Have extra kombucha SCOBYs that you don’t need right now, but want to hold onto? Make a SCOBY hotel! Here’s everything you need to know about making and maintaining your five star kombucha SCOBY hotel.
If you’ve been brewing kombucha for any length of time, you’ve probably run into the all too common problem – you’re drowning in SCOBYs!
As a recap, a kombucha SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast), sometimes referred to as the pellicle, is a cellulose-based byproduct of kombucha fermentation that’s filled with bacteria and yeast. While you can brew kombucha without the SCOBY, using a SCOBY helps to quicken the fermentation while protecting your brew from contaminants.
But the thing about SCOBYs is…they grow. Sometimes quickly! And as this happens, you’ll want to remove the excess SCOBYs from your main fermentation vessel so that you have enough room for the kombucha.
But don’t throw that SCOBY away! Get her checked into your deluxe, five star SCOBY hotel, where she can hangout until you need her again.
What is a SCOBY hotel?
What is a SCOBY hotel, exactly? It’s basically just a jar where you can store your extra SCOBYs. These SCOBYs aren’t actively making kombucha, just resting until they’re needed.
Kombucha SCOBYs can be reused and last for a very long time (sometimes years!), so by storing them in a “hotel” you’ll always have a healthy SCOBY ready to brew your next batch of kombucha.
So why do you need a SCOBY hotel? There are a few great reasons to have one!
- Breaks: A hotel allows you to take a break from brewing while keeping your SCOBY healthy.
- Storage: It gives you a place to store extra SCOBYs.
- Backups: You’ll have backup SCOBYs in case your batch gets moldy.
- Sharing: You’ll always have extra SCOBYs to share with friends and family.
- Starters: It becomes a factory for potent starter tea, which you can use to fuel your first fermentation.
How to make a SCOBY hotel
So now that I’ve convinced you that you need a SCOBY hotel to store all your spare SCOBYs, how do you make one? In short, you’ll just put your extra SCOBYs into a clean glass jar and cover with sweet tea + starter kombucha (in the same ratios of sugar / tea / starter as with the first fermentation). Follow these instructions for making an easy SCOBY hotel.
INGREDIENTS TO MAKE A SCOBY HOTEL
- 7 cups (1.6 L) water (tap water should be fine)
- ½ cup (100 g) white sugar (sugars you can use in kombucha)
- 4 black tea bags (teas you can use in kombucha, opt for black or green tea instead of herbal teas for the SCOBY hotel)
- 1 cup (240 mL) unpasteurized, unflavored kombucha
- All of your extra SCOBYs
SUPPLIES NEEDED TO MAKE A SCOBY HOTEL
- A large glass container or fermentation-safe brewing vessel
- Tightly woven cloth (coffee filters, paper towels, napkins, cheese cloth)
- Rubberbands
- Large pot for boiling water
HOW TO MAKE A SCOBY HOTEL
1. Make Sweet Tea: Bring water to a boil. Remove from heat and dissolve sugar into it. Add the tea bags and allow them to steep for at least 20 minutes (or until tea has cooled).
2. Cool to Room Temp: Allow hot tea to cool to room temperature. Quicken this process by boiling just 2 cups of water, dissolving the sugar, and steeping the tea for 20 minutes. Then add remaining 5 cups of cold water, which will bring the mixture to room temperature faster. Test that the tea is room temperature by drawing out some tea with a paper straw, using your finger to keep the kombucha in the straw.
3. Assemble: Using clean hands, add all of your extra SCOBYs to a clean glass jar. Pour starter kombucha then the sweetened tea into your jar to cover the SCOBYs.
4. Cover: Cover with a few layers of the tightly woven cloth, securing with a rubber band. Do not use a lid on your SCOBY hotel – it needs to breathe!
5. Store: Store your SCOBY hotel in the same area that you brew kombucha. The temperature should be 60-85°F (16-29°C), and it should be away from direct sunlight and potential contaminants (like compost or garbage). Do not store your SCOBY hotel in the refrigerator.
How to care for a SCOBY hotel
When it comes to maintaining your SCOBY hotel, there are just two things to remember:
- Don’t let it dry up: Your SCOBYs need to be submerged in liquid to keep them healthy, so be aware of liquid evaporating and replenish as needed.
- Feed it: Occasionally remove about 75% of the acidic liquid and replace it with a fresh batch of sweet tea (the same proportions as listed above). This provides nutrients and sugars for the bacteria and yeast to eat.
Your SCOBY hotel can go 30 to 90 days without hotel maintenance, depending on the temperature of your house.
You can optionally decide to remove excess yeast. These are the stringy brown bits that usually hang off the bottom of the SCOBYs. If you notice that there are a lot of these in your hotel, you can remove them to help maintain a good bacteria/yeast balance.
While mold is not common in SCOBY hotels due to the high acidity, always clean your hands and equipment well before working on your SCOBY hotel.
“I left my scoby hotel for for almost a year in a dark cupboard – are they safe to use or should I throw them all away?”
How to draw from a SCOBY hotel
Your SCOBY hotel is a factory for two things: SCOBYs and starter tea.
