Water kefir
Milk kefir
Kombucha
Ginger beer
Kefir duo
Kefir and kombucha
Starter kit
RennetEvery batch of kombucha makes a new SCOBY layer. Keep spares in a SCOBY hotel, a separate jar of finished kombucha at room temperature. You can also start a second jar with one, brew a bigger batch, turn one into kombucha vinegar, give one to someone who wants to start, or put it on the compost. For your batches, use a young, pale layer together with a cup of starter liquid (about 250 ml).
Why do the SCOBYs keep multiplying?
Because the bacteria in your kombucha make a new skin on the surface of the tea. Every batch, without fail.
That new layer starts as a thin, smooth film and after 7 to 10 days it is a firm, pale disc. Often it grows onto the old SCOBY, sometimes it floats on its own. After a few months you have a thick stack, which is a sign that all is well. To find out what exactly that disc is made of, read What is a kombucha SCOBY?
You only need one SCOBY per jar. The rest can be put to good use.
1. Open a SCOBY hotel
A large glass jar holding all your spare discs, covered with a cloth and filled with finished kombucha.
The SCOBY hotel is your reserve. If a batch ever goes wrong, or you want a second jar, you take out a disc with a cup of liquid. Keep the hotel at room temperature, not in the fridge, and top it up with fresh sweet tea now and then. After a while the liquid becomes very sour, which is exactly right: that strong starter protects the hotel. How to set one up is in The SCOBY hotel.
2. Start a second jar
More kombucha with nothing extra to buy.
With a spare SCOBY and a cup of starter liquid, set a second jar going beside the first with exactly the same recipe: 80 g of sugar, 3 tea bags or about 8 g of loose tea and 1 litre of water. It is a good way to compare teas, say breakfast tea in one jar and green tea in the other; what each one does is in The best tea for kombucha. Or stagger the jars so that one is always ready and you have kombucha every week.
3. Brew a bigger batch
With a larger glass jar, or a kombucha jar with a tap, you can use several SCOBYs and more starter liquid for a bigger batch.
Keep the same proportions per litre: 80 g of sugar, 3 tea bags and about 250 ml of starter liquid. A larger jar has a larger surface, and the new layer grows as wide as the jar. Handy in summer when the household drinks more, for a barbecue with a few bottles of berry kombucha, for instance.
4. Make kombucha vinegar
Let a jar with a spare SCOBY simply keep fermenting until it is very sour, and you have a mild, fruity vinegar for the kitchen.
After a few weeks in the open jar the sweetness is gone entirely. Use it in a dressing, for quick pickles or to deglaze a pan. How to go about it is in Kombucha vinegar, and a first recipe is the kombucha vinaigrette.
5. Give one away
A SCOBY with a cup of liquid in a clean glass jar makes a lovely present for anyone who has been eyeing your kombucha.
Add a card with the basic recipe and point them to How to make kombucha. Tell them to start soon, though: a SCOBY without food and without its sour liquid does not last long. It is a nice thing to bring along when you are invited round for the Christmas visits, tucked in beside the box of biscuits.
6. Put it on the compost
A SCOBY is plant-based material and breaks down nicely on the compost heap or in the food waste bin.
Cut it into pieces and it goes faster. The old, dark bottom layers from your stack can go here too. Do not pour large amounts of the sour liquid over your plants, though.
7. Clear out the old layers
Not every layer needs to stay. The bottom, oldest layers turn dark, thick and tough.
They are not bad, but they work more slowly than a young, pale layer. Every few batches, pull the stack apart; the layers often come away by themselves. Keep the youngest, throw out the oldest or put them in the hotel. If you are unsure whether a mark on your SCOBY is normal, check Kombucha: mould or normal?
Which option suits you?
| Option | What you need | Good if you |
|---|---|---|
| SCOBY hotel | A large glass jar, finished kombucha, a cloth | Want a backup |
| Second jar | Tea, sugar, starter liquid | Want more kombucha |
| Bigger batch | A bigger jar | Drink more in summer |
| Kombucha vinegar | A jar and some patience | Like to cook |
| Give it away | A small jar, a cup of liquid | Want someone else to start |
| Compost | A compost heap or food waste bin | Simply want to tidy up |
No SCOBY yet, or starting over?
Our live kombucha SCOBY with starter liquid costs £16 and starts growing new layers from the very first batch. If you would like water kefir as well, the water kefir and kombucha set saves you £4 compared with buying the two separately. Everything about kombucha is on the kombucha page.