Using an "old" scoby

[welldone]

We went on a trip...months ago...and I left my kombucha brewing in a large gallon-size jar. I'm going to go ahead and admit that it's still in there, on my counter, and there's a huge scoby. (Talk about fermentation! It smells sooo strong!) Is this still good for anything, or do I compost it and get a new one shipped to me?

Also, I still have my first starter scoby piece in a jar in the fridge, floating in kombucha. Again, it's been there for months. Is it still worth doing anything with?

Thanks!

[xenabyte]

The SCOBY that is at room temp, would be your better bet to start off a new batch of Kombucha.

Brew up the tea, see if you can peel the MONDO SCOBY in half (horizontally) to make it thinner, and put it in the new fresh tea. You can add in a 1/2 cup of the room temp kombucha brew to help adjust acidity, and pour out the rest, as I'm sure it's way too strong to drink.

Let this new batch rest about 7 days, and since you have such a nice thick SCOBY, you can probaby taste test this soon. If it's REALLY sweet still (which I doubt), let it go another day or two. I'd go ahead and harvest by day 10, pour it into a container and put it in the refrigerator for your 'drinking' kombucha. Get the SCOBY mother (or the new baby layer) back into a new brew of tea asap that same day.

The one in the refrigerator is probably ok, but cold makes it less likely to be able to 'ferment' and work as well as a room temp kept SCOBY.

Some commercial sites ferment their Kombucha for up to a month (not sure of vessel size)...so really, the room temp one should be ok, but it's probably hungry!

Good luck!

[welldone]

Thanks! Again!

I'll try revival of the poor fat scoby and report back for the curious.