The Microbial Universe That Makes Kombucha

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When you think of kombucha, you might think of a nice, refreshing, healthy drink, one that’s exceptionally good for your microbiome. What we here at Journey to the Microcosmos think of is a terrarium…a place where a whole ecosystem exists, trapped in glass.
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[@journeytomicro]

This episode is sponsored by Squarespace. Go to squarespace.com/microcosmos to get a free trial and 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

[@julesl6910]

Squarespace is sponsored by Hong Kong

[@nguyetnguyen4609]

Yogurt bacteria Yeast

[@ontoya1]

I wonder if there's people who have been keeping the same Scoby family for more 100 years. Its literally a living recipe, absolutely fascinating

[@crumb_of_nopeamine_plz]

Like those crazy pots of soups that have been cooking constantly through family generations!

[@smivan.]

1:03 Kombucha was also massively popular in USSR (allegedly after WW2), known as "tea mushroom" and "tea kvass", among other names.

[@Wyvernnnn]

OH SHIT is that what they drink in metro 2033?! Everybody in the underground drinks "mushroom tea" and it's set in the moscovite metro underground!

[@rdreher7380]

Very fun fact "kombucha" is a Japanese word, but Japanese "Kombu-cha" has nothing to do with what English speakers now call "kombucha." "Kombu" or 昆布 is a kind of kelp, and "cha" or 茶 is tea, so "kombu-cha" is a kind of tea-like drink made with kelp, not a fermented drink. I've had it, and it's quite light in its flavor, very pleasant. At some point I read that the person who started popularizing the drink we now call kombucha in the west was inspired by the Japanese kelp drink, but didn't know what it was actually made of so wound up making a different drink. I think that might have been speculation though, as I can't find reference to it now. Alternatively, there may have just been some confusion among westerners in Japan at the turn of the last century where they thought kombu-cha refereed to fermented drinks. Some sources say this very fishy story about a Korean doctor called "Dr. Kombu" which I don't buy at all, or suggest that maybe the Japanese had at one point also called fermented tea drinks kombucha, because the yeast looked like kombu. I find even that explanation not well supported, because no Japanese source I can find mentions such a usage of 昆布茶.

[@arrbos]

It's a disputed origin! It may be a coincidence. It's pretty cool. One theory for instance is that Kombu is a Korean surname. Dr. Kombu brings a magical tea to the Chinese emperor.

[@rdreher7380]

@@arrbos As I said in my comment, that Dr. Kombu thing is really fishy. The story as it's usually told is that this Dr. Kombu healed the Japanese Emperor, but "Kombu" is not a Korean name. It's recorded in the kojiki that there was a doctor from Korea who healed Emperor Ingyō. His name put into Japanese was コムハチムカムキム or Kompachi Mukamu Kimu, and this is the closest possible match for this "Korean Dr. Kombu," but again, that story assumes that the term "kombucha" was used for the fermented tea drink in Japan, and I don't see any solid evidence that it was. It really seems to have always only ever meant "kelp tea," and westerners misapplied the Japanese term. If you search this topic in Japanese, you find that there is another fishy story that Japanese articles will give. They very much noticed how English speakers etc use their word "kombu-cha" for a very different drink, and came up with a theory of their own as to why, saying that that this "kombu" comes from the Korean word "kon," which, according to the theory, is how the Koreans read the character 菌 "fungus." Except, that's not how the character 菌 is read in Korean; that character is read as 균 "gyun," not all that close to "kon," and anyway why would "bucha" be added?

[@arrbos]

@@rdreher7380 Fair enough, I hadn't read the whole comment!

[@Schnozwangler]

Kelp tea sounds awesome

[@CatherineLu]

The first kombucha I ever had was the literal Japanese word, and I spent a lot of years being super confused by the western one (not having tried it) and completely not understanding any conversation about it. Thanks for this peek at the etymology, I’m glad I wasn’t actually out of my mind 😂

[@ItsBugtronic]

It would be interesting to take a look at spontaneously fermented beer. Unlike traditional beer in which the brewer adds known yeast, the brewery exposes the beer to open air and allows any yeast or bacteria to find its way into the beer and ferment. It is common for bacteria to raise acidity and give the beer a sour taste.