- To use SCOBYs from your hotel, simply pluck them out (or chuck them in) as you need them.
- To use starter tea from your hotel, just remove what you need. If the liquid level drops below the SCOBYs, make a fresh batch of sweet tea and pour it in to feed the hotel and to keep it from drying up.
“can new SCOBYs appear in the hotel?”
It’s normal for a baby SCOBY or new SCOBY layers to form in your hotel! It’s still a living fermentation, so it will continue to grow.
SCOBY hotel don’ts
The do’s and don’ts of SCOBY hotels are the same as with brewing kombucha. But as a reminder, here are some big don’ts when it comes to your hotel:
- Don’t refrigerate your SCOBY hotel. The fridge is too cold and will stop the fermentation, which could lead to kombucha mold.
- Don’t use dirty hands or supplies.
- Don’t store you SCOBYs in plain water. Always sweet tea + starter liquid.
- Don’t store SCOBYs in tea without starter; the starter tea provides the acidity needed to prevent mold.
- Don’t place SCOBYs in hot water or tea.
- Don’t put a lid on your SCOBY hotel. The fermentation process requires oxygen, and depriving it of that could lead to mold.
Feel free to comment below with any questions. I’ve been brewing for over a decade and personally check comments daily! Happy brewing! -Sarah
What happens if you put a lid on your SCOBY hotel then 2 years later use a SCOBY (or more than one) from the hotel to make kombucha?
Asking for a friend. Haha.
Two years is a long time! I would look closely for any signs of mold, but it mayyyy be best to just start a new one to be safe! 😀
I’m trying this today. No mold on my ancient SCOBY, so hoping I can use it in a batch today. The liquid is dark amber but everybody in there looks good and no off smell.
Hi! Thank you so much for your kick-ass kombucha guide and all these extra kombucha recipes! my question is that the 1st fermentation jar I am using is bigger than the one I grew my scoby in and does not cover the entirety of the tea. Will that be a problem?
Thank you again!
That’s okay, your SCOBY will grow to the jar size pretty quickly! 😀
Just wondering why the hotel should not be used with a lid? Another site said it was fine and would prevent evaporation.
Kombucha needs oxygen to ferment properly 🙂
But the hotel isn’t actively fermenting, it’s just storage.
It is actively fermenting though, even if you’re not going to drink the liquid. The bacteria and yeast are still working away 🙂
I’m making my first batch of kombucha since the spring and the hotel has been in the cupboard, hanging out with 4 SCOBYs. I have fed it regularly but the first fermentation of my next batch needs the liquid from the hotel. That means I have no leftover kombucha to add to my hotel and the remaining 3 SCOBYs. I have the one SCOBY in my new batch so if I create a new hotel for my remaining SCOBYs with only the sweet tea, what are the chances they will survive? (I’m going to try it either way, but I’m just curious as to whether you’ve had success with this.) Thanks!
Just keep it warm to try to get that fermentation going quickly, which will prevent mold!
This is a year old, by why not split into two hotels, add more tea to ferment, THEN start a new fermentation and put the remaining scobys into the second jar
Hello! Can I cut my scoby to fit the shape of the hotel so they don’t fold and look prettier? Can I use scraps to make a small portion of kombucha? Thanks
Yep absolutely! 😀
I left my scoby hotel for for almost a year in a dark cupboard, the top one looks a bit weird but all the others look fine – does anyone know if they are safe to use or should I throw them all away? I haven’t fed it or anything in about a year!
It couuuuld be okay, check for signs of mold!
Hello,
I don’t know if anyone else has asked this, but if the top so by in my snobby hotel has mold, should I thrown everything away or shoulD I remove the top few scobys and keep the hotel?
I’ve had this hotel for years and even though sometimes I take too long before adding new tea into it, but I’ve never faced mold problems. I don’t know where I went wrong this time.
Help please!
The best advice is to throw everything away because the mold spores can be small and all over the brew, even if you only see it on top. Maybe it got too cold with winter?
Hey! Thank you for the awesome recipies and info. Much needed! Couple questions I have had hard time finding answers to: Do the SCOBYs lose their ability and stregth while being in a SCOBYhotel? If normally I would use one SCOBY for about 5 fermentations, do I have to take in to consideration the time spent in the hotel? Also can new SCOBYs appear in the hotel? It is after all such a healthy play ground for them, I would imagine they get older and provide new SCOBYs. 🙂
They’ll get a bit more powerful in the hotel! And new SCOBYs will continue to grow in the hotel as well 😀
Thanks for asking the question about scobys growing in the hotel. I was wondering the same thing!
Sounds like these scobys are like rabbits! ????
I have a scoby hotel, with no current kombucha making. The hotel liquid is super sour / vinegary. Is that liquid safe to use in a new batch of kombucha? I feel like it will turn the whole new batch into dreadful juice flavored vinegar. If it is safe to use the hotel liquid for new kombucha, would I use it in the same ratio as I normally would?
Yep, it’s safe to use and you can use the same ratios! It may just ferment more quickly for the first batch.
I forgot to mention that I also left a lot of kombucha from the first fermentation in the jar , with the scoby. Heidi