How to Start a 5-Star SCOBY Hotel
If you’ve been brewing kombucha for a while, you’ll notice an abundance of new SCOBY friends. Instead of throwing the extras away, you can store them in a SCOBY Hotel!
A SCOBY hotel is a separate jar where you store all extra SCOBYs in plain kombucha, keeping them healthy and ready for future brews. It’s easy to keep, serves as a backup in case anything goes wrong with your main brew, and is super helpful if you ever want to pause and take a break from brewing.
And it's called a hotel because all your SCOBYs can rest in it when they're not being used 🛏️
How to Start a 5-Star SCOBY Hotel
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Prepare your jar
Get a jar that's big enough to house multiple SCOBYs! -
Add your SCOBYs
Place all your SCOBYs into the jar. -
Add in plain kombucha
Add unflavoured kombucha to fully cover the SCOBYs. You'll always want to keep your SCOBYs fully submerged to protect them from mold or contamination. -
Cover and store
Use a paper towel / cloth and rubber band to cover the jar. Keep it at room temperature away from direct sunlight, just like your regular brew.
How to Use Your 5-Star SCOBY Hotel
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Starter Tea: Use the liquid in your SCOBY Hotel as starter tea for all your kombucha brews! This liquid is essentially very old & concentrated kombucha (think kombucha vinegar) and is perfect for kickstarting your brews.
- SCOBY: After each brew, you can store your SCOBYs in the hotel. You'll also have an unlimited supply of healthy active SCOBYs to kickstart your brews.
Caring for Your SCOBY Hotel
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Feed it: Add in plain kombucha OR sweet tea (at room temperature) every 2-4 weeks to keep the bacteria and yeasts active!
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Don’t refrigerate it: The bacteria and yeasts go dormant in the fridge and will be unable to fight off any external contaminants = mould.