[@KombuchaKamp]

Lambic is Kombucha's beer cousin!

[@Appletank8]

How do they ensure stuff they don't want don't get in?

[@ItsBugtronic]

​@@Appletank8 They don't, if the beer is unsafe to drink the brewery will dump the beer. However, like it is explained in this video the good bacteria and yeast propagates an environment the other bacteria and yeast can't live in. So in the most basic sense it's a calculated risk. This is also the reason why you won't see a macro brewery make this style of beer.

[@joshuagoodsell9330]

If you're interested in microbes making interesting flavors, look up muck pits in the manufacture of jamaican rum. It's pretty cool. It helps increase the amount and variety of esters in the rum.

[@ItsBugtronic]

​@@joshuagoodsell9330Thanks for sharing I will check it out. More of a whiskey guy as I find rum a little too sweet. So I would have likely never heard of this.

[@SANJAY-un3pc]

Everytime I open a kombucha I will now feel like a god of destruction.

[@KombuchaKamp]

or a host to mazillions of best friends!

[@unnamellie]

Kombucha is still consumed in Russia, it's called tea mushroom. We "feed" it with strong sweet tea, as said in the video. We usually don't add other flavorings and drink it on summer as a refresher or as health supplement

[@StopItGarrison]

It's still consumed all over the world. I've brewed it in my closet in Oklahoma.

[@mfhex1398]

Amazing, I didn't know that ruskies drink non-alcoholic beverages

[@StopItGarrison]

@@mfhex1398 kombucha is slightly alcoholic 😂😂😂

[@intensecutn]

Kombucha has become very popular all over the world in the last 5 years or so.

[@KombuchaKamp]

yet not intoxicating! yes, some report a "buzz" and "flush" yet that is most likely due to the Niacin (B2) content as it creates an identical reaction. The alcohol is a preservative just like rubbing alcohol on a wound kills the bad guys so you can heal. It keeps the crud from colonizing the brew.@@StopItGarrison

[@jorispattyn9690]

After watching this, I really think your team ought to take a look into beer of spontaneous fermentation, more specifically 'lambic'. To sum up all reasons would be way too long, but I'll give you one hint: the fermentation of lambic follows a cascade of ferments. More than 90 main strains were identified in the first comprehensive study done upon; now already 30+ years ago.

[@YCbCr]

And they come out of thin air basically, if I get it right? Wild! Natural geofencing :)

[@sgctactics]

Well said, beat me to it.. I do in fact enjoy lambics and there's such an untapped variety of them out there. Sorry for the ramble.... Originally, (and yes, I'd love to know the exact methods, although I assume trial and error..) the tradition was/is to brew a relatively weak wort and old hops and let it cool in boat-like troughs. Overnight, the troughs would collect the "wild" yeast, brett and bacteria to start it brewing the following morning. The most common and known lambics come from buildings that have repeated that very process to the point that you can assume that (if they don't sanitize every inch of that place - which I hope they don't) the very brewery itself is the wild seed culture. I think one could probably spend a lifetime identifying every lambic brewery's combination of living organisms that turn it into what it is, just by scraping a small surface of a nearby wall. Not to say that it isn't a "wild" culture going on there, I'm just implying that simply continuing the process allows for a unique and legitimate habitat. I vote +1 for the next video for sure, I'd love to see how wrong I am! Only way I learn nowadays...😊

[@hedgehog3180]

@@sgctactics Well in terms of “wildness” it'd be similar to permaculture or food forrests, like you aren't directly controlling what grows but you certainly are influencing the environment in a direction that is beneficial for humans, even if you aren't exerting that influence actively.

[@BierBart12]

@@sgctactics It's wild that "unsanitary" is a good thing in this specific food context

[@RoySATX]

And here again I wish I had known the term "spontaneously fermented beer" when I was living with messy roomates in college. It would have made cleaning days much more fun! Not to mention all the spontaneously ripened cheese's we found as well!

