primary fermenter. I do NOT cover it with a cloth.....I just snap the lid on, as I have found that it makes no real difference as I open it every other day anyway. I run this as a continuous fermenter, as I've found that it works better that way. It maintains a very strong and robust culture, and brews rapidly. Typically I take 2-3 liters per day from 6 gallons. I just sent a neighbor 2 gallons of bottled kombucha that had just completed secondary fermentation. Her children love it, and I supply her with at least a gallon a week. I also delivered a 5 gallon carboy to a friend who owns a microbrewery, and he has it on tap........ He can't sell it as it isn't produced in his certified kitchen........ he drinks it himself and passes it out. Sometime in the next few months we will be putting in a half barrel cone bottom fermenter, and producing it right there to sell to customers. We will do the secondary fermentation right in a sanke keg. This will make him the only place within 500 miles that offers komucha on tap, and hopefully will eventually sell it by the growler and by the keg.
The best and easiest way to start kombucha is from commercial brew...GTs or some other commercial brew. If I were starting from scratch, I would probably buy about 4 bottles of GTs, shake them up good, and pour them in a 1 gallon ice tea jug, then fill it with sweet tea........... choose your strength and sweetness. I use 1C sugar and 4 tea bags to the gallon as I'm not a big tea fan. Usually half green half black. Within a week or so you will have a good sour booch, which you can use, or split to increase the size to 2 gallons, etc......... and a good scoby.
I'm a huge fan of kombucha.....it's my non alcoholic "go to drink", and I make and drink a lot of it. I don't subscribe to the folk lore. It contains far more sugar than people realize...... I've tested it with my refractometer and find that little of the sugar you use is actually consumed....... Instead it is masked by the sourness of the acetic and other acids. I don't consider it a "probiotic".... Acetobacter and yeast are not important components in your intestinal populations. Not harmful, but not particularly necessary or beneficial. And the caffeine from the tea is NOT destroyed or consumed by the microbes..it's still there. It's not a wonderful cure all miracle product, it's a refreshing, thirst quenching drink that is probably far better for you than what most folks drink.
Let's be realistic about what kombucha is, and what it's benefits may or may not be.... and enjoy it!
H.W.