[@NexxuSix]

I knew there were living organisms in kombucha… But WOW, thats a crowded city! O.o =)

[@MetaverseAdventures]

Please also consider making a video on "Water Kefir" as it is also a very interesting fermented drink that is has many of the same benefits as Kombucha and many of the same quirks, yet from another part of the world.

[@KombuchaKamp]

We love water kefir too!

[@ravensnflies8167]

i make kombucha. you dont need to have any to start with. it quite literally lives everywhere; youre just giving it a habitat to thrive.

[@wickedcabinboy]

@ravensnflies8167 - Where I come from, that's what we use soap and warm water for. We don't harvest it and put it in a jar on the shelf.

[@YCbCr]

I guess the SCOBY's composition varies by location (does it?); would there be any discernable difference between vegetation types, elevation, climate...? How pointless would be making a collection of them during holidays? :D

[@potatovegeta9385]

This is great! please do more fermentation content using indigenous microbes or even just looking at aerobic/anaerobic soil microbiome profiles. Would also be really cool to see different endophytes in action one day.

[@FoxDragon]

Kombucha. Taste the ecosystem.

[@lauroralei]

Thanks for reminding me I need to brew another batch of my own kombucha! Also a great episode seeing what goes on in there

[@smiththewright]

Would be interesting to see how the fungi is devouring the legumes in Tempeh ...🍽

[@nabra97]

I'm from Ukraine, and it's definitely a thing in post-Soviet countries. It's commonly called "tea mushroom" (or "tea fungus", it's the same word in both Ukrainian and Russian), referring to both the drink and the bacterial mat. I believe people just leave sweet tea to ferment (sometimes acid is also added) and hope that the colony will grow... Sometimes it happens by mistake) You can buy kombucha produced industrially nowadays, and it still weirds me out how different people associations with these two, while these are virtually the same thing.

[@Freddisred]

There are recipies for the SCOBY that aren't tea related, I recall someone dried it out and made little chewy snacks out of it.

[@KombuchaKamp]

Yes! Our book has the recipe for "SCOBY Fruit Leather" that has since been turned into Epicurious content (The Big Book of Kombucha)

[@sonyantony8203]

Long time fan of your channel. Easily the best voice-over ...very peaceful ...of course in addition to the great video/microscope

[@Bimtavdesign]

And music!

[@peterblasek7356]

Please as you correctly mentioned the SCOBY is the symbiosis of the yeast and bacteria which is mainly in the liquid not the death cellulose swimming on the top.

[@Nono-hk3is]

Correct. The cellulose puck is NOT the SCOBY.

[@SirCutRy]

The puck is called a 'pellicle'.

[@MamitaClaud]

I make my own Kombucha. It was ok when I mix in the kitchen. When I tried assembling it in my garden, hoping to document the process with the literal farm to table method. After I was done, I left the jar on the table outside. Although, covered with cheese cloth, it was still affected by the surrounding. It was too late before I remembered it. We have some strong Northeast wind atm and my basil alone grows everywhere plus the remnants of my war with the eukaryotes, pollinators carrying not just pollen, dust bunnies carrying whatever, foreign objects from trees, my neigbors' flying micro rubbish, etc. Knowing Darwin's primordial soup alone, my scoby was already unusable. Perfectly said on *7:50*

[@bill8985]

I developed a scoby from store-bought live culture brands - and got a couple/few batches of good kombucha out of it... But i live near a river and there's mold everywhere (as it is more damp here than your average home?) The batch after that was contaminated and I just gave up making my own... sad really - I love fermenting foods - and make a ton of naturally lacto-fermented pickles every year. Lacto fermenting seems to be more robust process. I think the pH drops more quickly so tends to ward off bad bugs better.

[@MamitaClaud]

@@bill8985 I saw that process as well and will try it someday. Thanks for the insight.

[@jon9509]

Au contraire. When I think of Kombucha I think of the sweat of old stinky feet distilled into a liquid.

[@wickedcabinboy]

@jon9509 - With scrapings from between the toes to add texture. Pardon me while I go vomit.

[@SuperManning11]

Yum yum!!

[@FullModernAlchemist]

One of my absolute favorite channels on KZbin. Endlessly fascinating and beautifully presented. Bravo ❤

[@knackerdreibein5627]

I heard that the pellicle( the pancake on the top) is not the scoby, but the entirety of the liquid is considered to be the scoby.

[@arrbos]

Yeah. I just remove it. The pellicle is a waste product.

[@lopis]

It's a bit unfortunate that Hank would get this wrong. This jelly is mostly cellulose. The SCOBY lives in the liquid, including inaide the pellicle.

[@AndreaCrisp]

I have brewed Kombucha on and off for years. Way before it was popular commercially and I have never heard this. Not saying that you are wrong in anyway, at all, but literally everyone refers to the slimy plug on top as the SCOBY. It's what people give to friends to start their own kombucha. So maybe give Hank and James a pass. But I am glad to hear this so that I know. Now I want to research and learn more! Thanks for sharing.

[@hedgehog3180]

It's a bacterial mat so it should absolutely contain a ton of microbes.

[@arrbos]

@@hedgehog3180 It does, and it'll suffice for starting a kombucha culture. But the fact that the pellicle happens to contain a viable starter culture is incidental. You can also just hand someone a jar of liquid, or use a live culture (ideally unflavoured) from the grocery store.

[@betula-pendula]

Oh I am getting to be a zoo! Come all you tiny ceatures, you belly puppys, you little onecells to live with me... Tomorrow I brew a new combucha.

[@daniellemoya-mendezilling2591]

Awesome video! I wanted to mention that the SCOBY is actually the liquid or “starter” that you add to the tea. The thing that sits at the top of the jar is called a Pellicle. If you want to brew kombucha at home, you don’t need a pellicle to start a new brew, just the starter. I’ve done a few batches this way since the pellicle get a little gnarly after a while 😅

[@DanScottCAN]

Came here to make the distinction between SCOBY and pellicle as well! I usually toss the pellicle every time rather than letting it get gnarly, but I have make fruit leather with it (pellicle + fruit + blender + oven) that passed my kids' taste test. So it's useful for more than just protecting the surface 🤣

[@daniellemoya-mendezilling2591]

@@DanScottCAN that’s amazing! I have been too spooked to try eating it, but I will give it a try now that I’ve heard it’s kid approved 😁🙌

[@GooogleGoglee]

​@@DanScottCAN Would you share a more detailed process to achieve that? Also how you guys take care of it? Is it ok to keep it for a long time in the pantry with the pellicle on top ? How do I know if nothing bad is going on, or if it has already happened? Thank you!

[@KombuchaKamp]

Sorry to burst your bubble - the SCOBY is the pellicle not the liquid. Yes, the liquid can also ferment and KBI - the trade association for Kombucha does acknowledge Solid and Liquid SCOBY - but that term was invented in the 1990s to distinguish the pellicle from the fermented beverage. So funny how this has been distorted in such a short amount of time. Len Porzio invented the term. Also researchers at Arizona State University determined the SCOBY is the immune system of the brew - so if you want the most robust, healthiest brew, stick with a quality culture - you can toss the extras or use them in a variety of ways!

[@daniellemoya-mendezilling2591]

@@KombuchaKamp that’s super interesting, I had no idea! I gotta do more research 🤓 thank you for sharing!

[@Barron_Trump_Hates_His_Pops]

A small correction: the pancake like thing is not the SCOBY, it’s the pellicle. The SCOBY is the yeast and bacteria distributed throughout the tea

[@brandihayes1274]

Except if you type it into the internets it tells you that "In its most common form, SCOBY is a gelatinous, cellulose-based biofilm or microbial mat found floating at the container's air-liquid interface. This bacterial cellulose mat is sometimes called a pellicle."

[@doofkhwetty]

Touché.

[@KombuchaKamp]

not sure where this false news started but the SCOBY is literally the term invented to distinguish the pellicle from the fermented beverage - google Len Porzio to learn the history of the term!

[@Wo1fie]

I would love to see this for home brewed ginger ale/ginger beer with no starter cultures. Just yeast, sugar, lemon juice, and warm water left in a closed but "warm" environment and burped once every day to prevent the bottle from exploding. I brewed many 2L bottles of this and after I felt the fermentation period was long enough I would add a tiny bit of salt and place in the fridge to more or less stop the brewing process.

[@zachhoy]

this was great, I'm an avid kombucha brewer so it's fun to see them up close and hear discussion about it, thanks

[@tbella5186]

So exciting, I was just asking my Bestie if she still had her Scoby this weekend! I'm starting my kombucha this week!

[@That_Non-Binary_Fox]

I've thought about making kombucha myself. This episode was fascinating! I'm so excited to order my microscope when they restock!

[@dzonybajlando9270]

Nonbinary fox lol

[@dr.scorpiopus8907]

Watching my kombucha stir itself is one of my favorite pastimes.

[@knackerdreibein5627]

so nice to see the two things im recently obsessed about... combined!

[@tomholroyd7519]

It starts as tea, so kombuCHA

[@bingoberra18]

Kombo-Chai?

[@techshabby0001]

1:32 looks like a segment from marinetraffic, showing all the boats in the waters around the globe.

[@TheBogstaverne]

I know you've been for a while, but I just want to say it is so good to have you back Hank!

[@MilesPrower69420]

i dont know what to feel about this, lol.

[@tonib111]

Your videos make me want to code and simulate micro worlds. And there are few channes that inspire as strong as yours. Keep the work up 😊😊😊😊🎉

[@celticlass8573]

Who knew my little glass of kombucha home-brew was like the primordial Earth? 😍

[@fizziclekombucha]

Thanks for this great kombucha video!

[@Geezman1977]

This was lovely and lively.

[@chamomill]

In russian it's called "tea mushroom"

[@travisolander4749]

This is incredible. Science is catching onto how important and consequential the gut microbiome is. Kombucha is like adding a supercharger to the engine that is your microbiome; it affects every aspect of health, including neurological and nervous health.

[@mattcy6591]

Shout out to the original dude who saw this funky liquid with a floaty scab and thought hmmm "I wonder what it tastes like."

[@emom358]

What about skyr? I love it!

[@thr3ddy]

The colony looks so homogeneous, like a very stable matrix.

[@Olashenco]

Oh my God, I want a microscope so bad. Sometimes I use an 18-year-old plastic toy from my childhood and I'm still amazed at what ordinary things look like when enlarged.

[@dannyfar7989]

You can get used decent ones quite cheaply. I recently even saw an afdordable used hitachi electronmicroscope but I so not have the apace /building structure for that Format. Getring an old langefield trinocular microscope still is fun today and it easily connects to a camera. The better ones where modular in the 1960s already so building a few LED modules that Integration well is very easy too. You get the predecessors of modern 6digit price models for 3 digits of you know how to look. Of that's too expensive even one of theese simple field microscope from the early 1910s offers lots of fun, they cost 2digits. Get somenZeiss or Leitz (Leica microsystems now) that at least isn't a ",brass veteran" and you'll be fine.

[@philsowers]

Aw man, this one's resolution is only 720p after 2 days, I was really hoping to check it out in 4k!

[@jameybomkamp3553]

I love for James to look at water kefir sometime and see if it is the same wild.

[@AkumAChido1]

love these videos, please do a video about a Mexican drink called "tepache"

[@antiisocial]

Cool. Ty

[@rogerjones332]

Scoby Doo where are you?

[@mr.brucks6452]

In my childhood, in the 80s in Russia, there was such a jar in the kitchen. I poured tea and sugar into it. It was very tasty and refreshing. But I wouldn't drink it now :)

[@DamiMami]

I'd love to see an episode about sourdough!

[@okay9574]

My high school math teacher used to razz me for bringing Kombucha in a lot and taught me about the mother calling it ‘tea fungus’ to spite me haha

[@matthewtopping2061]

I hate it when people call kombucha "booch", because that doesn't even make sense. The word is "konbu" kelp, "cha" tea. Kelp tea.

[@wickedcabinboy]

@matthewtopping2061 - Otherwise known as fertilizer.

[@anniebooo]

Can you make an episode focussed on cell division in yeast? It's fascinating. Best regards, Annie

[@lettuce7378]

Drinking kombucha while watching 👍

[@h3lldr0p]

Okay. Given everything in this one, can you say what the difference is between a SCOBY and the Mother used for making vinegar? Because from the description it doesn't sound like there is one.

[@osmia]

+

[@dancoroian1]

Pretty sure it's the same (or at least, very similar and closely related) organisms responsible...it's just different starting materials feeding the SCOBY -- wine vs. tea

[@KombuchaKamp]

correctamundo!@@dancoroian1

[@javedhossain8388]

Suddenly discovered the channel, the narrator is so good.

[@xalexpopalex]

The Narrator is Hank Green, consider looking into his other content too!

[@mikeciul8599]

@@xalexpopalex It took me a while to realize it - he's so much more chill when he does this show!

[@russellzauner]

well now I just want to index and preserve all the different kombuchas

[@gaeshows1938]

Now I’ll never be able to drink kombucha ever again

[@dorothypierre754]

Scoby in kombucha seems similar to the "mother" in vinegar.

[@violiendamast]

How close is it to kefir? Water kefir or milk kefir?

[@maksphoto78]

Kefir is more complex, containing among the others lactic acid bacteria.

[@expjames911]

kombucha being referred to as refreshing is not something I ever thought I would hear.

[@jaystink]

I just rewatched "The Rick's Must be Crazy" (the Rick and Morty episode where Rick's microverse battery stops working), and now I'm a little hesitant to fuel my body with a microbial universe...

[@Oxide294]

Are they moving because of Brownian motion or flagellum?

[@babygorilla4233]

You guys should do a collaboration with a channel that brews meed or other alcohol and get samples of the steps of the process.

[@s7r49]

You should see a batch of kefir from raw milk, it's even more wild than kombucha, there's all KINDS of stuff in there. I always pretend I'm a dinosaur when I drink it. eating tons of little critters in one gulp.

[@moofymoo]

Kombuchians have rights too, stop spying on them!

[@ScottLahteine]

Truly incredible. I make kombucha at home four gallons at a time and share it with my friends and neighbors, and I’ve always wanted to have a look at it under the microscope. Bacteria and yeast are among the less exciting organisms, but that’s no surprise given their ubiquity. I started my brewing with a bottle of store-bought raw kombucha and it’s been going strong for a few years now. It’s gratifying to be able to make a strong “ginger beer” at home with nothing but sweet tea, fresh ginger, and a lot of waiting. Everyone who enjoys kombucha should give it a go. It’s the perfect home-crafted beverage for the lazy and distracted.

[@jackappin]

I'd drink some kombucha with you, but I already polished off what I had in the fridge and I won't process any more until Saturday.

[@mikeciul8599]

I'd like to see a video that explores the question "how is a vinegar mother different from a kombucha scoby?"

[@KombuchaKamp]

probably similar in many ways yet grown on different substrates thereby creating different metabolites

[@tristanvongkultrup9800]

The gelatinous mass is called a pellicle. The entire kombucha drink is a SCOBY. Small edit.

[@debrawestbrook8960]

Whats the difference between the scoby in kombucha and the mother in vinegar?

[@zoetele123]

Awesome awesome awesome

[@markguyton2868]

"Kombucha microbes in, Kombucha tea drink out, Kombucha microbes in, _aaaand_ ya shake em all about " ;3

[@bonniek6039]

I love your videos and you guys are amazing! But the music in this one is way too loud and distracting! I can't concentrate on the wonderful, fascinating words that you are saying.

[@chrisleech1565]

Scobi is the equivalent of mother of vinegar yes?

[@MultiNevyn]

It's interesting that having yeast and acidic acid bacteria together make Kombucha, but having yeast first, then bacteria just makes vinegar.

[@KombuchaKamp]

Kombucha is tea vinegar - but we don't ferment it to have a 4% acetic acid content - its usually around 1% acetic acid

[@kurtb.kaiser8699]

Your background sound is during a very effective job of masking your voice.

[@desmond3828]

Is Hank Green still working for CC?

[@user255]

1:50 sugar grains or starch grains?

[@AdmiralSym]

Intro song is especially BoC

[@amitsunoko7270]

Kombucha gives me a feeling of a karate chop

[@Timbyte]

Hell the fk yeah! i was just looking for tea mushroom under a microscope

[@sidthemyth]

wanted to see the details of those organisms...

[@myke__V]

Would be cool to see a tainted fermentation with Clostridium botulinum present.

[@KombuchaKamp]

that would be in a preserved food not a fermented one - botulism is never found in a pH below 4.6 which is why the FDA set that metric for "low acid" foods

[@Nomadmandude]

How did God do this? I want to know, not to copy but just to understand. "What would do with the information?" "Be in awe."

[@kreatuslucina]

I bet PFC Crafton loved this episode

[@annefoley6950]

that SCOBY thing reminds me of what happens to a glass of milk one has perhaps, forgotten about and left in the open. Is that composed of the same microbes? We have a running joke in my house about college fridges; "some pretty good cheese" going on in the carton of milk you couldn't manage to use up. I wonder if that stuff is actually close to cheese or yogurt.

[@dancoroian1]

When milk goes bad and curdles, it separates into curds and whey -- resembling the first step in making either yogurt or cheese. With yogurt (and some cheeses, like feta or labneh), you would start by using live yogurt cultures to curdle and acidify the milk -- producing 'acid whey,' which can be strained away to whatever extent for the type of yogurt you want -- whereas for most cheeses you would use rennet or some other enzymatic curdling agent, separating the curds from the 'sweet whey' (which can be further cooked to make ricotta!), pressing them with added salt, and aging. But the spoiled milk also contains bacteria that produce foul odors and flavors on top of just curdling it. So, the answer is really both! (And neither 😜)

[@KombuchaKamp]

the SCOBY is made of bacterial cellulose secreted from the gluconacetobacter and acetobacter. It is a pure form of cellulose and many are experimenting with growing Kombucha SCOBYs for a variety of other uses including biodegradable fabric, living bandages, wastewater filters and more. So not the same as fermented dairy (which would be lactoferments as lacto means milk!)

[@Ox33_DogDev]

Hey! I am trying to start a youtube channel by posting microspoic videos. I wanted to do this for a long time and once I saw your channel I knew this plan wasn't impossible. If there is a way you can tell me where to start, I would really appreciate it!

[@dragonpaws]

I love that you guys are talking about kombucha! The kombucha I maKE IN MY HOUSE AND THE KOMBUCHA MY PARENTS MAKE IN THEIRS TASTE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT (DESPITE SUING THE SAME RECIPE) DUE TO THE DIFFERENCES IN THE MICROBIOME OF OUR HOME. tHE SAME THING HAPPENS WHEN i MAKE KEFIR. sorry I didn't notice that I pressed caps lock part way through and didn't want to retype that.

[@doofkhwetty]

Not wanting to retype that paragraph makes me think maybe your parents are just better at following a recipe

[@user-bo2gl5ln6c]

Pineapple and manuka honey next ✨

[@Ilikewater-andice]

are these the kombucha mushroom people that one guy keeps yelling about

[@betula-pendula]

I just let my water kefir stand longer than normal and haventyouseen: A kombucha starts to exist on top of my water kefir. I took the kombucha plate, put it into sugared tee and there it lives on and on...

[@theperfectbotsteve4916]

does this make them kombuchins I had an idea once and I was like if we keep losing so much of the healthy bacteria in our guts can't they just culture those bacteria and feed it to people to help them stay healthy and then I remember oh wait that already exists like yogurt and kombucha

[@JoesCaribbeanVanLife]

The hardest thing about buying kombucha is trusting the hippies that sells it.

[@StoneAndersonStudio]

That isn’t the SCOBY, it’s the pellicle. The SCOBY is the colony of microbes within the drink, the pellicle is just byproduct. :)

[@KombuchaKamp]

not accurate! Google Len Porzio - the inventor of the term SCOBY!

[@stephanieparker1250]

Well, most, if not all, of the bacteria is killed in stomach acid. Despite this, the FDA says limit the consumption to no more than 12oz a day. Weird. 🤷‍♀️

[@ezekbardunsihk5735]

This video about to kill kambucho industry